Yemen has achieved a great expansion in the field of the general education during the three past decades. A rapid development in education opportunities has also been accompanying this expansion in the field of the higher education. This great achievements accomplished by both, the public and the private sectors. Unfortunately, there were not an equal expansion in the field of the technical education and vocational training in parallel to the expansion of the general and higher education that caused the unbalance conditions of the educational system in the country which apparently shown in the labor market requirements on the graduates from these paths of education and training. This of course, contributed directly and indirectly on the raise of the unemployment rate and at the same time the shortages of the skilled workers in some economical sectors.
To manipulate the current and the expected unbalance between the labor market demands, the development plans requirements for the skilled human resources and the existing skills in the labor market, the government of Yemen started to establish a system for the technical education and vocational training and to expand on it as a response to the society and future investments' critical needs.
Special policies have been developed to redirect the system of technical education and vocational training in light of the country comprehension development programs & plans, the second five-years plan for the social and economical development (2001-2005) and the national strategy for poverty reduction (2003-2005).
Since the year 1999 the Yemeni government interest on the technical education and vocational training sector has increased and considered as one of the national priorities. The national conference for technical education & vocational training in Sana'a held during the period 23 -27 of February, 1999, in which a lot of issues were addressed on regard to the problems and the obstacles that this sector is facing. The conference has come up with several recommendations focused importantly on the necessity of setting out special policies for the technical education and vocational training that keep up with the national development goals and the priorities of the various economy sectors.
The ministry of technical education & vocational training has exerted big efforts in trying to find out solutions for these problems that the conference has recommended to be manipulated through the offering and diversifying the training programs in cooperation with the employers and stakeholders, especially by implementing short term programs and strengthening the building capacities of the training institutions.
In response of the necessity to tackle the sector needs, the ministry of technical education and vocational training along with the support of the World Bank and the European Commission initiated a sector study to prepare a national strategy for the technical education and vocational training in order to develop the technical education and vocational training within the next ten years coming.
The national strategy paper for technical education and vocational training relies mainly on the understanding of the current conditions of the TEVT sector through a comprehension description of the organizational frame work and the programs institutional capacity in addition to the real identification of the existing challenges and opportunities. The strategy also relies on the cabinet resolution no (280) for the year 2002 for the approval of the implementation program for increasing the enrollment capacity of the technical education and vocational training to 15% of the total graduates from the basic and the secondary education by the start of the year 2012 through establishing 82 technical institutes and 139 vocational institutes.
The national strategy paper implies tow parts, the first part introduces a summary about the strategy ambitions for the next 10 years (2005-2014) with analysis for all strategy axes and goals. The second part of the strategy paper focuses on the implementation issues for the first stage of the strategy (2005-2008) which shows the partial goals, the procedures as well as the firms responsible for implementation, the timetables for following up and evaluating the strategy goals of this stage and the estimated costs for achieving this stage goals.
Stages for planning the strategy:
The government started negotiations with the World Bank and the European Commission in 2003 in order to guarantee the support for the ministry of technical education and vocational training to be able to prepare a national strategy for the technical education and vocational training sector. In accordance to the mutual understanding between the ministry and the pre mentioned donors, the European Commission assumed a mission to the European training corporation in cooperation with the World Bank to offer technical consultations for the planning procedures. The Yemeni government formed a national team for planning the strategy headed by H.E. the vice minister of the technical education and vocational training and the membership of the ministry of technical education and vocational training, the related ministries, the universities, the higher council for education planning, the NGOs, the private sector and the related firms.
A decree for assigning the national strategy team for technical education and vocational training was issued consisting of the ministry's leadership and the other related ministries, educational, private and public firms. The national strategy team members started their duties in fulfilling the tasks of strategic planning in accordance to the steps assigned to them and for this purpose, the World Bank delegated an international expert assisted by a local expert in order to help the national strategy team in formulating the technical education and vocational training sector profile.
According to the understanding that the national strategy team agreed upon with the World Bank and the European Commission, represented with the European training Corporation, the planning for the strategy includes five major stages as follows:
• The first stage/ Background of the technical education and vocational training sector, report on the description and analysis of the current economical and developmental status in addition to the technical education and vocational training. SWAT analysis will be addressed for this stage.
• The second stage/ The main issues and the strategic frame work project, the analysis of the main strategic issues for the technical education and vocational training sector and the preparation of the main frame work draft for the technical education and vocational training strategy.
• The third stage/ Consultation on the sector, local and national levels, discussions with the related firms about the suggested paper of the sector profile and the strategy frame work.
• The fourth stage/The main strategy frame work of the technical education and vocational training, the final draft of the national strategy, the tasks, the goals and the future vision.
• The fifth stage/ The implementation plan for the first four years (2005-2008) of the technical education and vocational training strategy, the preparation of the national strategy for ten years and the preparation of the four-years plan.
To implement the ten-years strategy (2005-2014), it was suggested the following three stages
• The first stage: (2005-2008): in this stage, the efforts will be focused on strengthening and developing the current infrastructures of the technical education and vocational training on all levels according the new trends of the strategy, the completion of the constructions and equipment and operating the (35) training institutes that are still under construction.
• The second stage: (2009-2012): in this stage, the expansion of the technical education and vocational training system will take place in accordance to the needs of the firms and other economical sectors from skills and training competences.
• The third stage: (2013-2014): In this stage, the focus will be on the evaluation process and the feed back of the technical education and vocation training system in accordance with the agreed goals of the national strategy. Therefore, mechanisms of developing the TEVT system for the next stage will be set out in addition to the evaluation for each stage.
To guarantee sustainable briefing and participation of all related parties in the planning process, the ministry of technical education and vocational training has organized a workshop on the national level aimed to show clearly the current status of the technical education and vocational training sector and to give chance to the participants to discuss and to enrich the suggested strategic issues and goals. The workshop results included a group of recommendations by the working groups integrated into the next stages of the planning process. The World Bank and the European Commission delegates have participated in this workshop.
On the basis of the sector report and the above mentioned workshop results, the draft for the main strategy of the technical education and vocational training was accomplished. The main issues that belong to the development process for the sector and its strategic goals have been addressed. The draft was considered the reference for all discussions during the local and the sector consultations in order to prepare for the national strategy and the implementation plan after word.
Taking in mind the necessity for this strategy to respond to the related local communities, six local workshops were held targeted (14) governorates and (321) participants represented various parties of the technical education and vocational training system, such as; the related government firms, the local authorities, the private sector, the training institution, the NGOs and the universities.
During these workshops, discussions has taken place in order to enrich the main strategy frame work of the technical education and vocational training. The evaluation and the amendments of the main strategy frame work accomplished after the completion of the sector discussions and the national and the local workshops. All recommendations and notes were taken into consideration .
The plan of the strategy frame work contained the vision and the role of the technical education and vocational training sector in Yemen in addition to the possible strategic goals that should be reached within the next ten years.
An implementation plan was done for the four years (2005-2008) in accordance to the achieved results that determine the partial goals, the activities, the responsibilities and the schedule for each goal.
The national strategy team discussed and enriched both papers, the strategic and the implementation plan (2005-2008).
For the final endorsement of the strategy and the implementation plan, they will be submitted to the cabinet, after that there will be a national workshop for announcing the strategy that will represent the first step of implementing the strategy. This workshop will invite all the ministry representatives and the other related firms interested in human resource development and the donors.
The strategic axis and goals:
The first strategic axis: the response capacity and the equivalence of chances
The first basic goal
Developing and diversifying the programs and the curriculum of the technical education and vocational training in response to the labor market needs from the competences on the social and the economical levels.
The subsidiary goals
Goal no (1): the dropouts from the education: prepare special programs for the dropouts from the basic education to provide them with necessary skills that enable them to get jobs.
Goal no (2): woman and work, develop partnerships with the related firms that deal with the women training and qualification that produce chances for work and other economical activities for increasing the income.
Goal no (3): the Youth who like to work in the traditional economical sectors: provide training programs enabling the youth to get job opportunities in the traditional economical sectors.
Goal no (4): the employees in the traditional economical sectors: provide training programs that will satisfy the development requirements and the special skill development of the employees in the traditional economical sectors.
Goal no (5): the Youth who like to work in the modern economical sectors: provide training programs for the youth who like to get jobs' opportunities in the modern economical sectors.
Goal no (6): the employees in the modern economical sectors, developing the skills and competences of the employees in the modern economical sectors in cooperation with the employers.
Goal no (7): the skills & knowledge required to manage small scale enterprises, developing capacities to support in lifting up the economical capabilities for small enterprises.
Goal no (8): Training programs for the handicapped, preparing training programs to train & qualify the handicapped.
The second strategic axis: connecting the labor market and
the partnership with the employers' sector
The second basic goal
Strengthening & developing relations with the labor market in different levels to insure the propulsion of all operations of the technical education and vocational training system in response to the employers' needs of competences & qualifications and work requirements.
The subsidiary goals
Goal no (1): briefing the employers on the human resources development, informing the employers on the human resources issues and expanding the cooperation between the technical education & vocational training system and the production sectors to receive the practical training in their institutions and to recognize the training needs of trades required for various economical sectors.
Goal no (2): the labor market information system, the technical education & vocational training adoption of strong relationships with the labor market information system that belong to the ministry of labor& social affairs for employing the TEVT graduates and drawing the human resources development policies, plans and programs to develop and expand the partnership with the different related players in the labor market.
Goal no (3): Tracing the local and the regional labor markets, the technical education & vocational training will work to set out mechanisms on the local and the foreign levels in order to establish dual relationships with the work sector and employing these for tracing out the needs from skills and making analysis of the labor market various needs of graduates locally and abroad.
Goal no (4):follow up studies; the technical education and vocational training work to follow up and evaluate the execution level of the labor market players and recognize the skills required and the employers' satisfaction on the graduates' performance level.
Goal no (5): the technical education & vocational training care on the traditional crafts in cooperation with employers through the analysis of the traditional trades that possibly fit to the modular units and implement them in the training institutions that belong to the ministry of technical education & vocational training with the partnership of the national and private institutions in setting out the policies, programs and the activities.
Goal no (6): certificates' accordance; the technical education &vocational training system is to develop a national system for qualifications to accord certificates for those who prove earning high levels of skills or knowledge in any trade or occupation. In addition, the system enables the special training programs of the technical education & vocational training system to make balance between the different training programs.
The third strategic axis: institutional building capacities
The third basic goal
Developing the organizational & administrative frames of the
ministry to reflect in a better way, the changing requirements in the labor
market.
The subsidiary goals
Goal no (1): organizational reconsideration; developing the organizational frame of the ministry according to its tasks and specializations.
Goal no (2): system reconsideration; the ministry is to reconsider all systems and laws to suit the strategy implementation.
Goal no (3): information management system; the ministry is to evaluate the requirements and the specifications of the management information system.
Goal no (4): the technical education & vocational training management system; developing the management & leadership skills for all training institutions belonging to the ministry.
Goal no (5): developing the technical education & vocational training programs; developing the curriculum and training & education programs in response to the changes in the labor market.
The fourth strategic axis: developing the special capacities of the training institutions
The fourth basic goal
The ministry of technical education & vocational training is to redirect its
training institutions network and qualify them to be able, flexible and
responding to the training broad needs in the labor market and the society. It
should have a special plan for purchasing and upgrading the equipment and the
maintenance that enable the ministry to implement all training programs.
The subsidiary goals
Goal no (1): the training institutions development plan; making a development plan for the training institutions to enable the ministry manipulating the capacities to respond to all training needs and offering equal chances to all targeted groups. The development plan implies strategic and implementation goals definition and the continuous upgrading of the trainers' performance.
Goal no (2): qualifying the staff of the training institutions; implementing qualification programs for the employees that focusing in the managerial and technical training and qualification necessary for achieving the institutional development plans & goals for each training institution, and working on a special system for evaluating the employees in a yearly basis.
Goal no (3): equipment & constructions management plan ; completing numeration for all constructions and equipment in the workshops belong to the technical education & vocational training system with emphasis on the duration of use and the maintenance for each equipment and connecting its use to the training programs.
Goal no (4) the workshop maintenance & safety; prepare a system for operating the maintenance & the safety precautions for the equipment in the workshops and documenting all these procedures in periodical reports to assure the employees & the equipment' safety.
Goal no (5): the introduction of information technology systems for the technical education & vocational training programs; evaluating the ministry and the training institutions' requirements of the equipment that uses the TEVT information technology system.
Goal no (6): instructors and trainers qualification & upgrading; provide instructors and trainers and upgrade their skills & competences in accordance to the production sectors & development requirements.
The fifth strategic axis: sector financing
The fifth basic goal
The Yemeni government is to set out policies to diversify
the financing resources firms through the equal partnership and contribution
with the beneficiaries in the costs and putting long-term plans for the sector
finance with assurance on the sector motivation for this field.
The subsidiary goals
Goal no (1): the strategy & the study finance; the ministry of technical education & vocational training is to implement the technical support activities and specifying the total sums and expenditures costs for the TEVT system in accordance to the strategy for the ten-years duration in order to distribute the costs equally between the beneficiaries.
Goal no (2): the skill development fund (SDF); reorganizing the skill development fund in accordance to the results that the strategy finance study com up with and to implement it as one of the tools to strengthen the connections with labor market.
Goal no (3): private sector development; encouraging the private training institutions to diversify, expand and develop through setting out simple procedures to licensing them and accrediting their programs.
Goal no (4): the coordination with the donors through
specifying the fields of their interests in the strategy finance.
The strategy priorities and implementation plan
The implementation plans will focus on the redirection of the technical education & vocational training system and work effectively to make substantial changes in the management to achieve a flexible system that is able to response to the needs and assure equal chances in connection to the labor market. The plan will aim to implement the possible goals of the five strategy axis in a sustainable basis. The strategy will be connected with a detailed implementation plan covering the period (2005-2008) and giving indicators about the results, tasks and main responsibilities for each goal achieved with time schedules necessary for implementation. The main strategy priorities will include the following:
1. On the leadership level of the ministry of technical education & vocational training, a higher committee will be formed to supervise and follow up the implementation of the strategy & the plan for the each stage and to guarantee the coordination among the related firms of the strategy and to do the best in order to limit deviances as less as it could be and simplifying the tasks of the specialized team of the strategy implementation through a supervising, follow up and evaluation mechanism.
2. The strategy plan implementation team; in order to implement the national plan, a permanent team called the strategy plan implementation team should be formed to undertake the implementation of the first stage of the plan with its activities and procedures and to write periodical reports to the higher committee showing the level of achievements and the deflections of the plan along with reasons and hindrances that caused that and to suggest solutions and ideas for manipulation.
3. The first stage of the strategy plan implementation; this plan aims to complete what the ministry have achieved from the works and activities and to develop the work mechanisms and achievements in the field of technical education & vocational training.
4. The start in making adjustments on the organizational frame of the ministry of technical education & vocational training in order to strengthen and develop the sectors' tasks to be able to implement all activities planned in the strategy plan.
5. Specific definition for the tasks of the related agencies responsible for the preparation and implementation of the yearly plans and the time schedule for each activity. This requires forming a team work and specialized technical committees form the employees in the sectors and the general departments with the cooperation of consulting experts, partners and the donors in order to insure typical implementation with the strategy planning implementation team.
6. Preparation of the finance plan that includes the resources and the required expenditures for implementing each stage of the strategy plan.
7. Strengthening dialogue and partnership and developing
relationships the related agencies and the labor market through the following:
a. Making dialogue in order to set mutual plan for cooperation and coordination
between the ministry of technical education & vocation training, the ministry of
higher education, the ministry of social affairs and labor, the ministry of
civil service and insurance and the other related agencies such as the ministry
of planning and international cooperation, the ministry of finance, the ministry
of telecommunication and information technology, the NGOs and the private sector
in order to implement the strategy goals.
b. Strengthening the role of the local councils of the technical education & vocational training and the related agencies of this field of education and training such as the education & training authorities, the training institutions, the social partners, the employment offices and the interested NGOs locally and abroad through clear tasks assignment in order to insure the adaptability of offering the technical education & vocational training in accordance to the labor market needs and the country economy status . The purpose of this procedures is to allow for the existence of training institutions connected to the system of the technical education & vocational training and its environments.
c. Spread the awareness and better understating among the employers about the necessary issues regarding the human resources development and the obvious definition for development needs of skills of the different production sectors on sector and local levels.
d. Strengthening the capabilities of the ministry of technical education & vocational training through the use of its long experience in this field and supporting its strength resources, designing and building up management information systems and back up systems for quick decision making procedures with plan preparation for employees' qualifications and implementing the main components continuously.
e. Continuing efforts on the current training capacity building and increasing the competencies and the effectiveness of the training institutions and operating the new ones that reach in number 35 training institutes and diversifying the training services according to the needs of all groups in the labor market and enforcing new management methods that will raise the autonomy of these institutions in accordance to special studies for offering databases about the training institutions and the labor market in cooperation with related firms.
The management of implementing the strategy
It was expected that the strategy implementation process will face a lot of management and organizational problems and difficulties in mobilizing the qualifies staff . And for the strategy to achieve success, it is recommended to establish a strategy implementation unit in order to coordinate and supervise the activity implementations that have been prepared for it through the yearly plans and the suitable administrative procedures.
Supervision & evaluation
It will be necessary to propose strategy through a logical frame work for each goal and operating clear outputs that can be tested and measured quantitavely and specific as possible it could be. During this stage, there will be indicators definition for measuring out the level of achievements in each result and process of the strategy implementation activities through the yearly plans. The supervision & evaluation process will enable the strategy implementation unit to use these indicators for the purposes of continuous evaluation of achievement level on the strategy implementation.
The strategy unit will provide periodical reports to the related firms on the work advancement in order to approve, the unit also will provide yearly reports about the work advancement within the operational plans projects and the yearly budgets.
The communications
The implementation strategy unit will design and implement an effective communication plan satisfy the needs of the information related firms and insuring more clarity of the strategy. The communication plan will focus also on organizing a discussion seminar and other suitable activities beside the issuance of bulletins and a web site for the strategy and using the other communication instruments.