23 February 2010 , 12 pm
Organised by Centre for International and Comparative Studies (ICS)
Speaker: Chris Sims (Policy and Strategy Adviser, City & Guilds Centre for Skills Development)
Room 226, 35 Berkeley Square, BS8 1JA. 12.00-1.15pm
Full Abstract: Recent years have seen great progress in many developing countries towards reaching the Millennium Development Goal of universal primary education (UPE). UPE has frequently been treated as the top education priority for developing country governments, development NGOs and donor organisations. There is now, however, increasing recognition that while basic education has intrinsic benefits in terms of individual and social development, its potential to contribute significantly to raising social and economic prosperity is enormously increased if it is the first step on a route to further education and training and, ultimately, fulfilling work.
In many developing countries, weak labour markets and high unemployment mean that there are limited opportunities to put skills gained through education to use in formal employment. The ability to read and write is something that has rightly been treated as an inherent good by the international development community, but for many citizens of developing countries the experience of receiving primary education only to find that this does not translate to more stimulating or better paid work is a frustrating one. At the same time, the possibility of developing advanced economies capable of absorbing large numbers of academically educated workers is a remote one in many developing countries. For these reasons, many in the development community and in developing countries themselves are shifting their focus towards vocational education and skills development as the next priority for education strategies in developing countries. Drawing on recent work carried out by the Centre for Skills Development as well as wider research and evaluations carried out by organisations such as the World Bank, this seminar/workshop will examine the evidence for the role of vocational education in development strategies, asking how it can best be incorporated as a means to improve livelihoods, and invite a discussion of the broad issues around the role of skills development in these contexts. Specifically, participants will be invited to consider:
Contact Lizzi Milligan, Michael Crossley or Elizabeth McNess
