Vocational and business training to improve women's labour market outcomes in low‐ and middle‐income countries: a systematic review

ABSTRACTObtaining formal education is associated with a decreased risk of HIV transmission among youth in sub-Saharan Africa. However, little is known about the role vocational skills training programs may have on risk behaviors linked to HIV transmission among vulnerable youth in sub-Saharan Africa. This study examined the characteristics and risk behaviors among vulnerable youth who receive vocational skills training by a community-based organization. Empirical analyses were conducted using a cross-sectional survey administered in 2014 to youth (ages 12–18 years) in the slums of Kampala (n = 1,134). Five multivariable logistic regression models were computed to determine the association between participating in a vocational training program and self-reported risk behaviors pertaining to alcohol use, lack of condom use, sex with multiple partners, and transactional sex. In our study, 29.6% of youth attended a vocational training program. Our findings show that youth who participated in vocational training were more likely to report often feeling hopeful (AOR: 1.7; 95% CI: 1.1, 3.0) and less likely to report alcohol use (AOR: 0.4; 95% CI: 0.2, 0.7) than those not attending vocational training programs, in multivariable analyses. Overall, findings varied for males and females. These findings, while preliminary, indicate that self-reported behaviors associated with risk for HIV transmission vary in some respects for youth participating in vocational training versus those who do not. However, additional research is needed, as are evaluations of the benefits and potential impact of vocational training in both the short and long-term for vulnerable youth in resource-poor settings and with limited access to formal education.

The major thrust of technical and vocational education (TVE) worldwide is to address issues of youth unemployment, poverty and international competitiveness in skills development towards current and projected opportunities and challenges. The paper posits that despite the evidence of numerous reforms in vocational and technical education programs over the years, they still remain greatly detested by students and parents in Nigeria as evidenced in low enrolment when compared with sciences, engineering, banking and finance, and medicine just to mention but a few. This may be because of lack of understanding of the importance, scope and content of the program or lack of occupational information. Some wrongly view technical and vocational education programs as education for the handicapped or education for those who cannot cope with the sciences and social sciences. This paper therefore, examines the factors responsible for low enrolment into technical and vocational education programs, its implications for Nigeria and suggests how career education and effective occupational information service can help to stem this trend. It is recommended that career education should be used to create the necessary career awareness and occupation information made readily to students to enable them make informed career choices.

Trained and technically equipped human resources are the nations’ assets and an essential requirement for sustainable national development. The skilled labor force required for the industrial revolution can never be undermined while it can be used as a powerful weapon for poverty reduction. Women presenting almost half of the world population can be economically empowered through vocational and technical training and the fifth sustainable development goal “achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls with disabilities” can be achieved through this training. Different vocational and technical training programs have been proven to produce technically skilled human resources in different developing countries. However, such programs also have the limitations of accommodating a high percent of trainees in jobs or self-employment. The study aimed to sort out the determinants of these training programs’ low success rates in Sindh province of Pakistan. A total of 128 surveys were filled from randomly selected women who have completed their trainings in the last two years. Data were analyzed through cross-tabulation analysis on SPSS and AMOS. It is used to establish the relationship between training trades and employability, age group and employability and income group of the beneficiaries’ households, and their employability after completing the different technical and vocational training pieces. Results showed that around 35% of the selected women were ever employed after getting the training while significant relationships among the variables also resulted. It has been proven that the importance of technical and vocational training programs cannot be falsified. However, proper selection criteria must be followed, and only severe and needy beneficiaries should be selected through proper assessment. Need assessments for the training programs should be carried out while efforts for achieving employment as an outcome of such training programs are mandatory.

Straipsnyje analizuojamas profesijos mokytojų požiūris į svarbiausių veiklos sričių, teikiamų profesijos mokytojo standarte (asmenybinio ugdymosi, mokymo modulio planavimo, mokymo ir tobulinimo, profesinio rengimo programos projektavimo, mokyklos ir švietimo sistemos plėtojimo), kompetencijas trimis atžvilgiais: a) bendru jų svarbumo pripažinimu, b) asmeniniu santykiu, reiškiamu noru jas tobulinti, ir c) kvalifikacijos kėlimo sistemos teikiamos pagalbos įvertinimu. Aptariami veiksniai, darantys poveikį tokiam požiūriui.

The Higher Secondary Vocational Education programme in India was introduced in 1976–77, to boost the supply of manpower trained to an intermediate skill level. This paper uses data collected during a study of the impact of vocational business courses in the three states of Kerala, Goa and Haryana. The study collected information on a range of indicators of student background, their views on the vocational education programmes, their employment status following completion, as well as some idea of their reasons for enrolling. The study considers the findings from the three states and places this in context by drawing on the extensive literature in this area. As with many studies of this nature, there are limitations placed on our interpretation of the data. However, the main findings do support the view that a destination of continued education and training may act as a form of hidden unemployment for the most disadvantaged who graduate from vocational education and training programmes; reflecting a wider need for policies that ensure buoyant local labour markets, with sufficient and appropriate demand for labour, alongside vocational education and training programmes.

PROTOCOL: Post‐basic Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Interventions to Improve Employability and Employment of TVET Graduates in Low‐ and Middle‐income Countries

Purpose: To explore barriers and pathways to the inclusion of persons with mental and intellectual disabilities in technical and vocational education and training programmes in four East African countries, in order to pave the way to greater inclusion.Materials and methods: An explorative, qualitative study including 10 in-depth interviews and a group discussion was conducted with coordinators of different programmes in four East African countries. Two independent researchers coded the interviews inductively using Atlas.ti. The underlying framework used is the culture, structure, and practice model.Results: Barriers and pathways to inclusion were found in the three interrelated components of the model. They are mutually reinforcing and are thus not independent of one another. Barriers regarding culture include negative attitudes towards persons with mental illnesses, structural barriers relate to exclusion from primary school, rigid curricula and untrained teachers and unclear policies. Culture and structure hence severely hinder a practice of including persons with mental disabilities in technical and vocational education and training programmes. Pathways suggested are aiming for a clearer policy, more flexible curricula, improved teacher training and more inclusive attitudes.Conclusions: In order to overcome the identified complex barriers, systemic changes are necessary. Suggested pathways for programme coordinators serve as a starting point.Implications for rehabilitationClear and up-to-date information on mental disability is required to engender societal participation; especially that of stakeholders in technical and vocational education and training programmes.Affirmative action and policy implementations of national and international human rights legislations are required to address the challenges of enrolment in technical and vocational education and training programmes.Disability organisations and government should adopt a more open and strengths-based attitude, tailor-made curricula, specific teacher training as well as clearer policies to ensure better inclusion of persons with mental disabilities in technical and vocational education and training programmes.

Youth unemployment is very problematic and needs interventions from public and private sectors at all levels. The concern in this book is that poverty and unemployment among unskilled youth are urgent problems in the Sub-Saharan Africa and other continents. Unemployment is a waste of scarce human capital, which is harmful to the economy of a given country. To reduce poverty and unemployment, local governments (municipalities) use vocational training programmes for unemployed and disadvantaged youth. This chapter introduces the study by looking at the main challenges in implementing vocational training for unemployed youth, and the problem facing youth in South Africa and other regions of the world. The problem that the author investigates is the missing link between vocational skills training programmes and youth employment outcomes. The chapter discusses the problem and solution from the perspective of human capital and labour market segmentation theories. It also outlines the approach and techniques the researcher used to collect and analyse the data. The chapter comprises seven main sections.

The effect of globalization on human capital development is decisive. A country that lacks the means to compete in global market is often left behind. A key contributor in this regard is the knowledge, skills and positive attitude of the workforce. Education and skills therefore are the driving forces of social development and economic growth of any country. The first Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) is to end poverty in all forms by 2030 and for that there is major focus on education and productive employment. SDG-4 focuses on people's access to modern and quality education, which also indicates the need of vocational education and trainings. Similarly, the SDG-8 is to promote sustained economic growth, higher levels of productivity and technological innovation which indicated the need of TVET for productive employment and economic growth. Therefore, employment level of the working age group people, its composition and the growth in employment opportunities appeared as the critical indicator of the development process in any economy. The present paper attempts to highlight the positive effects that was contributed by the Vocational Education and Training (VET) programs in socio-economic development of large number of disadvantaged and unemployed population of Nepal. Primary data and information collected from the purposively sampled respondents- 405 VET graduates who after training are employed in their occupational sector. The study including field observation was conducted in 2016 to obtain qualitative information that helps to establish the relationship between vocational training and employment of the trained youth. The finding of this study revealed that VET plays positive role in employment and income growth. However, it concludes with the recommendation that the participants need post training support to become a functional VET and to get a sustainable and decent employment in the labor market.

This study aimed to develop a vocational competency improvement education program to support employment and vocational adjustment of people with disabilities. For this purpose, an online survey was conducted for people with disabilities and rehabilitation field experts, and 173 field experts and 116 copies from people with disabilities were collected and used for final analysis. The results of the analysis are as follows. First, the need for vocational competency improvement education differed by type of disability. In the case of moderate and overlapping disability, the need for basic vocational education and professional vocational education was high, and for other types, the need for professional vocational education and certification education was high. appear. Second, in the educational demand for the middle area of vocational competency improvement education, social skills education as basic vocational education and computer utilization technology and information processing technology as professional vocational education were found to be high. Third, not only the development of the vocational competency improvement education program but also the operating system were considered as importance.
 The significance of this study is that it was intended to create a comprehensive opinion from both aspects of the disabled persons and rehabilitation field experts. And this study tried to materialize the needs and demands of the vocational competency improvement education program necessary for employment support among the six areas of lifelong education for the disabled for the disabled who require continuing education after school age, according to the type of disability.

V ocational education is unique in several aspects from other disciplines in the educational delivery system. Physically, vocational education usually has been delivered in separate buildings or entirely segregated from general education settings, such as in area vocational centers. Vocational programming typically requires much more complex infrastructure than other curricular areas such as history or mathematics. For example, each division within vocational education program has its own budget, its own laboratory, and usually large equipment and facility budget. Also, substantial amount of instructional activity in vocational education curricula occurs outside the confines of the school, either in the form of cooperative education (capstone) programs, or in on-site instruction (i.e., construction sites in building trades programs or experimental plots in agricultural education). Finally, local vocational education programs, unlike other individual curricular areas, are funded in part by state and federal sources and are therefore accountable to governmental guidelines in the expenditure of those funds. As federal and state monies become increasingly scarce, constituent demands for accountability of public funds pressure local administrators, state legislators, and Congress to scrutinize the effectiveness of educational programs. Legislators conducting hearings on the reauthorization of Title II of the Vocational Education Amendments of 1976 (PL 94-482) are significantly emphasizing an evaluation of vocational education's effectiveness nationwide. Both the House version of reauthorization bill and draft bill put forth by the American Vocational Association have recommended maintaining the extensive evaluation requirements set forth in the 1976 Amendments. The Administration version (S. 1039), although eliminating many of the formal evaluation requirements, does call for substantial information collection to aid in planning and policy development at the national level. The Vocational Education Study recently conducted by the National Institute of Education (NIE) should be of particular use to legislators in the reauthorization process. This study was directed by the Education Amendments of 1976 to undertake a thorough evaluation and study of vocational education programs conducted under the Vocational Education Act of 1963 (David, 1981). The study addressed wide range of current issues in vocational education programs including the status of vocational education's allocations; purposes, programs, and participants; evaluation of CETA/vocational education linkages; consumer and homemaking education; effects of vocational education on participants; equality of opportunity in vocational education; and federal policy guidelines.

Purpose: This study aims to assess the impact of vocational training programs on reducing the Open Unemployment Rate (TPT) in Ogan Komering Ulu Regency from 2020 to 2024. It examines the challenges faced in implementing these programs and proposes policy recommendations to enhance their effectiveness in the future. Research Methodology: This study uses a qualitative approach, analyzing data from regional development reports, training participation rates, and interviews with local officials and training providers to assess the success and challenges of existing vocational programs. Results: The findings show that while Ogan Komering Ulu Regency's TPT was generally lower than South Sumatra's provincial and national rates until 2024, there was a significant increase in 2024. The analysis highlights that limited training options, inadequate funding, and low worker participation are key factors that hinder the success of these programs. Conclusions: Vocational training programs have the potential to significantly reduce unemployment in the region, but their effectiveness is constrained by various factors. Policy recommendations include increasing funding, expanding training options, enhancing job placement initiatives, and improving communication and outreach for vocational training programs for people with disabilities. Limitations: The study is limited by the availability of data, particularly in terms of detailed tracking of vocational program graduates and their post-training employment outcomes. Further studies are needed to measure the long-term impact of vocational training on employment sustainability. Contribution: This study enhances the understanding of labor development policies in Ogan Komering Ulu Regency and provides recommendations for improving vocational training programs to reduce unemployment and support local workforce development.

BackgroundFacing the upcoming shortage of primary care physicians (PCPs), medical and governmental organizations have recently made major investments to foster vocational training programs in Switzerland, designed to provide context-specific training for trainees in primary care practices. Less is known about the impact of these programs on the skills and specific knowledge of trainees. We aimed to evaluate the Cantonal program for vocational primary care training in the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland’s largest Canton.MethodsWe undertook a pretest–posttest study and surveyed physicians before and after participating in the Cantonal program for vocational primary care training in the Swiss Canton of Zurich. All trainees who participated in the program from 2013 until the end of 2015 were eligible. Primary outcome was the proportion of trainees being confident about their professional, organizational, examination and management skills before and after completing vocational training. Secondary outcomes were the proportion of trainees stating knowledge gain in entrepreneurship and the proportion of trainees being motivated to pursue a career as PCP.ResultsData of 47 trainees participating in the vocational training between 2013 and 2015 were eligible. In total, 35 (74.5%) participated in the T1 survey and 34 (72.3%) in the T2 survey. At T2, significantly more trainees (T1: 11%–89%, T2: 79%–100%) stated to be at least “slightly confident” about their skills (p<0.05 for each individual skill). Knowledge gain in entrepreneurship was highly expected and experienced by the trainees (55%–77% of respondents) in case of medicine-specific contents, but hardly expected in case of general business contents (≤47% of respondents). Concerning trainees’ motivation to pursue a career as PCP, we observed only a minimal, statistically insignificant change, suggesting that the vocational training did not alter trainees’ preconceived career plans as PCP.ConclusionGiven the measured increase in confidence, evaluation of training programs should focus on operationalizing key skills of PCPs. Given the lack of change in trainees’ motivation; however, statements about the effect of program implementation on national shortage of PCPs cannot be made.

This chapter examines vocational and general education comparatively, both types of education have been addressed in terms of schooling rate, employment status of graduates, cost, etc. aspects. In general, up-to-date data provided by the European Centre for Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP), European Training Foundation (ETF), Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD), and the European Statistical Institute (Eurostat) are used in the comparison. Data shows the share of vocational education in all secondary education is smaller than that of general education. However, vocational education gains the advantage in post-graduation employment rates. Educational costs for students are higher in vocational education. The costs vary depending on the features of the provided programs. Sectors that are the driving force of their economies play a decisive role in determining countries’ vocational education programs. Three systems of organization are found in vocational education: school-based, work-based, and dual system. In the future, vocational and technical education institutions should be transformed into life-long learning centers instead of institutions that provide training to individuals of a certain age group at a certain time period. Vocational education should be structured in a way that will allow it to adapt to the structure of the rapidly changing labor market. Content should be presented in a modular structure and include more social skills.KeywordsVocational and technical educationVocational education and general educationSchooling in vocational educationCost of vocational and general educationFuture of vocational education

The study determined the current level of participation of rural women's in the vocational training program in Northern Nigeria and strategies of improving rural women's participation in the vocational training program. Two research questions and two null hypotheses were formulated. The study adopted a mixed method using quantitative and qualitative research methods. The study was carried out in Northern Nigeria, and three states were sampled from each geopolitical zone. A multistage sampling technique was used to sample 4,500 subjects; 1,500 subjects from each zone. Questionnaire and focus group discussion guide were the instruments for data collection. Cronbach Alpha was used to ascertain the reliability coefficient of each cluster 0.87 and 0.89; while the coefficient of the entire 23 items questionnaire was found to be 0.91. Questionnaire return rate was 83.36%. Mean and Standard Deviation were used to analyse the data to answer the research questions, while Leveneâs test Statistic, one-way analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Scheffe Post Hoc test were used to test the hypotheses. Focus group discussion was made under two major themes; women's level of participation and strategies for improving women participation in vocational training. Findings, among others, were; the participation of rural women was low and creating awareness among rural women on the importance of vocational training was the prominent strategy identified for improving women's participation in vocational training. The study recommended, among others that, there is a need to create awareness on the importance of vocational training for women and to increase the number of women trainers.