Skills Development in Sub-Saharan Africa By Richard K. Johanson And Arvil V. Adams

English edition, published March 2004 French edition, forthcoming July 2004

Why Skills Development? Increased productivity and output for the economy Increased earnings for the individual and poverty reduction Increased profits for the enterprise Improvements in job mobility, use of technology, and growth

Five Key Messages Raising productivity in the informal economy is important in Africa TVET reforms of the 1990s show promise Reforming public TVET remains a challenge Non-government TVET is a significant source of skills supply Management and financing are powerful reform instruments

Seven Actions for Reform Defining government ’ s role Legislation Building market institutions Financing System management Institution management Promotion of Quality

Government ’ s Role Get the policies right, promote competition Regulate appropriately Promote access and equity Address market failures with financing and some provision Build market institutions Evaluate, research, dissemination

Private Sector ’ s Role Providers of training Financiers of training Partners in the governance of training systems

Role of International Assistance Piloting and innovation to reach the informal economy with skills Develop market institutions Support TVET reform agendas for management and finance Support performance-based delivery Selective support to building training capacity

What Should the Bank Do? Improve economic analysis of context for skills development Support more strategic role for governments in training Help develop effective regulatory environment for non-government training Scale up training for the informal sector Support training funds as a reform instrument Learn the lessons of implementation Fill knowledge gaps on HIV/AIDS and training for agricultural productivity

Clients where the Skills Development Dialogue is Active Ethiopia Kenya Lesotho Mozambique Namibia Tanzania Uganda Zambia

Capacity Building for Skills Development Training for AFR Bank Education Staff – Sussex (2) WBI Labor Market Flagship Course for Clients NETF Seminar - Norway Working Group for International Cooperation in Skills Dev. for Donors (4) Nairobi Client Workshop Bank-wide Seminar for Staff (forthcoming) Bamako Client Workshop (forthcoming)