First published in 1985. Increasing doubt is being shed on the proposition that higher levels of education in developing countries are an unmitigated good. Unemployment among school leavers and university graduates is now a major problem. Some people argue that what is needed is a reform of primary education and the changing of attitudes to work; but many of the measures adopted have failed to achieve these goals and have only worsened the problem by increasing costs, making curricula less flexible and by increasing ‘mis-education’. This book examines the problems and the measures adopted to alleviate them in four important developing countries. It provides many new research findings and much new thinking and concludes with suggestions for improving policies.

Youth Unemployment and Vocation Training focuses on the creation of good jobs for the young. The first part reviews the main factors influencing youth unemployment and the transition into the work force. The second section provides an overview of young people's situations in major world regions, with a particular emphasis on the role of training systems and complementary active labor market policies. The book concludes by reviewing the most pressing policy challenges in different world regions and providing policy recommendations.

Investing in skills has risen to the top of the policy agenda today in rich and poor countries alike. The World Bank supports its partner countries on this agenda in multiple ways: development finance, research and analysis, global knowledge exchange, and technical assistance. This report was originally conceived as a contribution to this catalog of the World Bank’s work, but its topic and findings are relevant to all policy makers and analysts interested in skills-building to drive economic growth and improve human well-being. The book examines workforce development (WfD) systems in emerging economies around the world and presents novel systems-level data generated by the Systems Approach for Better Education Results (SABER)-WfD benchmarking tool, which was created to implement the World Bank’s 10-year Education Sector Strategy launched in 2012. A key theme in the book is that WfD entails a multi-layered engagement involving high-level policy makers, system-level managers, as well as leaders at individual institutions. Too often, the conversation and actions are fragmented by intellectual, administrative and operational silos which undermine effective cooperation to solve the deep challenges of building job-relevant skills. The book’s findings, based on cross-sectional data for nearly 30 countries and time-series data for five countries, identify successes and common issues across countries in the sample. In lagging countries, the biggest difficulties relate to: forming and sustaining strategic partnerships with employers; ensuring equitable and efficient funding for vocational education; and putting in place mechanisms to enhance training providers’ accountability for results defined by their trainees’ job market performance. By framing WfD in the broader skills-for-growth context and drawing on lessons from countries where well-designed WfD strategies have helped to drive sustained growth, this book offers clear guidance on how to enable a more effective approach to the inevitably complex challenges of workforce development in emerging economies.

Jobs provide higher earnings and better benefits as countries grow, but they are also a driver of development. Poverty falls as people work their way out of hardship and as jobs empowering women lead to greater investments in children. Efficiency increases as workers get better at what they do, as more productive jobs appear, and less productive ones disappear. Societies flourish as jobs bring together people from different ethnic and social backgrounds and provide alternatives to conflict. Jobs are thus more than a byproduct of economic growth. They are transformational —they are what we earn, what we do, and even who we are. High unemployment and unmet job expectations among youth are the most immediate concerns. But in many developing countries, where farming and self-employment are prevalent and safety nets are modest are best, unemployment rates can be low. In these countries, growth is seldom jobless. Most of their poor work long hours but simply cannot make ends meet. And the violation of basic rights is not uncommon. Therefore, the number of jobs is not all that matters: jobs with high development payoffs are needed. Confronted with these challenges, policy makers ask difficult questions. Should countries build their development strategies around growth, or should they focus on jobs? Can entrepreneurship be fostered, especially among the many microenterprises in developing countries, or are entrepreneurs born? Are greater investments in education and training a prerequisite for employability, or can skills be built through jobs? In times of major crises and structural shifts, should jobs, not just workers, be protected? And is there a risk that policies supporting job creation in one country will come at the expense of jobs in other countries? The World Development Report 2013: Jobs offers answers to these and other difficult questions by looking at jobs as drivers of development—not as derived labor demand—and by considering all types of jobs—not just formal wage employment. The Report provides a framework that cuts across sectors and shows that the best policy responses vary across countries, depending on their levels of development, endowments, demography, and institutions. Policy fundamentals matter in all cases, as they enable a vibrant private sector, the source of most jobs in the world. Labor policies can help as well, even if they are less critical than is often assumed. Development policies, from making smallholder farming viable to fostering functional cities to engaging in global markets, hold the key to success.

This text examines education and its role in Third World development. Amongst the areas covered are: the private and public demand for education; global patterns of education; the geography of educational provision; the school and the community; and education and population growth.

Monograph of papers on employment problems in developing countries - discusses the issues involved in employment policy formulation, choice of technology, technology transfer, rural development, etc., examines sectoral considerations such as the role of employment opportunity creating public works programmes, the role of the public sector as employer, the effects of foreign investment, etc., and includes some country experiences. Diagrams, graphs, references and statistical tables.

No one argues today that our world is modern. History teaches us that this modernity is the fruit of an evolution. This evolution that is the mainstream direction of world history has not been uniform on the entire face of the earth. At certain periods, in certain parts, localities, or countries of the world, changes and transformations took revolutionary forms. These changes and transformations are the result of the combination of factors. While some are involuntary, some are desired and sought for. The impacts of these changes and transformations affect the environment, life settings, as well as the lives of the people who are at their origin. The effects of changes and evolutions have taught human beings that change outcomes on the environment, on life setting, and to life itself can be induced. It is to these voluntary and planned transformations at the level of a community, a country, or group of countries from one continent to another, from one part of the world to another, has led to their classification as rich or poor, developed or underdeveloped. Other classifications place countries in three categories: developed countries (first world), emergent countries (second world), underdeveloped countries (third world).

Every year, the World Bank’s World Development Report (WDR) features a topic of central importance to global development. The 2018 WDR—LEARNING to Realize Education’s Promise—is the first ever devoted entirely to education. And the time is right: education has long been critical to human welfare, but it is even more so in a time of rapid economic and social change. The best way to equip children and youth for the future is to make their learning the center of all efforts to promote education. The 2018 WDR explores four main themes: First, education’s promise: education is a powerful instrument for eradicating poverty and promoting shared prosperity, but fulfilling its potential requires better policies—both within and outside the education system. Second, the need to shine a light on learning: despite gains in access to education, recent learning assessments reveal that many young people around the world, especially those who are poor or marginalized, are leaving school unequipped with even the foundational skills they need for life. At the same time, internationally comparable learning assessments show that skills in many middle-income countries lag far behind what those countries aspire to. And too often these shortcomings are hidden—so as a first step to tackling this learning crisis, it is essential to shine a light on it by assessing student learning better. Third, how to make schools work for all learners: research on areas such as brain science, pedagogical innovations, and school management has identified interventions that promote learning by ensuring that learners are prepared, teachers are both skilled and motivated, and other inputs support the teacher-learner relationship. Fourth, how to make systems work for learning: achieving learning throughout an education system requires more than just scaling up effective interventions. Countries must also overcome technical and political barriers by deploying salient metrics for mobilizing actors and tracking progress, building coalitions for learning, and taking an adaptive approach to reform.

"The series is sponsored by the Agence Francaise de Developpement and the World Bank."

Skilled technical occupationsâ€"defined as occupations that require a high level of knowledge in a technical domain but do not require a bachelor's degree for entryâ€"are a key component of the U.S. economy. In response to globalization and advances in science and technology, American firms are demanding workers with greater proficiency in literacy and numeracy, as well as strong interpersonal, technical, and problem-solving skills. However, employer surveys and industry and government reports have raised concerns that the nation may not have an adequate supply of skilled technical workers to achieve its competitiveness and economic growth objectives. In response to the broader need for policy information and advice, Building America's Skilled Technical Workforce examines the coverage, effectiveness, flexibility, and coordination of the policies and various programs that prepare Americans for skilled technical jobs. This report provides action-oriented recommendations for improving the American system of technical education, training, and certification.