Matching Education Outputs with Labor Market Needs Experts’ Meeting 9th Conference of Arab Ministers of Education Tunisia, May 27, 2014

The key questions that need to be asked on employability and school to work transition Do education and skills development systems really enable people to access jobs or are they rather barriers to employability? Is being employable enough to get a job in MENA countries? How can education and skills development systems be adapted to respond to labor demand ?

The Skills Towards Employment and Productivity (STEP) framework shows that skills needed for productivity and economic growth require a sequenced combination of education, training, and labor market activities

Great progress, greater expectations, and even greater aspirations…

Low quality skills Benchmarking MENA countries in Math, TIMSS 2011

… and the employers are complaining that graduates are not employable (% of human resource manager agreeing that recent university graduate hires have the appropriate skills) Relevance: perceived skill shortages (% of firms perceive skills of workforce as constraint)

MENA has a large share of untapped human resources that are not participating in economic activity

Rates of female labor force participation, by region, 2008

Many of its young people are not involved in any productive activity

Youth unemployment rates by region, ages 15-24, 2008

The key questions that need to be asked on employability and school to work transition Do education and skills development systems really enable people to access jobs or are they rather barriers to employability? Is being employable enough to get a job in MENA countries? How can education and skills development systems be adapted to respond to labor demand ?

Perceptions of youth in selected MENA economies of the constraints to getting a job, 2009

The double transition: From employability to employment In MENA, being employable is not enough for youth - and outsiders in general - to transition from education to work and to get a job. As a result, youth need to succeed in a “double transition”: in addition to obtaining competencies and credentials to be employable, they need to position themselves in the labor market.

The hypothesis of a meritocracy deficit The increasing demand for transparency and equality of opportunity in accessing jobs makes the importance of meritocracy and clear rules in job search and hiring even more salient. Young people and their families have high expectations, invest heavily in education and skills, and they expect these investments to pay off. Yet listening to students, graduates, and employers in MENA countries, there is a widespread perception that education credentials serve a minor role in employers’ hiring decisions. Educated youth in MENA have received a clear message from the labor market: to access one of the few insider jobs, you must wait your turn or already belong to an insider family.

The key questions that need to be asked on employability and school to work transition Do education and skills development systems really enable people to access jobs or are they rather barriers to employability? Is being employable enough to get a job in MENA countries? How can education and skills development systems be adapted to respond to labor demand ?

Linking the barriers to the transition from education to work to long-term policies

Less quantifiable aspects: Institutions Policies Practices Implementation Values SABER- WfD Focus of SABER-workforce development in relation to other analyses More quantifiable aspects: Enrollments Types of skills Skills mismatch Skills gaps

Structure of the SABER-workforce development tool 18

Three functional dimensions matter in workforce development Strategy Aligning WfD to national goals for productivity Delivery Managing for tangible results on the ground Oversight Governing to achieve desired goals

1. Setting a strategic direction for WfD 2. Fostering a demand-led approach to WfD 3. Strengthening critical coordination 5. Assuring relevant and reliable standards 6. Diversifying pathways for skills acquisition 4. Ensuring efficiency and equity in funding 8. Fostering relevance in public training programs 7. Enabling diversity and excellence in training provision 9. Enhancing evidence-based accountability for results Strategy Oversight Delivery Nine key policy goals matter in WfD 20

Example from Dimension 1 21 Strategy Policy Goals Critical Coordination Demand-led Approach Strategic Direction Assessed on such evidence as: Clarity on the demand for skills Is there a formal assessment of critical skills constraints in the economy? What is the credibility of the assessment? Role of employers What best describes the role of employers in WfD? What incentives for skills upgrading exist for employers? Clarity on the demand for skills Is there a formal assessment of critical skills constraints in the economy? What is the credibility of the assessment? Role of employers What best describes the role of employers in WfD? What incentives for skills upgrading exist for employers? What aspects of WfD institutions and policies matter?

Policy Goals Pathways Standards Funding Assessed on such evidence as: Funding stability and criteria To what extent is WfD funding based on evidence of program effectiveness? Partnership with employers Does funding by the government catalyze sustained involvement of employers? Funding stability and criteria To what extent is WfD funding based on evidence of program effectiveness? Partnership with employers Does funding by the government catalyze sustained involvement of employers? Oversight Example from Dimension 2 22 What Aspects of WfD Institutions and Policies Matter?

Policy Goals Accountability Relevance Diversity and Excellence Assessed on such evidence as: Non-state provision of training What is the scope of non- state provision?? How is the quality of provision assured? Public sector provision What incentives drive the behavior of public providers? Are providers’ priorities informed by assessments and dialogue with stakeholders? Non-state provision of training What is the scope of non- state provision?? How is the quality of provision assured? Public sector provision What incentives drive the behavior of public providers? Are providers’ priorities informed by assessments and dialogue with stakeholders? Delivery Example from Dimension 3 23 What Aspects of WfD Institutions and Policies Matter?

1. Latent 2. Emerging 3. Established 4. Advanced Scoring rubrics Example of Diagnostic Results

The Region seen through the SABER-WfD Lens 1. Direction 2. Demand-led 3. Coordination 4. Funding 5. Standards 6. Pathways 7. Excellence 8. Relevance 9. Accountability Strategic Framework System Oversight Service Delivery 1.Most dispersion of scores 2.Least dispersion of scores 3.Relatively dense, almost as dense as 2.

How to move WfD Systems forward? What does the graph suggest? Consider 3 Policy Goals: 1. The Policy Goal with most variance 2. The Policy Goal with least variance 3. The Policy Goal with the lowest mean score

Policy Goal EgyptIraqJordanMoroccoPalestineTunisiaYemenvariancemean Most variance: Policy Goal 3 Coordination 2. Least variance: Policy Goal 6 Pathways 3. Lowest mean : Policy Goal 9 Accountability Scores, Mean Scores, and Dispersion measured by Variance

Policy Goal 3 Strengthening Critical Coordination for Implementation The spread of scores reveals that a diversity of coordination mechanisms exist within the Region. Possibility: look within the Region for ideas. An example:  Tunisia (in Pink) has made systematic efforts to improve coordination.  Formalized, institutional mechanisms are in place to ensure the compatibility of interactions between diverse stakeholders.  High level authorities have the mandate to overcome obstacles that trouble inter-sectorial cooperation. 3. Coordination

Policy Goal 6 Diversifying Pathways for Skills Acquisition The scores cluster around the Emerging level, revealing that measures to diversify the pathways into and out of TVET are limited. Countries of the Region have similar scores. The least dispersion of scores within the region. Possibility: look outside the Region for ideas.

Policy Goal 9 Enhancing Evidence-based Accountability for Results Most scores line up around the Emerging Level, revealing that there are significant gaps in accountability. The lowest mean score of the Region. Possibility? Look outside the Region for ideas.