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As opportunities expand, Colombians will need new and better skills to respond to new challenges and prospects. The government is therefore determined to address key challenges confronting tertiary education in the country: expanding enrolment and improving equity, increasing quality and relevance, and making governance and finance more responsive. Colombia has more than a decade of progress under its belt, and the energy to reach ambitious policy goals. Getting there in practice will involve dialogue and consensus-seeking among all stakeholders, as well as new resources and new rules.

The chapters are as follows: Executive summary; Overview, achievements and issues; Vision, structure, governance and management of the Colombian tertiary education system; Access and equity to tertiary education in Colombia; Quality and relevance of tertiary education in Colombia; Quality assurance of the Colombian tertiary education system; Internationalisation of the Colombian tertiary education system; Research and innovation in Colombia; Information and transparency in Colombia’s tertiary education system; Financing of tertiary education in Colombia; Conclusions and recommendations. Show less

There has been a great deal of interest in the notion of measuring vocational competencies of late. This trend has been driven mainly by the distinct lack of reliable data on the quality of graduates in higher education (HE). The gap in an evidence base at this level has prevailed partly due to the fact that the higher education landscape is replete with a diversity of programs and contexts. This makes the assessment and indeed, measurement of competencies in this sector challenging, and the likely success of undertakings to do so, questionable. This paper discusses the results of the civil engineering strand of the recent Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes (AHELO) feasibility study, commissioned and completed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). This study was unique in scope and intent; the first of its kind to design and develop a robust approach for measuring learning outcomes of graduates worldwide. The aim being to achieve a valid and reliable means for measuring competencies across the diversity of cultures, contexts, languages, institutions and programs. AHELO is an interesting case study, particularly in the context of thinking about the measuring of vocational competencies in an international setting.

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The paper assesses the effects of participation in the Public Employment Service (PES) in Colombia by means of propensity score matching. The results show that participating in the PES increases the probability of having a formal (rather than informal) job. Around two thirds of this effect is related to the fact that PES participants are generally placed in larger companies. By contrast, participation in the PES has a negative effect on hourly wages. This derives from a positive effect on the wages of the low-skilled and a negative effect on the wages of the high-skilled. For both formal employment and wages, the PES has a more positive effect when the services are provided face-to-face rather than online. The results are robust to: (i) changes in the matching algorithm; (ii) modifications in the area of common support; and (iii) possible presence of unobserved heterogeneity.

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Purpose: In the current labour context, employability is an important tool for recently graduated who are entering the labour market and must face major challenges that include a decrease in job opportunities, the rapid evolution of technology, and the need for lifelong learning. Design/methodology/approach: This study analyses the impact of the socio-emotional competencies of 470 senior students and graduates of five engineering majors at a higher education institution in Medellin, Colombia. In the sample examined, the data were analysed using inferential statistics and structural equation modelling (SEM).

Findings: Emotional intelligence (EI) was proven to be a predictor of engineers' employability, which, in turn, depends on three factors: personal strengths that increase employment potential, self-perceived employment opportunities, and career development as a realization of employment potential. Originality/value: These results show that the higher education system should implement activities to develop students' EI competencies, thus providing them with powerful tools to deal with different situations in the labour market.

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Servicio Nacional De Aprendizaje (SENA) was created in the late 1950s. The organisational structure of SENA is based on the ILO's tripartite principle of government, employers and workers. The official purpose of SENA was to carry out the social policies of the Government in the area of professional education, but that is now being questioned. This paper examines the changing structure of SENA, with its expansion into social programs, as well as its original purpose, to address the training needs of workers in the formal economy. This paper also discusses the role of self-employment in Colombia and SENA's contribution to the development of self-employment programs in Colombia.

This book is indexed at TD/INT 60.278. Show less

This paper evaluates the impact of a randomized training program for disadvantaged youth introduced in Colombia in 2005. This randomized trial offers a unique opportunity to examine the impact of training in developing countries. We use originally collected data on individuals randomly offered and not offered training. The program raises earnings and employment, especially for women. Women offered training earn 18 per cent more and have a 0.05 [per cent] higher probability of employment than those not offered training, mainly in formal sector jobs. Cost-benefit analysis of these results suggests that the program generates much larger net gains than those found in developed countries.

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This book looks at both the potential and limits of policies to promote entrepreneurship as an important vehicle for social mobility in Latin America and the Caribbean. Who are the region's entrepreneurs? They tend to be middle-aged males with secondary and, often, tertiary education who represent only a small segment of the economically active population in the six countries considered in this book. They come from families in which a parent is, or was, an entrepreneur. In fact, a parent's occupation is more important in the decision to become an entrepreneur than a parent's wealth, income or education. Middle class entrepreneurship tends to dominate the sample in part since this is the majority class in society. However, as a percentage of each social class, entrepreneurship tends to be higher in the upper class, followed by the middle and lower class. Entrepreneurs concentrate in micro enterprises with fewer than five employees. They enjoy greater social mobility than employees and the self-employed, but this mobility is not always in the upward direction. Entrepreneurs face multiple obstacles including stifling bureaucracy, burdensome tax procedures, and lack of financing, human capital, technological skills, and supportive networks. The support of family and friends and a modicum of social capital help cope with these obstacles to entrepreneurship.

The contents are as follows: Part one, 'Overview', contains the following chapters: Overview and policy implications / Andres Solimano; Entrepreneurship, the middle class, and social mobility: an overview of literature / Andres Solimano. Part two, 'International comparisions and country studies contains: Middle-class entrepreneurs and their firms: a regional view and international comparison / Hugo D. Kantis, Juan S. Federico, and Luis A. Trajtenberg; The role of entrepreneurship in promoting intergenerational social mobility in Mexico / Viviana Velez-Grajales and Roberto Velez-Grajales; Entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial values, and public policy in Argentina / Jose Anchorena and Lucas Ronconi; The effect of social capital on middle-class entrepreneurship in Ecuador / Xavier Ordenana and Elizabeth Arteaga.

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Reintegration programs for ex-combatants around the globe promote their technical and vocational education and training (TVET). The aim is to help them develop skills, assume new social roles, and gain community acceptance, yet the experiences and perceptions of the ex-combatants who participate in these programs have been little explored. Thus, it is not known whether this group finds access to TVET useful in building new social networks, which is a critical factor in preventing further violence and achieving social cohesion. This in-depth interview study with female and male ex-combatants from Medellin, Colombia, who are at various stages of TVET engagement examined their perceptions of whether and how TVET contributed to their social reintegration.

The findings illustrate that some forms of TVET promoted psychosocial recovery and helped to build social bonds, whereas other types reinforced isolation and segregation. This study also found that the TVET programs overlooked the ex-combatants' limitations on socializing that were imposed by their violent environments and feelings of stigmatization. These findings suggest a need to complement education programs for economic development with approaches that help develop social bonds and trust between ex-combatants and their communities.

Published abstract. Show less

The main objective of this study is to estimate the association between financial aid and college dropout rates of postsecondary students in Colombia. We use a unique dataset from the Colombian Ministry of Education that includes all enrolled college students in the country between 1998 and 2008. Logistic regression is used to identify the correlation between receiving different forms of financial aid on the dropout rates of the students. The main results of the study suggest that the probability of dropping out decreases between 25 and 29 per cent according to the type of financial aid received. There is also evidence that the financial aid is more effective in reducing dropout rates at the beginning of the students' college careers. This result holds after controlling by type of postsecondary institution attended. These findings suggest that financial aid is an effective tool to reduce dropout rates, and therefore increase persistence and expand access in Colombia.

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To stimulate economic advancement, low- and middle-income countries need well-educated and trained workforces to fill the types of skilled jobs that drive economic growth. Improving educational quality and attainment and providing better training are all rightly put forth as policy recommendations to leverage economic growth and job creation. However, new findings based on large scale surveys of adult skills from the World Bank Group's STEP (Skills toward Employment and Productivity) Skills Measurement Program suggest that many workers are overqualified for their current jobs (based on the education those jobs require). The results of this study suggest that countries may not reap as much benefit from their investments in quality education and training if weak job creation leaves workers' skills underutilized. Most of the literature on mismatch focuses on higher-income countries and rates of over-education among college graduates.

This publication uses new STEP Skills Survey data from 12 low- and middle-income countries, representing a range of economic and educational and training climates, to better understand the scope and patterns of education and skills mismatch. STEP collects information not only on workers' level of education and employment status, but also on the types, frequency, and durations of tasks they carry out at their jobs as well as some of the cognitive skills they use. The study also explores additional factors such as gender, health, career stage, and participation in the informal labor sector that may help explain the degree of mismatch rates. The study's findings indicate that over-education is common in low and middle income countries with both lower and higher rates of educational attainment. There is also evidence that over-educated tertiary workers do not use all of their skills, potentially wasting valuable human capital and educational resources. The authors suggest that job growth must go hand-in-hand with investments in education and training.

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