Reaching the marginalized: EFA global monitoring report, 2010; 2010

PROGRESS TOWARDS THE EFA GOALSYouth and adult skills — expanding opportunities in the new global economystudents can use their qualifications to re-enterthe education system (Flores-Moreno, 2007).While such examples demonstrate what is possible,second-chance education remains a highlyneglected area. Effective government coordinationof the wide range of public, private and othernon-government actors involved is rare, partlybecause planning for second-chance programmesis seldom integrated into mainstream education.There are other ways for governments toenhance skills development and combat youthunemployment. One of the most obvious is toensure that more young people complete theireducation and achieve a qualification. In the UnitedStates, the American Recovery and ReinvestmentAct includes financing provisions: youth who havenot finished secondary school can re-entereducation through a community college, vocationaltraining or apprenticeship. Several states haveintroduced programmes led by experiencedprincipals and teachers aimed at facilitatingsecondary school completion, offeringcomprehensive after-school and vacationteaching (CNN.com/US, 2009).Governments can also combine education andemployment measures. Providing incentives forcompanies to offer apprenticeship and vocationalprogrammes to unskilled young people is oneoption. For example, the OECD has argued thatFrance should gear public assistance andincentives for apprenticeships towards unskilledyoung people and set a benchmark that increasesthe share of unskilled youth starting training from40% to 50% (OECD, 2009b). In the United Kingdom,which has some of the deepest skill-basedinequalities in the OECD, post-crisis interventionshave been generating employment and trainingfor long-term unemployed youth (Box 2.17).Programmes that deliver resultsHow successful are technical and vocationalsystems in providing young people with skills,meeting company demands and tackling theproblems of youth unemployment, low wagesand insecurity? There are no easy answers to thesequestions. Vocational programmes do not operatein isolation. Macroeconomic conditions, labourmarket regulations and investment patterns havea major bearing on their effectiveness. Vocationaleducation has the potential to make a differencein the lives of young people. Yet that potential isBox 2.17: Skills and employment in the United KingdomEven before the global downturn, job prospects for young Britonswere deteriorating and school-leavers without qualifications facedsevere employment disadvantages. From 2002 to 2007, the youthunemployment rate increased from 11% to 14%. With the recession,it has jumped to 17% — the highest level since 1993. Relativelyunskilled youngsters leaving school with poor qualifications arebearing the brunt.Many of the weaknesses in the United Kingdom’s vocational traininghave deep historical roots. Apprenticeship systems have been basedon voluntary provision by employers, with little governmentinvolvement. Moreover, vocational qualification systems havesuffered from high levels of fragmentation and overspecialization.Reforms were introduced in 2007 aimed at closing the skills gap.Under new legislation, young people will be required to participatein education and training until they obtain a qualification or turn 18.The qualification system is being overhauled and consolidated aroundseventeen new diplomas, and is set to become operational in 2015.These will be composite qualifications combining theoreticaland practical learning, and including an apprenticeship element.In parallel, long-term job seekers aged 18 to 24 are being offereda range of support and training options.Responses to the financial crisis have built on this framework. Underthe 2009 budget, every 18- to 24-year-old unemployed for a yearor more is guaranteed an offer of training or a job, with fundingmade available through local authorities and voluntary organizations.Questions remain about the degree to which the training offered willequip young people for employment.Sources: Children England (2009); OECD (2008c); UK Learning and Skills Council (2008).weakened in countries relying on top-down,supply-driven models in which governmentsdetermine priorities. Moving towards a demanddrivenapproach that responds to the needs ofindividuals, companies and the economy is theoverriding priority for reform.Most rigorous evaluations of technical andvocational education programmes come fromdeveloped countries. Reviews that control forselection bias broadly suggest that vocationaleducation improves employment prospects butdoes not necessarily lead to higher pay (Adams,2007a; Bishop and Mañe, 2005; Ryan, 2001).Evidence from Europe indicates that apprenticeshipsystems reduce youth unemployment and raiseentry into higher-wage occupations (Gangl, 2003;Quintini et al., 2007). Traditional apprenticeshipprogrammes are marked by strong gender bias,however. They achieve far less for women in termsof jobs, careers and wages (Adams, 2007b).Traditionalapprenticeshipsoffer far lessfor women interms of jobs,careers and wages91