LMI interventions within decentralised systems
LMI interventions within centrally managed systems
247. In shaping recommendations arising from this research, the research team has faced a problem which it has not proved easy to resolve. The dilemma is this. Our research points to the importance of relatively autonomous TVET organisations with responsibilities for both recruiting their own students and developing appropriate curricula for them, albeit within a national framework. In these circumstances, the initiative for making efficient use of LMI systems rests largely with the institutions. They benefit from effective LMI in that it enables them to respond to their customers' needs, shaping training programmes to the identified needs of trainees and their employers - actual and potential. However, in many countries, including most developing countries, public sector TVET is firmly controlled by central government agencies and ministries, with centrally determined curricula and little institutional capacity to be able to tune such curricula to employer needs, even where those needs have been recognised These constraints apply even to the private training sector in some developing countries.
248. In such situations, while greater institutional autonomy and local responsiveness might be preferable to centralised curriculum control, donor agencies have to work with existing power structures. The advantages of local responsiveness can be emphasised, but external support is likely to be more effective where it takes account of current political and organisational realities. The recommendations below, therefore, are of two kinds:
- those applicable in situations where TVET organisations have the capacity to develop effective LMI systems in order to respond to local, regional and national needs; and- those applicable in centrally directed systems, where labour market information can only be deployed effectively by central government agencies.
249. We should preface these with the comment that we are convinced from the research evidence that, in either of these situations, major benefits can be obtained from relatively small and low-cost improvements in the provision of labour market information, derived from the more effective uses of labour market signals and indicators. However, these benefits are only achievable if both demand-side and supply-side organisations have the technical capacity, the awareness and - most important of all - the will to make use of that information in order to improve TVET provision.
250. Such benefits are most likely to be achieved if cooperation and support in the collection and analysis of LMI is obtained from the wide range of intermediate organisations with a stake in a more responsive TVET system. These range from employer and worker associations (at national and local levels) through to professional associations, business clubs and non-governmental organisations There are opportunities to encourage such bodies to promote the greater responsiveness of TVET to the labour markets by acting as LMIS informers - collecting and transmitting data and intelligence. They are also important vehicles for changing attitudes to LMI, helping to build a climate in which LMI becomes recognised as an important ingredient in economic development, tuning the provision not just of TVET but of management development and HRD to current and future economic needs. The involvement of local intermediate organisations and particularly NGOs, is also important in drawing attention to the otherwise neglected needs of the informal sector of the economy.
251. Economic structural adjustment programmes have the effect of shifting workers from the formal into the informal employment sector. As this is a worldwide phenomenon, the informal sector is growing worldwide. Information about the informal sector labour markets is increasingly important, but centralised systems are unlikely to generate relevant LMI. Decentralised systems which make use of the local knowledge and resources of TVET institutions are necessary if labour market planning is to heed the needs of the informal sector.
252. Preparations for any TVET project should include an analysis of the capacity of TVET organisations to make use of LMI. This analysis should incorporate:
- the degree of institutional autonomy to adjust curriculum provision to labour market needs and earn retainable income from activities which meet these needs;- the technical capacity to collect, analyze and interpret appropriate information; and
- the organisational capacity to make use of this information, once analyzed, in planning appropriate curricula and deciding on longer term strategies and investment plans.
253. Where this analysis identifies that training institutions meet the above criteria, they should be supported in five areas:
- awareness of the value of LMI;- design of appropriate LMIS;
- training to acquire low cost techniques for collecting LMI;
- training in (and, where appropriate, software for) the analysis and interpretation of LMI; and
- the development of management skills so that LMI might inform institutional policies, improve responsiveness and reform training programmes.
254. Such support needs to be accompanied by development strategies which encourage both employers and government agencies and departments to recognise the benefits to themselves of more responsive training organisations - and the role that the provision of appropriate LMI can play in that. This approach should encourage both the readier provision of suitably processed labour market data from employers and government and the development of support systems which encourage training institutions to seek, analyze and use this data.
255. The proposed approach should not overlook the very real contributions that government and other central agencies (such as employer associations) can make. Local LMI systems can only influence local provision. At regional and national levels strategies are needed which take account of longer term needs and more global trends. No matter how well developed their LMI systems, training institutions are unlikely to recognise those labour market trends imperceptible at the local level, whether because national or international policies have not yet affected the local labour market or because the instruments used at local level are insufficiently sensitive to identify these developments. There is, therefore, the need for improved labour market analysis at government and other national levels, which complements local LMI and provides clear advice and guidance to training organisations with which they should temper their responses to local trends. The next paragraphs focus on ways in which this might be achieved.
256. In many countries, training institutions are unlikely in the near future to be accorded the autonomy (and the accompanying resources) which would enable them to take the lead in collecting and using labour market information. In such situations, interventions by external donor agencies have to take account of existing political and structural realities and tailor forms of support accordingly. Support should be provided for governmental and other appropriate agencies in the techniques of collecting, analyzing and interpreting LMI support focused upon the researchers and other technical staff involved in manpower planning and labour market analysis. This needs to be complemented by support for those with responsibility for using the outcomes of such surveys in order to plan for TVET responses to labour market trends and needs.
257. The wide variety of central organisations currently collecting LMI should be strongly encouraged and supported to work together in coordinating efforts, avoiding duplication and sharing outcomes. In some contexts, the development of a labour market research unit, independent of specific government departments, might be promoted as the most effective means for coordinating existing initiatives. In other contexts, an existing unit or units might need encouragement and support in bringing together the uncoordinated efforts of several units.
258. Where a 'centre of excellence' can be established, support should be provided in the forms of training and appropriate technologies in order to improve the quality of data collection and analysis. This should be achieved first by drawing attention to the prime information needs for labour market analysis purposes and concentrating efforts on these - resisting firmly inevitable pressures to extend the pool of collected data to meet wide and varied agendas. We believe that the LMIS checklist in Chapter Six (Figure 4) provides a sound basis for this. Many of the sources of information listed there are available but need to be brought together. A key task is then to set priorities for the collection and analysis of data not already available, and to use simple sampling techniques to collect the appropriate signals and indicators.
259. Training in efficient data collection techniques, using both qualitative and quantitative methods is important. Quantitative techniques include the census, household surveys and employer surveys now well established in many countries, as well as supply side techniques which focus on the inputs, outputs and performance rates of the education and training sectors. Training in suitable sampling techniques should increase the reliability (and perhaps reduce the collection costs) of both qualitative and quantitative data.
260. Qualitative techniques include newspaper scanning in terms of job opportunities and wage levels, the effective uses of key informants, the informal gathering of market intelligence, and forecasting techniques based on scenarios projected from national and international policies and trends. These approaches are likely to be of particular value in providing insights into the informal employment sector and its needs, where quantitative data is likely to be sparse and inaccurate.
261. The collection of good quality appropriate data needs to be matched by effective analysis methods, which produce useful findings, quickly and accurately. One need, identified in each of the case studies, is to help data analysts to select processing methods appropriate to the quality of the data they are working with, and to develop systems which provide timely outcomes. Another important need, often exaggerated but nonetheless real, is for access to new data analysis technologies in terms of both hardware (computers and networks) and software (data analysis packages). These represent a relatively low cost investment, which, when accompanied by relevant training, can shorten analysis times and help countries leapfrog some of the barriers arising from insufficient technical staff with statistical skills.
262. Training is required, not only in the use of the appropriate computer technologies but also in those analytical skills which can bring together diverse signals and indicators and draw from them meaningful trends and conclusions. Training programmes for staff involved in the processing and interpretation of data should be piloted, possibly for participants from several countries on a regional basis, so that the extent to which the skills and approaches promoted through such training are transferable across different national systems can be tested.
263. The outcomes of labour market analysis need to be utilised by planners, managers and politicians in developing strategies to help the TVET sectors respond effectively to labour market needs. This points to a rather different set of developmental needs from those considered above. The key requirements are partly attitudinal, whereby decision makers are made aware of the economic and social importance of TVET responses to changing labour market needs. They are partly technical, taking the outcomes of the analysts' work and translating them into policies and strategies for TVET institutions, employers and government agencies.
264. Finally, even in the most centrally managed TVET systems, the effectiveness of labour market analysis will depend to a substantial extent on the capabilities of the trainers and tutors within the TVET institutions (including workplaces) to deliver training programmes developed in response to that analysis. Much of the work of the major international donor agencies involves experimental and innovative developmental work within the TVET institutions, in which consultants/trainers support local staff in the preparation of new curricula, often using donated workshop facilities. This work is particularly effective where those consultants undertake, as an integral part of their work, to develop good links with employers and their associations and train local staff to build and maintain such links so that they have an ongoing impact on local training provision.
265. In these ways, labour market intelligence is gathered which contributes to the curriculum development processes. At the same time the improved relationships with employers enhance the credibility of the training institutions, and encourage employers to recruit their graduates and to support those institutions - or at least the departments relevant to their industrial sector - in the form of access to new technologies (sometimes through donations of equipment), contracts for short courses which update employee skills, and a guaranteed supply of trainees on the part-time accredited programmes.
