Vocational education and training : a review of World Bank investment

In the past ten years the most striking achievement of vocational education and training (VET) has been the development of national training systems from nonformal training centres and post secondary technical education institutions. This has happened largely in middle income countries. Investments in low income countries, especially those in Sub Saharan Africa, have been less successful. In addition implementation weakness and stagnating economies have made it difficult to set up any type of training. Investment in national training programs has just begun in these poorer countries, and success is uncertain because of continuing economic constraints. These patterns suggest that the level of economic development and the consequent size and dynamism of industrial employment have a powerful influence on the outcome of investments in vocational education and training. In small low income countries, recent Bank experience suggests that resources be concentrated in nonformal training centres, training quality, development of management capacity in training institutions, and aggressive marketing of training opportunities and services.