Skill shortages and skill mismatches are very likely important factors impeding growth in low-income countries. There is little evidence on the effect of training programmes on labour market outcomes in LICs. This thematic area aims at understanding the effectiveness of the technical and vocational education and training, and other skills development programmes in the labour markets of LICs. Moreover, finding most effective approaches to skills formation for the informal economy (modular employable skills, apprenticeships, certification, etc.) is an important focus of this thematic area.
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play an important role in income and employment generation in local economies, and SMEs account for a large share of businesses in low and income countries (LMICs). SMEs in LMICs are concentrated in activities...
Increasing schooling, delaying marriage and childbearing, and increasing labour market participation of young women are important policy objectives in Senegal as in many developing countries. These outcomes are tightly linked. Early childbearing may...
The Punjab Economic Opportunity Programme: Evaluating Markets for Skill Acquisition and Employment project has examined the complete scope of all relevant decisions being made in the vocational skills market in target districts in Pakistan. This...
How can governments and NGOs raise employment and reduce the risk of violence among these poor and risky populations? Aid programmes increasingly focus on helping youth through markets, especially through microenterprise development. The logic of...
We evaluate the impact of and demand for mid-level management training in a group of garment factories in Bangladesh. Industry participants recognise that there exists a shortage of skills needed to fill in lower-level management positions. There...
Unemployment among young people is one of the most pressing social and economic problems facing less developed countries today. Data from the 2005 Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey found that approximately 21% of youths are unemployed, and a...
Bangladesh has been experiencing remarkable growth in the ready-made garments (RMG) industries for the last three decades. It has become an integral and major part of Bangladesh’s economy, which contributes 13 percent of GDP and 75 percent of...
Youth unemployment is a serious issue in developing countries, where around 60% of young people are currently unemployed or underemployed [ILO 2013]. Understanding the determinants of youth employment in LICs is thus highly policy relevant, not just...
