Skills Development Programs

Many people around the world are faced with the problems of being unable to find viable employment or not being qualified for the employment that is available. The increase of technology and the rise in globalization has created a workforce in which education and flexibility are vital to employment, yet many workers do not have these skills and are unable to compete in an ever-changing job market. To combat rising unemployment and poverty levels and an increasing lack of qualified workers, many governments are creating skills development programs which help build vocational skills in workers. These programs are focused on creating new jobs, innovative vocational training methods, and adult education opportunities which are having success in many parts of the world, particularly South Africa.

Keywords Developing Nations; Gross Domestic Product (GDP); Globalization; High-Skill; Industrialized Nations; Low-Skill; Skills Development Plan (SDP); Vocational Skills

Overview

Today's world is one marked by constant change, innovation, and upheaval in virtually all sectors of life. The labor market is no exception, and workers today are faced with many changes and challenges they must tackle. The increased globalization of the world means that workers are often transitory and mobile, moving from region to region and country to country either in pursuit of employment or as part of their employment. Technology continues to create new career opportunities and transmit innovative business ideas around the world. Technology is creating constant change, particularly in the agricultural, manufacturing, and business industries, and workers of today must be flexible and constantly learning in order to stay competitive.

In the job market today, education is becoming increasingly important to employment. Education, job training skills, and an ability to learn and adapt quickly are fast becoming requirements for workers. These skills help workers both survive and thrive. A classic example is a farmer in Africa. New agriculture developments such as genetically modified crops can help this farmer survive by keeping his crops from being consumed by insects or killed in a long drought. Technological and agricultural developments can also help him thrive by creating greater crop yields and allowing him to build a successful farm business. Different jobs skills and education help other types of workers, factory workers for example, be able to both obtain steady jobs and to advance forward into higher positions and better pay.

Sadly, work skills and educational achievement are necessities that far too many of the world's people do not possess. Illiteracy is a global problem which affected one in five people over age 15 in 2000 (UNESCO, 2003). In many developing nations, a significant percent of the population goes without a primary education. Vocational and professional skills are particularly low in many parts of the world. In South Africa, for example, only 20% of the population has "high-level professional skills" (Temkin, 2006). These serious issues mean that millions go without gainful employment or are unable to move beyond the lowest levels of employment. In South Africa, the unemployment rate is as high as 26% (AsigaSA, 2007). For most developing nations, the percentage of people without either employment or full-time employment is about 30%, in comparison to the 4-12% unemployment rate in industrialized nations (Central Intelligence Agency, 2007). In many cases, it is lack of worker training and skills that are a direct cause of employment difficulties.

In an effort to remedy this problem, many nations have channeled a great deal of focus into improving their education systems, both for children and for adults. Additionally, many nations are focused on providing vocational skills training and adult education programs so that workers can have more employment and vocational advancement opportunities. In particular, skill development programs (SDP) are in force in many developing nations. A skill development program (SDP) is a state-sponsored program that is aimed at fostering vocational skills in citizens.

These programs are increasing in popularity, especially in developing nations where education achievement among citizens is low in comparison to industrialized nations. South Africa in particular has established several government-sponsored SDP in order to help both youth and adult learners gain the skills they need to find employment. These programs are also focused on creating more employment opportunities for these newly equipped workers. In addition to improving the individual lives of the workers in question, SDP work to stimulate the economy of countries, reduce poverty rates, and help non-industrialized nations continue to develop and become more competitive in the global economy.

Further Insights

Examples from Africa

Africa, particularly South Africa, is a region of the world that is seeing a critical lack of qualified, trained workers. As stated above, only 20% of South Africa's population has the skill level for higher level professional jobs (Temkin, 2006). This problem has captured the attention of both the public and the private sector, and many corporations perform a variety of services such as helping businesses attract qualified staff, and provide skills development and vocational skills training. The managing direction of PECS, Martin Wescott, in a recent interview with Business Day, spoke at length about the reasons why South Africa is experiencing such a lack of qualified workers, particularly engineers and workers with more than ten years of experience. Population growth was a factor; the population grew from about 30 million in 1994 to over 45 million today, which means that there are more people in need of employment and vocational skills training and the supply has not been able to keep up with the demand. Another problem is that engineering and technical positions, the positions that are the most difficult to fill, offer low-level pay, and many skilled workers are leaving South Africa to seek better employment elsewhere (as cited in Temkin, 2006).

However, there are numerous SDP being implemented in South Africa to help workers receive the training and education they need. One such program is Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA ). This wide-reaching program has many goals such as reducing poverty and unemployment and increasing GDP growth rate. To accomplish this, AsgiSA directs its efforts towards many areas, and vocational skills training is one. In particular, AsgiSA is focusing its efforts towards career guidance, adult education, and literacy (AsgiSA, 2007).

Under AsgiSA is a new institution entitled the Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA), which is focused particularly on vocational skills. JIPSA's mission is to identify what vocational skills are most urgently needed and how to most effectively meet these needs. One such outcome of JIPSA is that this year, 100 professional South African women became part of an exchange program with the United Arab Emirates. These women will travel to Abu Dhabi and Dubai to work in UAE businesses for six months to a year in order to develop their professional skills and collaborate with other professionals. Currently, South Africa has set aside 375 billion rand for public infrastructural development from which these women, upon completing the program, will benefit ("South Africa:SA/UE Skills," 2006).

Migrant Workers in North America

However, other nations outside of Africa are faced with the serious issue that many workers lack vocational skills. In the Americas, particularly the U.S. and Mexico, agricultural workers are often hampered by a serious lack of both job training and education. Kissam, Intili & Garcia (2001) said that presently, most U.S. agricultural workers are binational; they are born in Mexico but spend their work lives moving back and forth between Mexico and the U.S. Most of these workers are known as Migrant and Seasonal Farm Workers (MSFW). Although there have been several Acts and studies performed on behalf of MSFW such as the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA), and the National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS), Kissam, Intilit & Garcia (2001) stated that there is no hard data which presents a clear picture of how these workers fare over the decades of their work lives: the authors argued that there needs to be comprehensive "lifestyle" studies done in order that the U.S. and Mexico may develop work skills programs for agricultural workers that are effective and innovative.

What information that is available on MSFW indicates that the age group ranges of these workers has changed. In particular, there has been an increase in teenage workers: in 2000, 36% of MSFW were under the age of 24 and 8% were under 18, a change from the 5% under 18 in 1990 (Kissam, Intilit & Garcia, 2001, p. 10). This issue needs addressing, for these younger workers face many difficulties: they are less experienced in life and usually at impressionable points of their lives as they come to a different country and potentially face many hazards. These teenage workers also tend to be in the U.S. for longer periods than workers in the past, because the cost of an undocumented worker coming to the U.S. has doubled in the past decade: 21% of the 214 teenagers surveyed had been in the U.S. on an undocumented status for over 2 years (p. 15). These teenagers are also largely uneducated: 37% out of 154 surveyed teenagers had not completed elementary school (p. 10). Most of these teenagers are working full-time and have little time for education, and many of them speak an indigenous language, not Spanish, which can make it difficult for them to function in a classroom.

U.S. Skills Programs

In order to assist these workers and help build life skills, the US has implemented several programs. One such program is the Migrant Education program (2007) which identifies eligible children and provides them with such services as bilingual instruction and career placement services. The Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (2006) is another program focused on building career skills in the youth population. Although this program is not specifically focused on migrant workers, it was cited by Kissam, Intili & Garcia (2001) as a helpful program for assisting teenage migrant workers in building crucial job skills.

Viewpoints

Changing the Approach

While worldwide changes in the past several decades have created a workforce where education and an ability to constantly adapt are crucial, Favennec-Hery (1996) argued that the nature of job training has changed also. In the past, job training and work were two separate things: one trained before beginning work. Today, these two separate things have become blurred and often concurrent. Favennec-Hery (1996) also argued that in today's economy, training is a permanent fixture of workers' lives; it is no longer a stage with a discernable ending. This is a particular feature that SDP must take into account; workers today must constantly be adapting, learning, changing, and improving because technology and innovations are continually bringing new ideas and changes into the workforce. SDP must therefore focus on equipping workers so that they may be qualified for jobs and continue to stay qualified.

However, the process by which this training and equipping process is carried out has also changed. Favennec-Hery (1996) said that traditionally, the workplace was the seat of training and the school system was largely separate from this process. In the recent decades, the process of training transferred from the workplace to the school system. This, Favennec-Hery (1996) argued, created two results. One was the breakdown of the network that once existed between the community and the workforce. The second was the eventual creation of a shared training responsibility between the school system and the workforce: today the school system provides a rather general training while the workforce provides specific, focused training. SDP, therefore, must focus on both the school sector and the workforce sector in order to help workers establish strong vocational skills, and improving the education system of a region will also help improve the vocational skills and training of the students who will one day be workers.

Improving Technology Access

Much of this improvement will center around technology: technology is becoming increasingly more important, both for the school system and the workforce, and students and workers of today face increasing pressure to develop good information technology and communication (ITC) skills. However, unlike most people in the U.S. and other developed countries who enjoy a nearly limitless access to technology, most of the world's population does not have access to technology and the uneven gap between those who are "wired" and those who are not continues to widen. Tiene (2002) stated that in many developing countries such as Laos, Cambodia, and North Korea, information and communication technology use is quite low. While larger urban areas in bigger countries such as Africa or Latin America tend to be centers of technology, for most of these regions, technology is unevenly dispersed and most people have little to no access. This presents enormous barriers to SDP seeking to better train workers for future careers.

Tiene (2002) said that cost is often the biggest factor preventing less developed countries from having internet and technology access. For example, in Sierra Leone, an average monthly internet charge of 50 U.S. dollars adds up to a yearly cost that is greater than the average income of a citizen. Other costs include purchasing and maintaining reliable equipment; many countries have to rely on donated, out-of-date equipment and are unable to cope with mechanical problems when the equipment fails. According to Tiene (2002), technological attempts have often failed, either by being too costly or by not attracting the interest of students and therefore failing as an educational attempt. Tiene (2002) also mentioned the "bleeding edge" which is the result of school systems only investing in the very latest and most expensive of technology, which results in not enough units to serve everyone involved and the new technology not being able to interface with other systems and programs.

For SDPs to be effective, these technology barriers must be overcome. Technological developments and improvements in a region create more jobs, help train workers for these jobs, improve school systems so that future workers can be prepared for jobs, and help both develop and transmit new training programs and curriculum around the world. Technology, therefore, must be a vital part of SDP.

Improving job Orientation & Supervision

Kissam, Intili & Garcia (2001) stated that for MSFW workers in the U.S. agricultural economy, job orientation and supervision is largely informal, usually with a relative or experienced worker helping orient new workers to the U.S. and training them for the position. Kissam, Intili & Garcia (2001) argued that these informal patterns work quite well and that, "standard strategies for (labor) enforcement work very poorly in the context of well-established but informal systems of recruiting, supervision, and payment" (p. 7). SDP therefore must be careful to, along with developing new ways to strengthen vocational skills in workers, also identify what current training and orientation methods work well and not abandon these practices.

Balancing High-Skill & Low-Skill Jobs

SDP also must be focused on overcoming prejudice and class issues that are still factors in the job market the world over. The influence of technology and the increase of "intellectual" and academic jobs and their elevation over manual jobs has often worked to create a class division of labor and decreased the social status of manual "blue collar" jobs. In particular, Ashton (2005) said that South Africa still continues to struggle with this issue between "high skill" and "low skill" jobs. In South Africa during the 70's and 80's, high-skill jobs were only available to Caucasians. Because of this, low-skill jobs were seen as oppressing and a way of maintaining white supremacy. However, as apartheid disintegrated in South Africa, new high-skill positions became open to non-Caucasians. Even so, unemployment was still high; many non-Caucasians did not have the skills or education level to be certified for these high-skill positions, and the economy could not create enough jobs to keep up with the demand. Although other countries such as the U.S. and Singapore were able to positively use low-skill jobs in ways that benefited all workers, the unique economic and political features of South Africa made it difficult to do so.

What Ashton (2005) called for was an understanding that all economies depend on both low-skill and high-skill level jobs, and economic health depends on a balance between the two. Focus needs to be paid to low-skill jobs, primarily because they can help lift people out of poverty. What needs to be done in South Africa, Ashton (2005) stated, is that first the perception that blacks are only fit for low-skill positions needs to be eradicated, and people need to understand the crucial role low-skill jobs play in economic development. This would encourage more low-skill workers and thus stimulate the economy and create more resources for infrastructure developing, at the same time increasing higher-skill positions and developing the economy at all levels. All these factors need to be taken into account for successful SPD to be developed in South Africa.

This eradication of class distinction among labor may come about through the implementation of SDP and job training. Favennec-Hery (1996) said that there is often a pathological element of job training and work. Training not only orients the worker into a particular job but also has the effect of "integrat(ing) them into society" (p. 667). In particular, job training is often a good way of correcting problems within a society and ensuring that members are connected and functional. Favennec-Hery (1996) discusses how France has been targeting the youth especially, providing them with alternative training and vocational skill programs, offering them exposure to different forms of work, and developing training programs focused on the needs of specific programs. This can be an excellent way of allowing the youth population, which is sometimes at odds with the rest of the culture, to be more fully integrated and accepted.

In summary, a lack of strong, competitive vocational skills in workers can stem from a variety of causes: cultural stigma against certain types of work, low educational achievement, technology inaccessibility, and poorly structured training programs. In order to improve the economy of different regions, create and fill positions, and ensure that workers are able to stay productive in a rapidly changing workforce, skill development programs are vitally needed. Many governments around the world are establishing innovative programs to help train the workers of tomorrow and assist present workers in achieving the vocational skills they need to stay competitive.

Terms & Concepts

Developing Nations: Formerly referred to as "third-world countries," the term "developing" or "non industrialized" is now the preferred term. Developing nations have relatively low levels of per capita income, technology access, and industry development while having high rates of poverty, unemployment, and illiteracy.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP): Also called Gross National Product (GNP), the value of all goods produced in a country, usually within a year.

Globalization: The increased interconnection of the world through the spread of technology, industry, and democracy.

High-Skill: Jobs that are primarily intellectual-based and not labor-based or labor-based jobs that do not require a significantly high level of skill and training.

Industrialized Nations: Or "developed nations," these nations have relatively high rates of education achievement, income per capita, and economic development with low levels of unemployment, poverty, and illiteracy.

Low-Skill: Usually manual labor jobs that do not require a significantly high level of skill and training.

Vocational Skills: Training for specific vocations, usually manual positions, trades, and non-academic occupations.

Bibliography

AsgiSA. (2007). South African Government Information. Retrieved November 10, 2007, from http://www.info.gov.za/asgisa/asgisa.htm

Ali Khan, Z., & Siddiqui, R. (2012). Developing students' entrepreneurial skills through e-tshirt project. Global Education Journal, , 158-168. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=75260829&site=ehost-live

Ashton, D.N. (2005). High skills: the concept and its application to South Africa. Journal of Education & Work, 18 , 19-32. Retrieved November 7, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=15963994&site=ehost-live

Central Intelligence Agency. (2007). The world factbook. [Electronic Version]. Retrieved November 9, 2007, from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/xx.html

Favennec-Hery, F. (1996). Work and training: A blurring of the edges. International Labour Review 135 , 665-675. Retrieved November 9, 2007, from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=9707022341&site=ehost-live

Groce, N., & Bakhshi, P. (2011). Illiteracy among adults with disabilities in the developing world: A review of the literature and a call for action. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 15, 1153-1168. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=67751846&site=ehost-live

Kissam, E.; Intili, J.; Garcia, A. (2001). The emergence of a binational Mexico-US workforce: Implications for farm labor workforce security. San Manteo, CA: ERIC Education Resources Center. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED466752). Retrieved November 8, 2007, from http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/1a/39/87.pdf

Loubser, A. (2012). Research into life skills education in the foundation phase: Is the inclusion of life skills really necessary in teaching third world foundation phase learners. International Journal of Learning, 18, 111-127. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=83813232&site=ehost-live

South Africa: Department of Labour. (2004). National skills development strategy 2005-2010. Retrieved November 9, 2007, from http://www.labour.gov.za/download/9974/Useful%20Document%20-%20National%20Skills%20Development%20Strategy%202005%20-%202010.pdf

South Africa: SA/UE skills development programme on track. (2006, February 22). Africa News.

Temkin, S. (2006, April 28). Skills development programme 'too little too late'. Business Day Labour, 2.

Tiene, D. (2002). Addressing the global digital divide and its impact on educational opportunity. Education Media International, 39 (3/4), 211-223. Retrieved November 7, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=9039798&site=ehost-live

UNESCO. (2003). World literacy in brief. UNESCO. Retrieved November 7, 2007, from http://portal.unesco.org/

U.S. Department of Education. Office of Migrant Education. (2007). Migrant education program. Retrieved November 8, 2007, from http://www.ed.gov/programs/mep/index.html

U.S. Department of Labor. (2006, March 9). Secretary's commission on achieving necessary skills. Retrieved November 9, 2007, from http://wdr.doleta.gov/SCANS/

Suggested Reading

Heskin, K.; Sharma, R.; Kueh, K. (2001, June). Some challenges of establishing a new tertiary education institution: A Malaysian case study. ERIC Digest. Long Beach, CA: ERIC Education Resources Center (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED457744). Retrieved November 10, 2007, from http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/ content‗storage‗01/0000019b/80/19/4e/a6.pdf

McIntyre, J.R. & Alon, I., eds. (2005). Business and management education in transitioning and developing countries: A handbook. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.

Republic of South Africa: Department Public Service and Administration. (2006, November 2). Demystifying JIPSA. Retrieved November 10, 2007, from http://www.dpsa.gov.za/documents/service_delivery_review/vol5no2/demystifying%20jipsa.pdf