Competence-based Training in South Asia
Competence-based training (CBT) is evolving as a leading approach to produce a world-class, multi-skilled and adaptable workforce. This approach is expected to reduce existing skills gaps that industries face. South Asia, which is estimated to supply almo
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Competence-based Training in South Asia Brajesh Panth and Rhona B. Caoli-Rodriguez
21.1
Introduction
The South Asian population is young and is expected to supply 40 % of the global labor force by 2030. Demand for middle skills particularly is highest in domestic and overseas labor markets. However, South Asia’s education profile is behind most of the regions in the world. Given that the demographic dividend is a double-edged sword, which may prove a nightmare unless addressed urgently, and with rapid investments, it is crucial to recognize that both quantity and quality of skilling the large working-age population are equally important for South Asia to move forward to sustain high economic growth. This means that South Asia has to evolve its own unique model to skill, reskill, and upskill its very large working population to transform it into a globally competitive workforce, while meeting international standards. Average school attainment in South Asia except Sri Lanka is around 6 years which is much lower than other regions such as Southeast Asia, Europe, and North America which have 10 years or more of average school attainment. Over half of the labor force in Bangladesh, Nepal, and India has either no education or only up to primary level education, and under 5 % have any kind of vocational training, although this is changing rapidly with the younger cohort getting more and more education. These countries also have over 80 % of the labor force in the informal sector. While population growth rates have slowed down in these countries, the population is still growing and will peak around 2050 before stabilizing. Against this backdrop, governments have recognized the urgency to invest in human development, but the challenge is how to do so rapidly by front-loading investments. B. Panth (*) • R.B. Caoli-Rodriguez Human and Social Development Division, South Asia Department, Asian Development Bank, Manila, Philippines e-mail: [email protected] © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2017 M. Mulder (ed.), Competence-based Vocational and Professional Education, Technical and Vocational Education and Training: Issues, Concerns and Prospects 23, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-41713-4_21
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B. Panth and R.B. Caoli-Rodriguez
The section below on the status of competence-based training in South Asia has benefited from inputs from Dr. Sunil Chadrasiri, higher education and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) expert in Sri Lanka; Mr. Ahasan Habib and Md. Mohiuzzaman, TVET experts in Bangladesh; and Mr. Devi Dahal, TVET expert in Nepal.
21.2
Emerging Vision in South Asia for Education and Training
Almost all countries in South Asia have recently developed and approved national policies on education and skills development. The emphasis on schooling is to have basic education of 8 years by combining primary (grades 1–5) and lower-secondary (grades 6–8) and secondary education of 4 years by integrating secondary (grades 9 and 10) with upper-secondary education (grades 11 and 12) in line with the int
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