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Future growth in the countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ECA) will increasingly depend on innovation. And innovation requires skills. This makes it important, as countries plan for recovery, to undertake reforms to reduce the skills shortages that the previous growth episode exposed. Education systems have a very important role to play in creating the right skills. But education systems in the region fall short of the demands of their economies in two major ways. The first is that despite high levels of enrollment they do not produce enough graduates with the right skills. Students graduate with diplomas, not with skills, because the quality of the education for many students is poor. In large part this is because education systems remain focused on providing an excellent education to a few at the expense of improving the quality of learning for the majority. Moreover, the systems are still making the transition from teaching the basics to inculcating higher order skills such as critical-thinking and problem solving. The second way in which education systems fall short is that outside of a few countries in the [European Union] EU there are few opportunities for adults to retrain, or acquire new skills. This book argues that generating more of the right skills requires a fundamental change of approach in the education systems in the region so that they aim for, and deliver, higher quality education for the vast majority of students ('not just diplomas but skills'). To start with, education systems need to 'turn the lights on' and take seriously the measurement of what students actually learn as opposed to measurement of the inputs into the education process on the implicit assumption that learning follows. Policy makers also need to move away from the focus on inputs and processes and increase the emphasis on incentives.

Published summary on World Bank website.

The chapters are as follows: Overview; The demand for skills in ECA; Education and the supply of skills to the ECA market; Resolving the skills shortage in the ECA region: a policy framework; Managing for results at the pre-university level of education; Managing for results in the tertiary education sector; Advanced adult learning in ECA; Extended summary: the path for education reforms in the ECA region. Show less

This book documents how the Great Recession affected employment outcomes in developing countries and how those countries' governments responded. The contributors discuss how the crisis affected output across countries, how labour markets adjusted, which workers were more likely to be affected, and which types of policies were implemented. The chapters comprise a compilation of data and analysis from different sources, including an inventory of policies implemented during the crisis, among countries in Latin America, Eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Excerpts from publication.

The chapters are as follows: Overview; Fewer jobs or smaller paychecks?: aggregate crisis impacts in selected middle-income countries / Gaurav Khanna, David Newhouse, and Pierella Paci; How did the Great Recession affect different types of workers?: evidence from 17 middle-income countries / Yoonyoung Cho and David Newhouse; Labor and social protection policies during the crisis and the recovery / David A. Robalino, David Newhouse, and Friederike Rother; The labor market impact of the 2009 financial crisis in Indonesia / Neil McCulloch, Amit Grover, and Asep Suryahadi; Weathering a storm: survey-based perspectives on employment in China in the aftermath of the global financial crisis / John Giles, Albert Park, Fang Cai, and Yang Du; Effects of the 2008-09 economic crisis on labor markets in Mexico / Samuel Freije, Gladys Lopez-Acevedo, and Eduardo Rodriguez-Oreggia. Show less

Many education systems, most of them in industrialised countries, have recently begun to show an interest in collecting information on students' learning outcomes as a result of their educational experiences. This interest has been demonstrated either by the development of national procedures to assess student achievement or by participation in international studies of student achievement. This document provides introductory information on means of assessing the learning outcomes of education systems. It examines the nature, choice, and use of indicators and describes several approaches to assessing learning outcomes in selected industrial countries (the United States of America and the United Kingdom) and developing countries (Chile, Colombia, Mauritius, Namibia, and Thailand). The authors also review systems of comparative international assessment and discuss the question of participation in these activities by developing countries. The text is supported by tables and an appendix containing a national assessment checklist. Show less

The European Union (EU) is one of the most favored destinations for immigrants in the world. The subject of migration has been moving up the policy agenda of the EU for some time now. This increasing emphasis will continue with the EU 2020 (post-Lisbon) Strategy, which refers to the potential contribution of migration to EU growth and promotes the idea of labor mobility. Faced with an aging population, possible labor and skills shortages in the economies, and the need to compete for talent with countries such as Australia, Canada, and the United States, the EU is beginning to see legal migration as an opportunity and is thus taking a more proactive approach toward it. This book aims to unravel the complex relationship between migration and skills development. Based upon extensive field surveys carried out by the European Training Foundation and joint analysis of data with the World Bank, the book depicts potential and returning migrants from four very different countries - two 'traditional' (Egypt, Tunisia) and two 'new' (Albania, Moldova) sending countries. It describes the skills these migrants possess, the extent to which migrants are able to use their skills and training while abroad, and the impact that the experience of migration has on their skills development. The book also offers suggestions on how the governments of countries sending migrants and countries receiving them could move towards more effective policies for managing legal migration flows. Policies that address the increasingly circular nature of migration benefit all parties involved. By studying the phenomenon of migration in detail, the book seeks to promote a better understanding of the human faces behind migration: who they are and what they can offer, both to their host countries and their origin countries to which they return.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

Ukraine's economic progress since its independence in the early 1990s has been uneven, in part due to the slow pace of reforms, unfavorable demographic factors, and low productivity. One of the key factors limiting success is the inadequacy of the skills of Ukraine's workforce with the needs of a modern economy. While the country demonstrates a strong record of educational attainment and acquisition of foundational skills, the post-secondary education and training system fails to equip workers with the right advanced skills for labor market success. This study provides new evidence on the nature of skills valued in the labor market, reviews the institutional constraints hindering the development and use of workforce's skills, and proposes a set of policy options.

This study argues that, to improve skills formation and use, Ukraine needs to renew its public policies on post-secondary education, labor-market intermediation and information, and labor regulations. Drawing on household and firm surveys, the study finds that workers need a mix of advanced cognitive skills (like problem solving and communication), socio-emotional skills (like self-management and teamwork), and technical skills (like computer programing or sale skills) to be successful in the labor market and meet employers' demand. These skills are not necessarily explicitly taught in traditional learning settings. Policy makers should therefore rethink the content of post-secondary education and training to focus on the development of skills for the labor market rather than only attendance. To do so, establishing steady links between education institutions and enterprises, by setting up occupation standards and adapting curricula to firm demand, is crucial. An essential instrument to identify the demand for skills and facilitate fruitful investments in skills formation is a labor market information system - which provides reliable information on labor market prospects across post-secondary education fields and institutions and job requirements and characteristics to students, their families, and jobseekers. Nonetheless, a better formation of skills would only be beneficial if most of the workforce can put them at use in jobs, promoted by better labor regulations.

Abstract from publisher's website. Show less

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.

Edited published abstract. Show less