Mapping for the Schokland TVET Project

Validation Meeting, December 15, 2008

Outline Purpose and Problem Content

Context for the project in Ghana The TVET Sector Labour Market

Challenges, etc Recommendations

Purpose Use of TVET as a tool for empowering,

reducing poverty, and achieving MDGs; Improving access and quality of TVET - in

Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, & Zambia. Identification of options for entry for Dutch

institutions, civil society groups.

Ghana: Socio-economic Context Population characteristics

1960 – 6.4m; 2005 – 21.13m Population under 15: 41%; 15-24: 18% Female population: 50.49% (est. 2005) Population growth rate: 2.7

Economic indicators Per capita GDP, US$420 (2005 est.) Main exports: cocoa, minerals, and growing non-

traditional products.

TVET Sector TVET cuts across several gov. ministries:

MoESS, MoMYE, MoFA, Main institutions that provide TVET

Informal apprenticeship system Formal public institutions – NVTIs, Social Welfare

VTIs, TTIs, Sec/Tech Institutes, polytechnics Formal private institutions

Other

Enrolments(MoESS, 2008) General Education, 2007/2008

Kindergarten, 1.26: Gender Parity Index: 0.98 Primary, 3.622; Gender Parity Index: 0.96 JHS, 1.224; Gender Parity Index: 0.92

TVET TTIs (MoESS), 18,432 (2006/2007) NVTIs (MoMYE), 6,660 (2006) Private VTIs – uncertain number Polytechnics: 28,695

Universities: Public and private, 88,445 Professional institutes: 4,350 Special Education institutions (MoESS only):

3,315

Female Participation in Formal TVETInstitution % Female, 2005/06 % Female, 2006/07

NVTI centres (38) 28.6% 25.8

Tech. Training Institutes

16.5 16.7

Polytechnics 30.4 29.5

Enrolment in TVET is gender-biased -females mainly in Fashion, Hairdressing, Catering, and Secretarial- males in industrial-arts related fields

TVET for Special Needs Population

-Skill development needs of PWDs not adequately taken care off;- Again, females under-represented in access to TVET for PWDs (40% of enrolment)

Social Consequences of Student Channelling Social disparities and discrimination

Students who do not go on to SHS do not benefit from GETFund and other public supports for education;

As a greater proportion of females drop out before or are unable to continue after JHS, they suffer more discrimination than males.

In general, those channelled into TVET (public and private) are the ones discriminated against most.

Policies Sources of Policy

National Development Plans (e.g. Vision 2020; GPRS I and II, and Draft Medium-Long Term Plan 2008-2015)

Laws, e.g. Polytechnic Act, COTVET Act, NABPTEX Act, NVTI Act

Sector-Ministry policies and plans Government commissioned reports Specific policy directives

Realities of Policy Lack of coordination and alignment (e.g. Conflicting legal mandates National TVET policies has no official status; still a

“Draft” document, though COTVET Act passed out of it.

Policies (contd.) Main elements of COTVET Act

Establishment of an apex body, COTVET Adoption of CBT throughout the TVET system Creation of a National TVET Qualifications Framework

COTVET: Hopes and apprehensions COTVET expected to harmonize the system Threats of conflicting legal mandates Sector-Ministries’ recognition of COTVET’s

authority MoESS’s conduct (e.g. tendency to monopolize)

and commitment to TVET Government support to COTVET

Policies (Contd.) Ed Sector Performance Report 2008, (MoESS,

2008, p. 141)“COTVET must be vested with real authority

and not merely be a consultative agency …….. COTVET should coordinate and manage any future external support to TVET in Ghana from development partners or NGOs and should serve as the counterpart agency for all external assistance. Development partners should no longer set up bilateral relationships between themselves and specific agencies or departments”

Education Strategic Plan 2003 - 2015 Ten policy goals clustered into four areas:

Equity and Access Quality Improvement Educational management Science, Technology and TVET

The ESP aims to extend and improve TVET – by increased diversification and greater relevance to the workplace.

Report of the National Education Reform Implementation Committee (NERIC) Change in TTI curriculum; duration increased from 3 to

4 yrs. Introduction of CBT Comment: curriculum more tertiary-education driven

than labour market driven

Main Actors in the TVET Sector Government Ministries – own and manage

TVET institutions; Artisan, trade and professional associations; Private proprietors of VTIs (including NGOs,

religious bodies); Industry groups (e.g. AGI and GEA becoming

active in supporting the supply side); Development Partners; Certification, supervisory, and regulatory

bodies.

Key Donors and their Interventions Donor activity in TVET sector relatively low in the past

decade. A few major ones: JICA – Development of Master Plan for Tech. Ed.,

contribution to policy development; operationalization of COTVET; piloting of CBT.

Royal Netherlands – re-equipping and refurbishing of 15 TTIs and 5 sec/technical schools (VOTEC Resource Centres Project); Polytechnic projects, and GSDC at Tema.

The World Bank – VSP and support for development of TVET policy

DFID – budgetary support to GoG; DFID concerned with skill development in a broader sense.

ILO – Time Bound Programme for the elimination of the Worst forms of Child Labour centred on education, skills and vocational training.

IFAD - Rural Enterprises Project – including self-employment training and vocational training.

Others: Danish Hairdressers Association and NVTI; India’s and China’s support to NVTI.

Demand and Supply Demand for TVET very strong but supply side

is weak Main reason for strong demand: Population

momentum, large youthful population: 0 – 14, constitute 41% of pop.

JHS enrolment, 1.2m in 2007/2008 Dropouts from primary Low input quality; deficit in basic academic

skills: literacy & numeracy; only 25% reach proficiency level for P6; only 10% for P6 math.

Confusion of social demand for TVET with economic demand for TVET (so-called demand-driven programmes in institutions).

Demand & Supply of TVET (contd.) Supply side: Providers Informal apprenticeship: Trade and professional

associations Private Providers (proprietorships, religious

organisations, NGOs) Ministry of Education, Science and Sports

Technical Training Institutes (25) Polytechnics (10)

Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment NVTI centres (38) Social Welfare VTIs Leadership Training Institutes (9) Community Development Centres Integrated Centres for Employable Skills (ICEES) - 35

Ministry of Food and Agriculture: Farm institutes

Demand and Supply of TVET Supply side weaknesses: Informal TVET

Informal apprenticeship lacks guidance, support, and supervison

Informal apprenticeship not integrated with formal TVET

Formal TVET Poor infrastructure Inadequate capacity Obsolete equipment Outdated and inadequate textbooks Weak links with industry Inadequate supply of consumables and teaching

materials

Issues: TVET Sector Gender disparities and gender stereotyped

channelling of students into programmes; Dilemma of training for the large informal

economy and the small formal economy Multiplicity of testing and certification systems Examination-oriented TVET system vs. the need to

be industry-oriented. Long duration of formal training programmes, e.g.

from 3 to 4 years in TTIs. DPs working in parallel streams Lack of attention to general employability skills in

TVET TVET instructor system broken down – teacher

training for JHS and SHS, not instructor training for TTIs and VTIs.

LABOUR MARKET Labour Market is “difficult” for TVET graduates

(Nakanishi, 2006) Facts and Figures

Agriculture the largest employer of men and women

Men have wider spread of employment options than women

The private informal sector (agriculture and non-agriculture) account for the employment of about 85% of labour force;

Manufacturing sector absorbs only about 6.4% of labour force

There is a huge percentage of unpaid workers in the manufacturing sector, largest 78.6% of firms engaging 1-9 persons

About 230,000 new job seekers enter the job market annually (Nsowah-Nuamah & Amankrah, as cited in GSS, 2007)

Labour Market (contd.) Employment structure of the economy, 2005

Formal, public: 7.8% Formal, private: 7.1% Informal private (agric & non-agric): 83.5% Semi-public/parastatal: 0.4%

Other In urban areas, public and private formal

employment engage about 23% of labour force Only about 15% of labour force employed in the

formal economy. About 85% employed in the informal economy

Labour Market (contd.) Job vacancies advertised (caution: low-level

jobs not usually advertised. Mainly “professions” and technicians and

associated Reasons given by employers for existence of

job vacancies Lack of applicants with the relevant academic

qualifications, only 6.3%) Vacancies are the results of recent expansion,

7.9% Unattractive salary/wage conditions of service,

10.3% No budgetary allocation, 13.8% Government policy constraint, 38.9%

Employment/Unemployment Rates Unemployment by age groups, 2000

15 – 19 years: Male, 17.0%; Female, 17.0% 20 – 24 years: Male, 18.7%; Female, 19.5% 25 – 29 years: Male, 13.8%; Female, 14.7% 30 – 34 years: Male, 9.3%; Female, 10.4%

Profiles of unemployed youth, 2001 Illiterate (dropped out/no schooling): M = 20.8%; F=

23.2% Completed at least Basic but not post-basic: M=2.3%;

F=66.3% Hopes and Aspirations of Unemployed youth, 2003

Desirous to work: M = 41.7%; F = 22.7% Desiring enterprise development: M = 30.5%; F =

50.3% Desiring to continue education: M = 9.9%; F = 6.2% Desiring apprenticeship/training: M = 16.3; F = 19.1%

Main Actors in the Labour Market & Supporting Agencies Employers Associations in the Labour Market

Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) Ghana Employers Association (GEA) Ghana National Chamber of Commerce (GNCC) Ghana Chamber of Mines

Trade Union Congress – Federation of employee unions

Supporting Agencies: District Labour Offices National Labour Commission

Transition from School to Work Efficacy of TVET: employment Difficulties in transition from school to work stimulating

four kinds of awareness in TVET system: Using CBT to correct mismatch Monitoring student transition through tracer studies Structured industrial attachment or internship Training towards self-employment

Evidence of mismatches: Employer dissatisfaction They (graduates) have heard of theory but know nothing

of practicals Trainees (electrical) lack competence in wiring, tracing

fault, knowing difference between high and low voltage Catering: NVTI Grade I & II so deficient, we have made it

a policy not to accept them for attachment Tile laying: Some employers prefer to go to Togo to

recruit for tile laying; the Togolese accept lower rates but do the work well and on time.

Transition from School to Work (contd.) NVTI Tracer Study Report (Nakanishi, 2006):

Graduates face a difficult labour market It is very difficult for graduates to find a permanent job,

a part-time job, or a temporary job 63.7% of respondents (500) were able to start a new

business less than 6 months after training; 56.9% of those self-employed also employ 1 to 5

employees; About 25% want to become entrepreneurs rather than

being employees; Financial problems and how to obtain tools and

equipment were major constraints to self-employment; As many as 65% gave vague answers about career

advice; Trainees need to decide early what they want to do

after training.

Demand from the Labour Market No developed LMIS in Ghana yet; development on

the way Kinds of skills demanded by employers:

Computer literacy: 65.3% OJT/work experience, 15.6% Administrative management skills, 4.0% Excellent and oral communication skills, 3.5% Other generic employability skills (in TVET policy)

Conclusions: Excess labour supply mainly due to population

momentum Demand side of labour market mainly in informal

economy Economy of Ghana not sufficiently diversified to

increase labour absorption capacity Training by itself will not create demand for labour!

(WB, as cited by Palmer et al. 2007)

Labour Market related issues Incorporation of informal economy in design

and delivery of TVET Need for complementary policies that

facilitate transition from training to employment

Reliance on the formal sector for input into training design may not ensure relevance to the realities of the labour market.

Importance of generic employability skills Importance of basic domain-specific skills that

employers want (perhaps in every field)

Lessons learned from previous interventions Examples of interventions: Vocational Skills and

Informal Sector Support Project (VSP); Skills Training and Employment Placement (STEP) Get informal sector associations involved when

designing training targeting at the sector Train not only apprentices but also master-craftsmen

and women Use short, modular, well-focused training, e.g. tile

laying Use integrated approach in designing programmes

aimed at the informal sector labour market “Catch up” or remedial classes may be necessary for

some groups, e.g. girls who dropped out of school early Advocacy helps the voiceless Integrate career counselling

Practical and Policy Challenges Status of National Policy: still “Draft” COTVET’s ability to bring all the players

together – the various ministries and bodies with separate legal mandates

Whether COTVET will be adequately funded to execute its mandate

Challenges for DPs and foreign organizations: knowing whom to deal with in a fragmented

system Overwhelming degree of need for skill training and

complexity of the labour market Finding a niche and doing a good job

Opportunities for improved harmonization Establishment of COTVET – a big step Details for the operationalization of COTVET done

by JICA & TVETS project First, Central Government and various

government ministries need to show the way towards harmonization.

MoESS has a major role to play in bringing the other ministries together under COTVET; tendency to monopolize COTVET will undermine harmonization.

Funding for COTVET not only from MoESS or for MoESS only; Government money is TAXPAYERS MONEY!

DP and donor community also need to coordinate their activities and work within the COTVET framework

Dutch partners coming also need to coordinate and harmonize as much as possible

Recommendations: The Way Forward More short, focused and modular programmes

that are market oriented – e.g. Floor and Ceiling tile laying

Diversification of skill training options for females should take into account transition to world of work.

Ghana has little expertise in CBT; capacity building in CBT urgently needed to get COTVET moving.

Improving training infrastructure: Dutch civil organizations may mobilize donation of tools (including slightly used ones) for training.

Cost sharing and beneficiary commitment Need for specific needs assessment prior to

design of training programmes

Suggested Niches Advocacy: general or for specific causes Skill training involving transfer of appropriate

technologies in areas such as solar energy, biogas, small windmills, etc.

Focused integrated training in small-scale manufacturing, especially in agro-processing and production of simple packaging materials, recycling – training that attempts to create new mini-industries.

Partnering with local organizations in meeting skill training needs of vulnerable groups, e.g. PWDs, females in TVET

Establishment of instructor training – short, in-service programmes

Development of training materials, especially for generic employability skills that will have wide impact on the TVET system.

Conclusion The TVET sector in Ghana faces many

challenges. Resource constraints make the challenges

daunting. The labour market has limited absorption capacity There are mismatches between demand and

supply Government policies and pronouncements not

matched by action and support. The Schokland TVET Project provides a timely

opportunity for stakeholders to come together to address the challenges and improve access and quality.

Congratulations, Schokland TVET Project for working through the COTVET framework.