Skill Development

Skill Development : A Strategic Frame Work

                  All countries have a good reasons, which inevitably vary according to their respective national circumstances, to refine their skills development strategies to yield better results . Building on rich and diverse country experience, it is possible to articulate a framework of a skills development strategy that can be effective across a broad range of economics and social circumstances.

Introduction:-
                          A key policy challenge conforting more developed countries is how to ensure that the skills of both job entrants and existing workers remain relevant throughout their careers. Skill gaps can retard enterprises growth and jeopardize workers employability. Structural changes in the economy and heightened competition between enterprises reduce the  number of available jobs with low skill requirements.                                                                   These challenges call for broader access to training at the point of entering the job market , improvements in the relevance and quality of that training , and expansion of lifelong learning opportunities, all combined with active labour market policies . A large proportion of the working population requires more and better skills . In addition to specific technical skills, transversal competencies and 'soft' skills are increasingly important, including the ability to engage and interact effectively with others, build consensus , and provide assistance, direction and leadership as needed. As job and labour mobility increases, the portability of skills and international migration of talent becomes important issues. 

      In countries in Central and Eastern Europe, efforts to reinvigorate skills development systems have included restructuring education and training system to align them with the demands of the new market economy, using labour market institutions to mitigate the negative effects of economics restructuring, and targeting training and lifelong learning on increasing the adaptability and mobility of the workforce. Many countries share the countries in the flow of migrant workers . A significant characteristics of many countries in Asia and Latin America is the combination of high growth and productivity in some sectors and regions with low productivity and persistent poverty in rural and urban informal economies. 

              The role of training in promoting the transfer of activities from the informal to the formal economy involves broadening access to basic education supporting informal means of development skills and combining vocational and entrepreneurship training to facilitate the formalization of small enterprises.

   In the Arab region, investment in education and training has been stepped up significantly. However , young people still face difficulties in moving from education into work; while enterprises often have trouble finding enough people with the skills they need to able to expand or adopt new technologies. Preparing the work force for the labour market of the future remains a challenge. In lower income developing countries , mainly in Sub- Saharan Africa and parts of Asia , the vicious circle of low education and skills , low productivity and poverty is only gradually being addressed . Only one-fifth of boys and girls of secondary school age in sub-Saharan Africa attend school.

A COMMON FRAMEWORK FOR SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

  Meeting today's And Tomorrow's Skills needs International experience shows that countries that have succeeded in linking skills development to gains in productivity, employment and development have targeted skills development policy towards three main objectives:- 

• matching supply to current demand for skills.
• helping workers and enterprises adjust to changed; and
• building and sustaining competencies for future labour markets needs.

    The first objective is about the relevance and quality of training. Matching the provision of skills with labour market demand requires labour market information systems to generate,analyse and disseminate reliable sectoral and occupational information,and institutions that connect employers with training providers.

         The second objectives is about easing the movement of workers and enterprises from declining or low-productivity activities and sectors into expanding and higher productivity activities and sectors.

                 The third objective calls for a long-term perspective , anticipating the skills that will be needed in the future and engendering a virtuous circle in which more and better education and training fuels innovation, investment technological change, economic diversification and competitiveness, and thus job growth.