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World Bank’s Skills Agenda in Ukraine

Olena Bekh, Education SpecialistTurinJune 2007

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1. Key Policy Messages of World Development Report 2007

2. World Bank’s support to the policy dialogue in Ukraine on skills and relevance of education to LM needs

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World Development Report (WDR)

World Bank’s most important and most widely circulated report

Different theme every year The 29th in the series http://www.worldbank.org/wdr2007

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1. Key Messages of WDR 2007

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World Development Report (WDR) 2007 Theme: Development and the

Next Generation Consulted with 2,500 young people in 26

countries Provides framework and

recommendations as for the Government policies – to help Governments investing in youth, but also cultivate an environment for young people and families to invest in themselves

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Some Facts about the World of Youth 1.4 billion young people in the world -

the most ever in history People are healthier, richer and better

educated than previous generations Average life expectancy at birth worldwide

rose from 51 to 65 years old over the last 40 years

Primary school enrollment rates (outside India and China) have risen from 50% in 1970 to 88% in 2000

The share of the world’s population living on less than $1 a day fell from 40% in 1981 to 21% in 2001

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But Being Young isn’t Easy Some 130 million 15-24 year-olds can’t read or

write… Many lack the basic skills needed to enter the

work force World-wide, they make up 25% of the working

population but nearly 1/2 of them are unemployed

Not well informed of risky behaviors Less than 50% of 15-24 year-old girls know

how to avoid HIV In 2005 more than 1/2 of the estimated 5

million people world-wide who contracted HIV were 15-24 years old young women and girls

Aging population will place higher burden on younger workers

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Five Youth Transitions:

5 Youth Transitions – 5 phases of life that can help to develop young people’s potential with the right Government policies:o Learningo Workingo Staying healthyo Forming familieso Exercising citizenship

Decisions during 5 transitions have the biggest long-term impact on how human capital is kept safe, developed and deployed

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Human capital during 5 youth transitions key for poverty reduction and growth

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100 % of Cohort

Age24

Learning in school after primary-age Working

Forming families

Participating in civic lifeTaking health risks

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Transitions overlap…

Almost all are out of school by age 24. What they learn early in life lasts a lifetime and is much harder to master later…

Capacity to learn is much higher for the young than for the older…

Skills are developed by parents who then turn kids to preschools and then primary schools.

Path to secondary school and then decisions are made: enter labor force, marry or go on to higher education, etc.

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Transitions overlap… (continued)

Dropping out of school, prolonged period of unemployment or risky health behaviors can leave permanent scars

Mortality is a misleading measure of youth health… young people tend to experiment

It’s much more difficult and expensive to treat than to prevent…

Ensure that kids don’t start working too early

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… Government policies?

The ability and willingness of young parents to invest in their children is the single most important factor determining the outcomes for future generations

Without opportunities for productive civic engagement, young people’s frustration could boil over into violent behaviors and lead to economic and social instability

The development of human capital is also hampered by policy failures that affect their options, especially the failure to provide or finance adequate services when markets do not work.

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Way out of poverty

Because labor is the main asset of the poor, making it more productive is the best way to reduce poverty.

Missed opportunities to acquire skills, good health habits and engage in the community and society could be extremely costly to remedy

Human capital outcomes of young people (as the next generation of household heads) affect those of their children

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Demand for skills

Concerns about quality and relevance of training come just when the demand for adanced skills, such as problem-solving abilities critical for many industries is increasing.

More than a fifth of all firms in developing countries rate inadequate skills as a major and severe obstacle to their operations.

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Policy “Lenses”:

WDR 2007 identifies three policydirections for youth to develop

themselvesand contribute to the society:

Expanding opportunities, Enhancing capabilities and Providing second chances

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Policy “Lenses” (continued):

All nations already have policies that affect lives of young people – the WDR 2007 applies a youth “lense” to evaluate them: Are they appropriate to youth transitions and

environments? Are they adequate to serve youth’s needs?

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Main Policy Messages:

Opportunity: Invest more in human capital, but focus on quality and relevance to labor market

Capability: Improve the capacity of youth to decide among opportunities

Second-chances: Help young people recover from poor outcomes

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3 types of questions asked of each transition: a ‘youth lens’ on policy

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Opportunity: Invest more, but focus on quality and relevance (example of education)• Measure quality (countries focus on enrollment because it is

easier to measure…)• Improve the accountability of providers to users• Modernize curriculum: focus on skills and competencies• Ensure flexibility: avoid early tracking of students because they

are unlikely to know what they want• Provide teacher incentives• Develop governance• Private public partnerships– public sector can’t do it alone• Facilitate entry to work• Expand participation in civic and political life

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…Quality of education

WDR 2007:

“If quality is low or if what is learned is not relevant in the job market, unemployment rates can be high even for some of the most highly educated”

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Capable decision-making: % of youth who think they have the most influence

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Second-chances: Recovering from poor outcomes

The costs of not giving young people another chance to recover are high: Effects are long-lasting Later recovery as adults is more costly May inhibit investment (e.g. high HIV/AIDS prevalence

leads to lower investment in education). 2nd chance programs can be sustainable if they:

Make programs attractive to young people. Help them reenter the mainstream: E.g., Remedial

education programs that enable students to re-enter mainstream

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Moving forward:

Coordination: youth outcomes require improved multi-sector efforts

Voice: the constituency of youth is weak (which is why for this Report, we had extensive consultation)

Evaluation: many youth-specific initiatives are still new; impact must be studied

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2. World Bank’s support to the policy dialogue in Ukraine on skills and relevance:

1.Lending: Equal Access to Quality Education Project2.Policy dialogue and research: International workshops:

Key Policy Challenges for Employment and Wages in Ukraine took place (April 27, 2007)

Improving Human Capital through Efficiency and Relevance of Education System (May 29, 2007)

Research: Transition from Education to Work (jointly) Employers’ survey

Policy recommendations – joint Policy Note (end of 2007)