National Tripartite High Level Dialogue on Employment, Industrial Relations, and Social Security Session 3 Towards demand-based skills development through public-private partnership Akiko Sakamoto Skills Development & Employability Specialist, ILO
Outline of presentation 1. Role of skills, main issues and challenges 2. Public private partnerships (PPP) in skills development 3. Towards quality apprenticeships - Including role of tripartite actors 4. Skills diversification for expanded employment opportunities
Role of skills - Improve employability of workers - Facilitate start-up of enterprises/income- generating activities - Contribute to higher productivity and business expansion - Key factor for moving up value-chains, providing quality goods and services - Enable more companies to compete on quality (with high skills) as opposed to cost, contributing to creating more high skills/wage jobs
Issues and Challenges - The formal training system largely set up for the formal sector, school leavers who can be trained on a full-time basis - Limited access to those in the workplace and informal economy - Limited flexibility, quality and relevance (delivery mode, content, curriculum, management) - Skills mismatch - Limited involvement of industry in the skills system making PPP essential
Form of PPPs Policy Jointly formulate skills policies and legislation Jointly monitor and evaluate their implementation System Identify skills demands Develop skills/competency-based standards, and qualifications Set up mechanism for assessment and certification Set up mechanisms for workplace learning (incl. apprenticeship) Training Delivery Provision of workplace learning (apprenticeships) Joint assessment and certification of skills Joint management of former gov’t training institutions
Critical role of private sector • Private sector can help fill the quantitative gap • Private sector can improve relevance and quality of skills training • Private sector can improve training-employment and training-productivity linkages
Filling the quantitative gap • Promoting industry-led, workplace learning • Participation in apprenticeship, offering on-the- job training opportunities • Setting up new industry-led training centers (e.g. sector-based) • Special funds set up to facilitate private sector training
Filling the qualitative gap • Provision of information on skills demands • Inputs to development of skills/competency standards and training curriculum • (Joint) management of training institutions • Complement institution-based training with practical training on the job • Involvement in assessment and certification
How can we increase industry engagement? - Limited tradition of industry engagement in skills development has been an issue - Skills are not always top of the priority if business is competing on low-cost - Investing in skills makes sense when skills become part of business/sector upgrading strategy - Sector-based skills bodies play an important intermediary role (e.g. Australia, England, Canada, India, Bangladesh, Turkey)
Skills for sector development (leather, Bangladesh) • Good example of PPP • Setting up of Industry Skills Councils for skill standards and curriculum development supported by the govt • Official certification • Integration of skills in sector development strategies • Alignment of skills supply and demand based on current and future scenarios • Industry-led training initiatives • Raising employers’ awareness and demands for investing in skills
Role of the partners Government - Set a clear and coherent legal framework and national policies - Lead system building - Improve gov’t training institutions - Develop incentives, or institutional mechanism for industry participation - Facilitate, monitor and evaluate Employers Trade unions - Participate at policy, system- building and delivery levels - Participate at policy, system-building - Ensure the practice of training and delivery levels according to the agreement - Skills utilization – this involves a shift - Contribute to design and to high value-added, quality business implementation of training - Promote equal access to training - Promote skills recognition, remuneration according to skills
Towards quality apprenticeships
Definition ILO defines apprenticeships as a form of: “ systematic long-term training for a recognized occupation that takes place substantially within an undertaking or under an independent craftsman and should be governed by a written contract ...and be subject to established standards ” According to G20 (2012), “apprenticeships are a combination of on -the-job training and school- based education” – no single standardized model
Why apprenticeships? Apprentices Employers - A means of overcoming the - Able to train staff according to ‘work - inexperience’ trap their skills and practical - Acquire skills in a structured requirements way that are closely - Apprenticeship is a unique matched with the demand source of recruitment of work - Apprentices contribute to - Often access to frontline production and service technologies - Often provided with financial - Obtain formal incentives (e.g. tax rebates) certification for their learning - Gain not only technical skills but general transferable skills
Challenges/Barriers - Limited tradition of industry engagement in skills development - Concerns for apprentices as a source of cheap labour - Limited structured training (and/or weak monitoring), not leading to a qualification - Over-regulation or under-regulation - Financing, poaching/job-hopping - Weak support mechanisms - Poor image of apprenticeship
Features of Quality Apprenticeship • Relevant and rigorous training both on and off the job • Appropriate regulations • Social partners involvement in design and maintenance of training program – Turkey, Denmark, Germany • Compulsory formal assessment and certification • Presence of qualified staff or ‘master trainers’ – Canada, Turkey, Germany • Presence of supporting institutions, e.g. sectoral bodies, industrial associations – Bangladesh, Turkey • Target approach (one-stop shop, incl. basic skills) • TU’s role critical to ensure the practice of training according to the agreement – US, Rhine countries
Local approach with embedded flexibility (Otoronhanga, New Zealand) • Good example of PPP – local approach - Apprenticeship shaped by local stakeholders under local leadership - Development of a network of local stakeholders to improve the apprenticeship system - Started as largely informal, but gradually formalized - Boosting image and marketing of apprenticeship by a formal graduation ceremony led by the Mayor - Positive impact: one of the lowest rates of youth unemployment in NZ
Form of PPPs Sector Skill Policy Councils or Jointly formulate skills policies and legislation Bodies Jointly monitor and evaluate their implementation Leading industry-led System skills bodies Identify skills demands (e.g. sector Develop skills/competency-based standards and skills councils) qualifications Set up mechanism for assessment and certification Local (Skill) Set up mechanisms for workplace learning (incl. apprenticeship) Councils or Bodies Training Delivery Leading LED by Provision of workplace learning (apprenticeships) integrating Joint assessment and certification of skills skills as part of Joint management of former gov’t training strategy institutions
Role of the partners Government - Set a clear and coherent legal framework and policies - Provide incentives for private sector participation - Develop supporting system - Facilitate, give autonomy to Employers Trade unions local and industry actors - Recognition of apprenticeship - Safeguard the rights of apprentices as a training/learning program - Ensure the practice of training - Recognition of apprentices as according to the agreement learner before employee - Contribute to design and - Provision of quality training, implementation of training incl. designing and maintenance
Skills Diversification for Expanded Employment Opportunities
Good practices (China, Australia) - Early warning and actions are critical - Skills profiling, assessment and certification of transferable skills (forestry sector, Australia) - Re-training should focus on local labour demand by including employers in training course planning - Public Employment Service (PES) job-brokering services (career guidance) can be important support service (Wuhan, China) - Internships/work trials in companies for 3-6 months for redundant workers
Summary Public private partnerships are an essential element for effective skill development While importance of PPP is accepted, engaging industry in skills development remains a challenge Well-regulated and structured apprenticeships can be one of the most effective ways of training Power of local/sector actions cannot be overlooked for effective apprenticeships and PPP (PPP can work best when implemented at sector/local levels, where community of interest is present) Skill diversification: Early warning and actions for skills profiling, recognition and training
Thank you Akiko Sakamoto International Labour Organization Bangkok, Thailand sakamoto@ilo.org
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