Conference Hosts The conference is co-hosted by the World Bank, the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration and the Ministry of National Education in Indonesia with the support of the European Commission and the Government of the Netherlands.
Conference Context Skills, knowledge and experience relevant to the labor market are at the core of improving employment outcomes and increasing productivity and growth. Education and training systems often lack quality and relevance, leaving workers ill-prepared to meet the demands of the labor market. Across countries, unemployment and low-productivity employment can arise due to skills gaps and a mismatch between available job openings and the level of skills held by the unemployed. In addition, limited access to high quality pre-employment training and skills upgrading targeted at higher productivity jobs hinder prospects of employment in 21st century jobs. Although over the last 20 years, the level of education attainment has increased -- with some convergence between upper income and lower and middle-income -- this has not yet translated into increased productivity and income. Indications are that emerging East Asian economies will need to derive an increasing share of growth from productivity improvements which will require further enhancement in the business climate, increased technological capability for adaptation and innovation and the upgrading of education provision. Beyond years of schooling evidence shows that what matters most are workers’ skills - technical as well as soft.
There is substantial evidence of skill gaps implying that, amongst other factors, the education and training sector has not been successful in preparing students for the workforce. About 30% or more of firms cite lack of skills as an obstacle to business in lower and middle-income East Asia. In a worrying trend, these bottlenecks are increasing and are particularly evident in open and technologically intensive sectors, hampering productivity and innovation. Clearly countries need to do a better job at providing the skills and knowledge for productivity and employability.
Conference Aims The East Asia Skills Development for Productivity conference aims to provide a forum for policy makers from participating governments, industry groups, providers, and international experts to discuss issues and approaches on skills development. Participants will engage in dialogue that challenges current thinking and explores ways for education and training systems to improve the quality and relevance of skills supply in order to enhance employability and productivity.
Conference Objectives Participants will explore ways to: (a) better understand and measure skills demanded by the labor market; (b) assess the performance of workforce development, looking at the overall system and at some of its main components (TVET education; tertiary education; non-formal education and training); and (c) improve the responsiveness of skills provision to the demand.
Conference Participants Participants at the conference are key policy and decision- makers from Indonesia and eight other countries in the East Asia region: Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Development partners representing the Education Sector Working Group in Indonesia will also join the conference.
The Korean Trust Fund, Education Program Development Fund and ASEAN have provided key support to enable regional participants to attend the Conference.
Please note: this event is by invitation only
Conference Approach Analytical approaches, regional and country case studies, and case studies about cross-cutting themes will be presented during the conference. These will be complemented by solutions-oriented panel and floor discussions. On the final afternoon of the conference, participants will be invited to join focus group discussions aimed at identifying country specific challenges and policy solutions.
Conference Sessions Session 1: Skills for Productivity and Employability Session 2: Understanding and Measuring the Demand for Skills Session 3: Workforce Development: Understanding and Developing the Supply of Skills
Assessing TVET Systems – Responding to Labor Market Needs
Assessing Tertiary Education Systems – Delivering Skills for Growth
Assessing Non-Formal Training and Skills Development – Strategies to Increase Effectiveness
Session 4: Cross-cutting Policies for Better Skills and Labor Market Outcomes Session 5: Tailoring Policy Issues and Options to Country Contexts
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