Taking a whole of government approach to skills development

Coordination is a wide-ranging term which this publication interprets as covering interaction between different ministries and government agencies at a national level; interaction between national, subnational and local structures and agencies; and interaction with social partners such as employers, trade unions and civil society organizations. The publication focuses primarily on the interaction between government ministries and agencies at national and subnational levels, examining how governments can work to coordinate technical and vocational education and development (TVET) and skills development across relevant policy domains. The overarching research question which is being asked is, Does the adoption of interministerial coordination mechanisms assist in the achievement of TVET and skills development policy objectives?’ This publication attempts to answer that question through synthesizing evidence on interministerial TVET coordination mechanisms from a range of countries, using a combination of desk research and country case studies. In doing so, it sets out six broad models. Two country case studies are developed for each. They examine instances where responsibility for TVET and skills development is: Type 1: led by the ministry of education (MoE) or equivalent body, as in the Russian Federation and Turkey. Type 2: led by the ministry of labour (MoL) or equivalent body, as in Malawi and Tunisia. Type 3: led by a dedicated TVET ministry, as in India and Burkina Faso. Type 4: led by a TVET focused government agency or non-departmental public body, as in Jamaica and the Philippines. Type 5: overseen by a coordinating council or similar body placed higher than the relevant departments, as in France and Bangladesh. Type 6: disaggregated across line ministries without a permanent centralized coordination mechanism, as in the Republic of Korea and Canada. The purpose of the case studies was first, to identify the specific trigger points that lead to changes in the use or effectiveness of inter-ministerial coordination mechanisms, and second, to assess the extent to which these inter-ministerial coordination mechanisms have played a role in strengthening the foundational requirements of an effective TVET and skills development system in each country.