TVET's turn to make its mark?

The latest issue of Norrag News is devoted to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) as a prelude to two important upcoming reports. The 2012 Education for All (EFA) Global Monitoring Report (GMR) is dedicated to skills development, the last of the six EFA Dakar Goals to be analysed in depth. Concurrently, UNESCO has decided to write a World TVET Report which will be the main document at the Third International Congress on TVET, scheduled to be held in Shanghai on 14-16 May 2012.

TVET back on the agenda

These are clear signals that TVET and skills development are back on the agendas of the donor community after a two-decade absence in which basic education topped the agenda. Due to the emphasis on basic education TVET became marginalised within the educational landscape. In addition, it suffered from negative perceptions which portray TVET as a low-status, low-quality educational pathway.

The contributions in Norrag News 46 come from agencies, practitioners and scholars and deal with   different dimensions of skills development. They show that aid agencies are (still) crucially involved in the support of TVET reform, but also that the sheer variety of TVET reform possibilities leads to an equally varied range of TVET interventions.

The classic questions "Who should be trained for what?" and "How should this be organised?" are still very much valid today as they were decades ago. Context-specific approaches such as the 'Light vocationalisation in general secondary education' in Latin America have been tested with some success, but a more generally applicable approach has not come within reach.

Training for what?

Technical and vocational skills development is a complex process which has to deal with heterogeneous groups of 'learners'– some are early drop-outs, some with incomplete school qualifications and some with complete but poor school qualifications -, and varying social and economic contexts. Economies are not growing fast enough to provide jobs, and education systems are not supplying adequate skills to the economy.

TVET is not a jobs machine

TVET by itself does not create jobs. However, there are many supply-led, largely government programmes which are based on the assumption that teaching 'vocational' skills will lead to employment resulting in economic growth and development. What to do then if no jobs are being created? Many argue that it makes sense to teach students not only skills for work or skills for employment, but also a whole range of generic skills and soft skills that are considered crucial for work, self-employment and leisure.

Reaching the informal sector

A major challenge is reaching the individuals who are found in the neglected informal skills and employment systems. In Pakistan, for example, the informal sector alone provides 73% of all non-agriculture employment. Experience shows that skills training also becomes effective and productive for marginalised groups when it is part of a larger empowerment agenda or linked with related livelihood skills.

There is discussion about the need for recognition and certification of skills that can help the disadvantaged to learn further and enhance their employability and mobility. But how do you organise this in a workable framework? Some sceptics believe that the benefits do not outweigh the efforts. Others fear that such a framework– designed to enable flexibility in education tracks - could actually lead to new inequalities - denying the disadvantaged access to the ‘powerful knowledge’ they need.

What we need to know

The articles in Norrag News point out that TVET can make a mark if more effective approaches are developed based on proper analysis of local demands and contexts. In addition, a more diverse conception of TVET is required which encompasses a multiplicity of purposes, providers, settings and learners.

Looking beyond the immediate needs

Research needs to be undertaken which goes beyond the immediate needs of the labour market and which assesses social dimensions in skills formation and which can forecast the needs of the society and the economy in the context of a holistic development.

This article is an adaptation of Policy Brief 46 that appeared on the website of Norrag.