Since the onset of the economic crisis in 2009, job training and re-training programmes have featured prominently in countries' strategies to protect employment, preserve the skills of the labour force and help displaced workers re-enter the labour market. The purpose of this study was to learn how well these programmes have been working: How satisfied are countries that their training programmes have been helping them meet their objectives during the recent recession? The study reviewed a sample of current job training programmes, whether undertaken as separate initiatives or as components of
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Since the onset of the economic crisis in 2009, job training and re-training programmes have featured prominently in countries' strategies to protect employment, preserve the skills of the labour force and help displaced workers re-enter the labour market. The purpose of this study was to learn how well these programmes have been working: How satisfied are countries that their training programmes have been helping them meet their objectives during the recent recession? The study reviewed a sample of current job training programmes, whether undertaken as separate initiatives or as components of broader recovery policies. The review looks at how job training programmes are re-connecting displaced workers and the long-term unemployed to the labour market, and how they help prepare workers for the types of jobs created by stimulus packages, including green jobs. The analysis covers a representative sample of crisis-affected countries. The main selection criterion was that the countries had undertaken rigorous reviews of programme implementation, if not yet impact assessment, and thus were able to identify success factors, as well as pitfalls, in the implementation of their training and retraining programmes. The findings in this cross-country report are based on the programme reviews carried out by national government agencies supplemented with information gathered from key informants about preliminary results from policy monitoring and assessments. Views from employers' organisations, trade unions, bilateral agencies, international organizations and academic institutions complement this analysis. The review shows that most countries took a pragmatic approach: they tended to adapt, reorient and expand existing programmes to meet new demands for services rather than create new programmes on an emergency basis. Their ability to ramp up training programmes and ensure their effectiveness during rapidly changing circumstances in the midst of the economic crisis depended on policy coordination, good communication among stakeholders, flexible training delivery mechanisms, and institutional capabilities.
Excerpts from publication.
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