Vocational and Technical Education and Training

Developing countries need to improve productivity throughout the economy if they are to compete successfully in an era of rapid economic and technological change. This requires not only capital investment, but also a work force that has the flexibility to acquire new skills for new jobs as the structures of economies and occupations change. The level of competence of a country's skilled workers and technicians is centrally important to the flexibility and productivity of its labor force. Skilled workers and technicians enhance the quality and efficiency of product development, production, and maintenance, and they supervise and train workers with lesser skills. This paper proposes policies than can help governments make the transition to a more dynamic and efficient use of public resources to ensure that the skills needed to meet the challenges of economic change are developed and that equity objectives for the poor and the socially disadvantaged are effectively addressed. Progress can be made by: strenghtening primary and secondary education; encouraging private sector training; improving the effectiveness and efficiency of public training, and; using training as a complementary input in programs designed to improve the incomes of the poor and socially disadvantaged.