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This publication is one of a series of Education Papers issued from time to time by the Education Division of the Department for International Development. Each paper represents a study or commissioned research on some aspect of education and training in developing countries. In the 1990s there has been increased interest in the informal sector, which is linked to a complex set of factors. Awareness of these factors has led governments to take much more interest in the informal sector than over the previous two decades. A new awareness by Southern governments of the size and diversity of the workers and owners in the informal sector can be seen in conjunction with increasing emphasis on market forces and entrepreneurship emanating from the North, and mediated from the development assistance community.

The first volume of this publication examines local, national and international interventions and initiatives aimed at promoting education and training in the informal sector. This report discusses the ways in which education and training currently, and in the future can prepare individuals for sustainable informal sector activities. Chapter one provides an overview of the rationale and structure of the report. Chapters two four examine the three different sites for interventions aimed at the informal sector (formal and nonformal education, post school and out-of-school vocational training institutions, and the workplace or the enterprise itself). Chapter five discusses the problems faced by girls and women in entering forms of really productive self-employment, as opposed to situations in which the aims are barely an improvement upon subsistence or survival work in the informal sector. In Chapter six, the authors examine some of the other elements that are often associated with informal sector development. The authors illustrate ways of thinking about interventions in the informal sector that may take account of several quite distinct pathways.

The second volume consists of a series of four case studies on Chile, Ghana, India and Kenya outlining the structure of education in each country. There is also a comprehensive bibliography in this volume, which highlights the vast amount of resources available on the informal sector. This volume consists of the following chapters: Chapter one: Rationale and structure of report; Chapter two: Education and the informal sector; Chapter three: Post-school and out-of-school training; Chapter four: Enterprise based training; Chapter five: Women and training for the informal sector; Chapter six: What are the needs of the informal sector.

Individual chapters are indexed from TD/TNC 62.214 to TD/TNC 62.221. Show less

In many countries a very high proportion of all female employment is absorbed by the informal sector. These informal activities range from subsistence farming, petty trading and hawking, through to wage employment in unregulated small enterprises or home-based contract work for larger formal sector firms, to ownership of small business. In many developing countries there are more women than men in the informal sector. This chapter discusses women and training for the informal sector, highlighting that there has not been sufficient provision of training for women in the informal sector. The authors discuss the inequality of educational opportunity between men and women, and outline some of the many constraints which prevent women from participating in formal education and training, and then in the employment market on equal terms with men. Income generating projects for women within the area of non-formal education are discussed, and findings from a review of the literature on the training needs of women in the informal sector are presented.

This publication is indexed at TD/TNC 62.213. Show less

Enterprise based training has many advantages over preparation either in schools or vocational and technical institutes (VTIs). The authors emphasise that it is clear from the literature that an element of theory training is a further vital ingredient in skill development, and that there is more than one model of best practice. While there have been recent reforms in on-the-job training in many countries, such reforms have taken a variety of paths. This chapter also discusses the more general trend towards the questioning of the role of the state and a stress on the efficiency of market forces. The concern in this chapter is primarily with the informal sector. The authors argue that changes in training practices within the formal sector have had an indirect impact on the models of training which have been generated within the informal sector. When looking at the informal sector, the authors examine existing models of training which have been generated within the informal sector. They also consider attempts, with varying degrees of success, both to intervene in and to mimic such models. Finally, some interventions which attempt to develop appropriate modern models are explored. The authors discuss enterprise based training and the role of the informal sector in several developing countries including Ghana and Uganda.

This publication is indexed at TD/TNC 62.213. Show less

This chapter looks at training that occurs after schooling, but before work. Since the 1970s, the emphasis by donors on non-formal education (NFE) has subsided and more attention is now being given to school education. The authors analyse some of the scope and potential of NFE, as it has often been targeted at the very disadvantaged groups which populate much of the informal sector. In the latter part of the chapter, the authors consider the role of non-government organisations (NGOs) in providing non-formal education and training for disadvantaged groups. Given the difficulty of systematically surveying what is taking place in this area, the authors focus on three themes that are of particular interest to donors in the current climate: the (cost-) effectiveness of (mostly urban) vocational training institutes (VTIs); the importance of developing alternative modes of provision in the rural areas; and the increasing and varied role of NGOs. Much of the post- and out-of-school training takes place within a national, state-controlled training system and there is limited scope for non-state provision of education, especially in the basic cycle, whereas training is less obviously the preserve of the state. The authors discuss the debate which surrounds the training system and its ability to respond to the needs of both the formal and informal sectors. This chapter also focuses on programs which seek to provide training in rural contexts. Increasingly, such training has become well-integrated into the overall training system, particularly in Latin America.

This publication is indexed at TD/TNC 62.213. Show less

This article is based on an ESRC/DFID [Economic and Social Research Council/Department for International Development] funded research project on ‘Widening participation in higher education in Ghana and Tanzania: developing an equity scorecard’. There are questions about whether widening participation in higher education is a force for democratisation or differentiation. While participation rates are increasing globally, there has been scant research or sociocultural theorisation of how different structures of inequality intersect in the developing world. Questions also need to be posed about how higher education relates to policy discourses of poverty reduction and the Millennium Development Goals. The article explores participation in higher education, utilising statistical data and life history interviews with students in two public and two private universities. It focuses on how gender and socioeconomic status intersect and constrain or facilitate participation in higher education. Findings to date suggest that opportunity structures reflect social inequalities.

Published abstract reprinted from ‘International journal of educational development’, copyright 2008, with permission from Elsevier. Show less

This chapter considers training through the medium of vocational education in the school location, and considers how the formal education system currently impacts on the informal sector, and how in the future it might have greater influence. The 1980s saw a changing perspective towards education in many Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. A realisation developed that education must be more relevant to the modern world of work. Concerns about the lack of articulation between school and work have been a common theme of debates about educational reform in all countries where there has been a substantial amount of youth employment. Traditionally, the concern has been with how the education system could better prepare students for employment. This chapter considers the arguments regarding 'strong' versions of vocational schooling and pre-vocational models, which refers to heavy specialisation in the vocational in quite separate schools and streams, and 'weak' versions of vocational schooling and pre-vocational models, referring to the orientation to the vocational as part of general education. The authors also consider what is a relatively new trend in developing countries, enterprise education which has emerged in OECD countries as a response to specific problems. The authors examine the relevance of this initiative in the very different cultural contexts of the developing world. In addition, they briefly look at some of the key dimensions of education that might have a direct or indirect bearing on self-employment, including career guidance, examinations, teacher attitudes, materials and decentralisation strategies. Some of the areas discussed concern vocational education, arguments against vocationalism, pre-vocational education, education with production, agriculture in schools and enterprise education. This chapter also explores the kinds of structures that need to be in place in national education systems so that reforms that relate to the informal sector can succeed.

This publication is indexed at TD/TNC 62.213. Show less

The level of participation in formal education continues to remain lower for women than for men and this article examines a number of reasons for the persistence of this gender gap. The author also investigates the low impact of formal education on the status of women in society and suggests that formal education institutions and non-formal programs of adult education and training can help to eliminate this inequality.

The volume from which this article is taken is indexed at TD/TNC 67.217. Show less

This chapter seeks to consider the extent to which education and training need to be complemented by other interventions if they are to be effective components in preparation for self-employment. These issues are tackled by a two-fold approach. Firstly, the authors consider some of the ways in which other inputs have been used to address the needs of the informal sector. Secondly, the authors attempt to make sense of the often conflicting views that emerge from a reading of the case studies and policy papers that make up the relevant literature, consisting of a series of financial and non-financial interventions and initiatives. The authors examine some of the dimensions of support to the informal micro-enterprise sector that are not principally concerned with education and training, and are not usually offered through regular educational and vocational training institutes. They also consider a range of relevant forms of intervention and pathways to self-employment that emerge from case studies and from the theoretical and policy literature. Six models are presented and discussed.

This publication is indexed at TD/TNC 62.213. Show less