1. School-to-Work (S-t-W) Information Bases in Selected Developing Countries Prof. Lee, Youngmin Sookmyung Women’s University, Seoul, Republic of Korea

2. Definition S-t-W information base This refers to a set of policies and practices that collect and provide information related to the skills needs of employers and the labor market situation of school leavers. S-t-W information bases seek to improve the relevance of technical and vocational education (TVET), and ultimately, the employability of TVET graduates.

3. Introduction 1 It is the time to evaluate and analyze the employability of Technical Vocational Education and Training (denoted as TVET). Enhancing the relevance of technical and vocational education and training should be considered a top policy priority and efforts to this end. An objective assessment about the current supply of TVET against its demand must also be taken into account to induce proper changes of TVET sector.

4. Introduction 2 A sound information base which is capable of providing concrete information about the skills needs and the labor market performance of TVET participants should be regarded as a crucial prerequisite. The purpose of the research is to examine the aspects of information bases in school-to-work transition in terms of tracking skill needs, tracking labor market situation, and employer engagement in selected countries.

5. Background of Information 1 The educational system and the TVET sector have been reformed interactively over the last decades. The status of TVET sector has been changed, depending on the reorganization of government structure or national strategic development plans. TVET system in the countries has tried to meet the needs of industries, but still has some difficulties in producing qualified graduates who may completely match the demands of labor market. General trends in all levels of the education system and the TVET sector

6. Overall assessment of the TVET system, in terms of scope and quality of TVET Background of Information 2 Amendment of legal framework and investment needs to upgrade the current TVET system and overcomes the prejudice of citizens. Only a few countries have completed its national qualification framework, and many other countries are still developing the TVET accreditation system. Only a few systematical process and research systems that identify the demand of labor market and employers have been taken.

7. Urgent policy issues related to TVET, especially in terms of s-to-w transition Background of Information 3 Legal framework and national qualification framework need to be revised and implemented in a good manner Tracking skills and labor market situation are key issues for the countries Quality control of TVET system with sufficient investment is another urgent issue to be solved Low attractiveness of TVET is prevalent among the countries

8. Section 1: Tracking skills needs 1 School-to-work transition information base in this context refers to any kind of survey or administrative process that collects information about the skills needs of TVET students and school leavers and demand of employers. e.g., skill needs of TVET students, skill gap, sector- wise skill, training needs, skill needs of major industry groups and major occupations, classification and accreditation of skill Overview of tracking skills needs

9. Section 1: Tracking skills needs 2 In general, there are a few skills needs surveys reported which were collecting specific and in-depth information about skills needs. However, those specific skills needs surveys have been mostly conducted by donors on an ad-hoc basis at a certain sector or at a certain region. Another layer of limitations in this area is a lack of sufficient time to collect systematic data which can allow time-series or longitudinal analysis over time. Historic background of tracking skills needs

10. Cambodia - Cambodia Socio-Economic Survey (CSES), a household survey (since 1993/94, every year) - Population Census (since 1998, every 10 years) - Cambodia Inter-Censal Population Survey (CIPS) (since 2004, between censuses) - Establishment/Economic Census (since 2011. every 10 years) India - The employment and unemployment surveys (since 1972/73, every 5 years) - Skills need survey (1955, 1977/78, 1983/84, 1987/88 only) - District vocational surveys (since 1988) - Skills need surveys by the Institute of Applied Manpower Research - Select Government Ministries carry out analysis of manpower required in specific industry sectors - National Skill Development Corporation had conducted skill gap surveys in 20 high growth sectors & the unorganized sector Indonesia - National Labor Force Survey (Survei Angkatan Kerja Nasional – SAKERNAS) (since 1976, 2-4 times a year) - National Social Economic Survey (Survei Sosial Ekonomi Nasional - SUSENAS) (since 1963/64, every 1 or 2 years) - Integrated Business Survey (Survey Usaha Terintegrasi / SUSI) (since 1998, conducted incidentally) - Indonesia Family Life Survey (Survei Kehidupan Keluarga Indonesia – IFLS) (1993, 1997, 2000, 2007 only) - Sector-specific activities (Ministry of Health conducts every 3 years) - Data collection by the local labour administration Kazakhstan - Labour Force Survey (since 2001, conducted quarterly) - Small studies/research conducted by international experts Lao PDR - National training need analysis by GTZ (2005, conducted once) - National Census (since 2005, every 10 years) - Labour Market Assessment supported by ADB (2010, conducted once) Mongolia - Labor Force Survey (since 2006, conducted quarterly) Philippines - Labor Force Survey (similar statistics started in 1941, conducted quarterly) - Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics Integrated Survey (BITS) (relevant legislation approved in 1987, every 2 years) Vietnam - Labour force survey (started since the early years of the 21st century) - Population census - The national survey of agriculture and fisheries and the national survey of enterprises, pubic administration and public services - National jobs and labour surveys - Sectoral skill surveys are conducted on ad-hoc basis

11. Section 1: Tracking skills needs 3 Among all of the countries reported, there are legislations/regulations governing the collection and utilization of data and information to be used in the national statistics and the mandate of the national statistics office. In some countries, there are also more specific or additional legislations/regulations found in relevant departments or ministries where a specific agency was set up to collect and utilize labor market and employment data. Legislation and regulations of tracking skills needs

12. Section 1: Tracking skills needs 4 In terms of the coverage and respondents surveyed, most of labor force surveys, socio-economic surveys, population censuses are conducted nation-wide, especially when they are conducted by the national statistics office in each country. On the other hand, when skills needs surveys are conducted by international donors, often those surveys are limited to certain regions or sectors. Coverage and respondents surveyed

13. Section 1: Tracking skills needs 5 Frequency of the surveys vary a lot. In many countries, the labor force surveys have been conducted quarterly, which can keep updating labor market information. On the other hand, the population censuses have been conducted every 5 or more years. Thus, information from the population censuses on employment/ unemployment or educational attainment can only provide a simple trend at a broad level rather than specific and updated information which can be feedback to policy making or policy implementation. Frequency of the survey

14. Section 1: Tracking skills needs 6 Most of the national surveys cover the whole country representing different regions and districts. In some cases, there arenadditional district level data collections in selected regions, but those district level data collections are not systematic enough to compare data across districts. Level of regional disaggregation

15. Section 1: Tracking skills needs 7 The question regarding the level of industry and occupational disaggregation was understood differently by countries. The intention of the original question was whether the data collected by the reported survey data can be disaggregated by the ISCO and ICSI. Some of the countries stated that they have their own classification system in their country. However, it was not mentioned that the skills needs survey data was disaggregated by the industry or occupation. ISCO: International Standard Classification of Occupation ICSI: International Standard Classification of Industries Level of industry and occupational disaggregation

16. Section 1: Tracking skills needs 8 In all countries, a national statistics agency is responsible for the national skills needs surveys. The activities of these national statistical agencies are governed by the legislation and regulations on national statistics and funded by the central government. Besides the national government budget, many of the surveys are funded by international donors and experts including UNFPA, ADB, UNDP, SIDA and World Bank, JICA in Cambodia, the Rand Corporation in Indonesia, and GTZ-HRDME, ADB, JICA, etc., in Lao PDR. UNFPA: United Nations Population Fund ADB: Asian Development Bank SIDA: Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency JICA: Japan International Cooperation Agency Responsible organizations and Financial budget

17. Section 1: Tracking skills needs 9 Besides skills needs surveys the countries reported in the earlier section, there are additional sources of quantitative information related to skills needs that are collected through alternative sources other than statistical surveys. Examples: Cambodia: The Council for the Development of Cambodia, the Ministry of Tourism etc. India: Occupational – Educational Pattern of Employees in India etc. Indonesia: TVET skill needs survey in some selected industries by the Indonesian Institute of Sciences etc. Kazakhstan: Departmental records of unemployment, Statistics of youth unemployment in Kazakhstan etc. Philippines: Labor Market Intelligence Report, Industry Roadmaps etc. Vietnam: Business register at provincial agencies etc. Mongolia: Business register database Alternative Sources of Quantitative Information

18. Section 2: Tracking labor market situation 1 School-to-work transition information in this context refers to any kind of survey or administrative process that collects information about the of labor market situation of TVET students and school leavers from education to the world of work. e.g., Tracer survey for TVET graduates, current employment situation of TVET students, period before finding employment, salary levels and working conditions, panel or cross-section surveys for youths and etc. Overview of tracking labor market situation

19. Section 2: Tracking labor market situation 2 Many countries have paid more attention to the importance of labor market data and information collection and utilization than ever before. Many specific policies and strategies have been initiated. However, since most of them have been recently implemented, it is too early to discuss concrete outputs or outcomes. Historic background of tracking labor market situation

20. Cambodia - 2008 Voucher Skills Training Program (VSTP) tracer survey run by the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training (MoLVT) (conducted once) - 2007 Cambodia Federation of Employers and Business Associations (CAMFEBA) youth and employment (conducted once) - National Employment Agency administrative records on labor market information, including TVET graduate employment information, and ADB India - “Evaluation Report of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme on Vocationalization of Secondary Education” was conducted by the Operational Research Group in 1998 - National Technical Manpower Information System (NTMIS) conducted Technical manpower surveys (annually) - 2006 ITI Institutional Census and the ITI Tracer Study conducted by Directorate General of Employment and Training (DGET) - 2003 study of graduates of apprenticeship training programs Indonesia - Disnaker (Labour administration) in selected districts conducts a yearly training needs survey in order to identify the need for companies’ employees training in public training institutions - Schools have to regularly report information about graduates to the National Ministry of Education (Diknas) via the local Education Administration (Dinas Pendidikan) - Every educational institution conducts some activities related to alumni tracking Kazakhstan - No survey conducted yet Lao PDR - National Baseline Tracer Study (NBTS) by GTZ-HRDME(2005, 2007, 2009) - Tracer study for Lao-Korean Vocational Training Center under support of KOICA (2009) - ILO – Know About Your Business (KAB) programme students of Pakpasack Technical College (2009). Mongolia - Agency for Vocational Education and Training is planning to conduct regular tracer survey for TVET graduates Philippines - graduate tracer studies by TESDA (Since 2000, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2011) Vietnam - No survey conducted yet

21. Section 2: Tracking labor market situation 3 Many countries adopted all the basic legislations and regulations in support of the collection of TVET school-to-work and labor market situation data. However, despite there is adequate legal framework in supporting the collection of TVET school-to-work transition and labor market situation data and its utilization by the public, there are still gaps in their implementation and enforcement. Legislation and regulations of tracking labor market situation

22. Section 2: Tracking labor market situation 4 In terms of the coverage and respondents surveyed, most of labor market surveys were conducted nation-wide, especially when they were conducted by the national statistics office in each country. However, ad-hoc surveys were often limited to the coverage in terms of regions and occupations. On the other hand, some TVET training providers and universities have kept the administrative records of their graduates’ employment information only. Coverage and respondents surveyed

23. Section 2: Tracking labor market situation 5 Overall, systemic surveys that monitor and track TVET graduates and school leavers are conducted in countries on an ad-hoc basis. Many of such tracer surveys are conducted incidentally as international donor support projects. In such cases, those tracer surveys often have a limited coverage and scope rather than collecting nation-wide data. Frequency of tracking labor market situation

24. Section 2: Tracking labor market situation 6 Usually, governmental agencies used cross-sectional and purposeful sampling methodology and, in rare, simple random sampling. In case of universities and training providers, no specific methodological sampling was applied. Methods of tracking labor market situation

25. Section 2: Tracking labor market situation 7 Each country uses a series of surveys or administrative processes to monitor the employment situation of TVET graduates or schools leavers. Some TVET training providers and universities have kept the administrative records of their graduates’ employment information, but they are not comprehensive. Often those surveys do not cover a representative sample of graduates so it’s not reliable. Also, it is observed that the staff capacity for data processing is not sufficient for publishing the respective statistics. Level of regional disaggregation

26. Section 2: Tracking labor market situation 8 Some of the countries have the designated agency or organization responsible for the labor market information collection, compilation, utilization, and dissemination. However, there are still gaps in their implementation and enforcement. The activities of these national statistical agencies are funded by the central government. Other sources of funding include individual universities and institutions, and international agencies. Responsible organizations and financial budget

27. Section 3: Employer engagement 1 School-to-work transition information in this context refers to any kind of national level cooperation between the central government and a federation of employers, regional/sectoral level cooperation between certain ministries/regional government and some employers, and individual cooperation between a school and some employers. e.g., employers’ skills needs, TVET programs, teacher training, the joint development of qualifications, curricula, and etc. Overview of employer engagement

28. Section 3: Employer engagement 2 The partnerships among the government, employers and TEVT providers have been initiated around less than ten years. Only recently, many governments took initiatives to convene regular meetings among relevant ministries with representatives from employers and TVET providers. Due to the short history of the public and private partnerships in most of the countries, the impacts of those partnerships on policy decision making and implementation level are not always as prominent as expected at this moment. Historic background of employer engagement

29. Cambodia - National Training Board (NTB) since 2006, meets annually - Provincial Training Board (PTB) India - National Council on Skill Development - National Skill Development Coordination Board - National Skill Development Corporation Indonesia - National Vocational Education Council - Provincial Vocational Education Council - School Council - Tripartite Cooperation Forums Kazakhstan - Social Partnership in the TVET RK project in 2008-2010 Lao PDR - National Training Council (NTC) established in 2002 - Trade Working Groups Mongolia - MCA-Mongolia TVET project Philippines - TESDA Board established in 1994 - Regional and Provincial Technical Education and Skills Development Committees (RTESDCs and PTESDCs). - Industry consultations - Employer Satisfaction Survey Vietnam - No specific name for the partnership provided - Relevant meetings between employers, TVETs, and HEIs was held in 2007, 2008 and 2009

30. Section 3: Employer engagement 3 Many partnerships are actualized as an official board or council format. Therefore, relevant legislation and regulations specify the membership, responsibility, activities, and mandates of the board or council. In some countries, the board or council is chaired by the prime minister, deputy director of ministries, or a strong decision making power. In other countries, the public and private partnerships are formed at a more voluntary and practical level. Legislation and regulations of employer engagement

31. Section 3: Employer engagement 4 Participants are well represented from both the government sector (including central and state government) and private sector(including labor sector representatives, industry associations, private tech-voc institutions, and investment sector.) Most of the employer representatives are CEO or Heads of HR departments from larger companies. There are also cooperation forums at the national, provincial and district/city levels and in sectoral settings (e.g., ICT, banking, manufacturing, etc.). Participants for employer engagement

32. Section 3: Employer engagement 5 The mandate of convening such meetings is country- wide basis, but now they are also convened at state level and regional levels. They are usually represented by selected sectors. Industry consultations are attended by industry association leaders and representatives. Coverage and respondents surveyed

33. Section 3: Employer engagement 6 Many meetings are convened at the national, regional, and sectoral levels. Generally, main meetings are convened annually, but the meeting of executive committee has been held more often on necessary basis. The others are being held more frequently (e.g., weekly, once a month). So, they become an effective feedback and monitoring mechanism. Level and Frequency of meetings

34. Section 3: Employer engagement 7 Employer participants play both roles, being consultative for some issues and taking part in actual decision making in other issues such as adoption of policies, strategies and plans, approval of projects, ratifying standards, etc. They are also taking part in the promotion of social partnership in the sphere of personnel training, establishment of mechanisms for interaction between educational organizations and employers, and organization of monitoring and feedback, etc. Expected role of participants

35. Section 3: Employer engagement 8 The level of expertise of participants representing the government sector is somewhat limited in some countries. Except the participants representing NGOs and some training providers which have average level of expertise on specific and concrete issues, those representing employers do not have high level of expertise. Participants in private sectors are usually experts within the participants’ organization handling the particular subject on a day-to-day basis. Expertise of participants

36. Final Remarks We have examined existing information bases related to the school-to-work transition process in the selected countries. We were able to Identify key barriers to the development of these information bases from the reports each country have contributed. Now we are trying to Identify possible areas of intervention for UNESCO and other related organizations. What are policy actions taken to improve current situations vis-à-vis each particular section (skills needs, labor market situation, and employer engagement) ?