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To stimulate economic advancement, low- and middle-income countries need well-educated and trained workforces to fill the types of skilled jobs that drive economic growth. Improving educational quality and attainment and providing better training are all rightly put forth as policy recommendations to leverage economic growth and job creation. However, new findings based on large scale surveys of adult skills from the World Bank Groups STEP (Skills toward Employment and Productivity) Skills Measurement Program suggest that many workers are overqualified for their current jobs (based on the education those jobs require). The results of this study suggest that countries may not reap as much benefit from their investments in quality education and training if weak job creation leaves workers skills underutilized. Most of the literature on mismatch focuses on higher-income countries and rates of over-education among college graduates. Accounting for Mismatch in Low- and Middle-Income Countries uses new STEP Skills Survey data from 12 low- and middle-income countries, representing a range of economic and educational and training climates, to better understand the scope and patterns of education and skills mismatch. STEP collects information not only on workers level of education and employment status, but also on the types, frequency, and durations of tasks they carry out at their jobs as well as some of the cognitive skills they use. The study also explores additional factors such as gender, health, career stage, and participation in the informal labor sector that may help explain the degree of mismatch rates. The studys findings indicate that over-education is common in low and middle income countries with both lower and higher rates of educational attainment. There is also evidence that over-educated tertiary workers do not use all of their skills, potentially wasting valuable human capital and educational resources. Aimed at policy makers, business and education leaders, and employers, Accounting for Mismatch in Low- and Middle-Income Countries suggests that job growth must go hand-in-hand with investments in education and trainin

The report aims to gain a better understanding of youth employment outcomes in the hope of crafting more sound and responsive policies. The first part of this study provides an analysis of how youth spend their time and the determinants of this time use. The second part of the study provides an overview and analysis of the technical and vocational education and training sector. It also provides recommendations on how the sector can be made more responsive to the needs of youth in the light of the findings of the first part of the study.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is, first, to examine student perspectives of their university experience in terms of the soft employability skills they develop; second, how prepared those students feel for the future employment market and finally investigate whether there are differences in perceptions between Chinese and Malaysian students given their different educational experience. Design/methodology/approach: In this study, 361 predominantly Chinese undergraduate students at two universities, one in China and the other in Malaysia completed the 15-item Goldsmiths soft skills inventory using an online survey. Findings: The results, analysed using factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, indicated that the university curriculum develops student soft skills, particularly in the Malaysian university and supports the relationship between soft skill and student preparedness for employment. The results also indicate that compared with the respondents from the Chinese university, the Malaysian university respondents were more likely to be positive to statements concerning their respective university's ability to develop their soft skills. Research limitations/implications: Such findings have implications for education providers and business in that it is important for universities to embed soft skills into the curriculum in order to develop graduate work readiness. Originality/value: What this research contributes is not only consolidation of existing research in the contemporary context of a disruptive jobs market, it takes research forward through analysing student perceptions from two universities, one in Malaysia and the other in China, of the skills they develop at university and the importance of soft skills to them and their perceptions of future employment and employability. Such research will provide insight, in particular, into the role of education providers, the phenomena of underemployment among graduates in China, and be of practical significance to employers and their perception that graduates lack the necessary soft skills for the workplace (Anonymous, 2017a; Stapleton, 2017; British Council, 2015; Chan, 2015).

Black, Indigenous, and Persons of Color (BIPOC) autistic transition-aged youth (TAY) report lower rates of competitive employment compared to White autistic TAY and even greater deficits with social skills associated with positive job interviewing. A virtual job interviewing program was adapted to support and improve the job interviewing skills of autistic TAY. The current study evaluates the effectiveness of an efficacious virtual interview training program on the job interview skills, interview anxiety, and likeliness to be hired, for a subsample of 32 BIPOC autistic TAY, ages 17–26 years old from a previous randomized control trial of the program. Bivariate analyses were used to evaluate between-group differences at pre-test related to background characteristics, and whether Virtual Interview Training for Transition-Age Youth (VIT-TAY) was associated with changes between pre-test and post-test measures of job interview skills. Additionally, a Firth logistic regression was conducted to examine the relationship between VIT-TAY and competitive integrative employment at 6 months, covarying for fluid cognition, having ever had a job interview, and baseline employment status. Participants receiving pre-employment services (Pre-ETS) and virtual interview training had better job interview skills (F = 12.7, ρ < .01; η ρ 2  = .32), lower job interview anxiety (F = .3.96, ρ < .05; η ρ 2  = .12), and a higher likeliness of receiving employment (F = 4.34, ρ < .05; η ρ 2  = .13 at the 6-month follow up compared to participants that only had Pre-ETS. Findings from this study suggest that virtual interview training for TAY is effective for BIPOC autistic TAY in improving their interview skills to gain competitive employment and lower their job interview anxiety.

The conference brought together 44 African ministers of finance and of education from 28 African countries for a structured dialogue on sustaining Africa's economic and educational progress in the current context of a global economic slowdown. African countries have achieved laudable progress during the last decade towards the Education for All (EFA) goals for 2015 that were agreed in Dakar in 2000, particularly with regard to Universal Primary Education (UPE). This progress reflects the combined impact of several factors, notably courageous education reforms, substantially increased public financing of education made possible largely by sustained economic growth and increased political priority for education-and greater inflows of external aid for education. The momentum may be jeopardized, however, by the current worldwide economic downturn. Tightening domestic budgets and external aid could increase the difficulty of sustaining policy reform and strategic investments, thereby putting at risk the hard won gains of the last ten years. They could also undermine Africa's efforts to develop post basic education and training and delay achievement of key goals of the African Union's Second Decade for Education in Africa. The result would be to frustrate the aspirations of the increasing numbers of African youth who seek to go beyond primary education and to deny their prospective employers the skilled workforce that could help boost business competitiveness and economic growth. The emerging global economic circumstances provided a key rationale for the Conference. Its purpose was to stimulate dialogue among senior policy makers on policy options to achieve a mutually reinforcing relation between education and the economy.

This report, produced with the help of Madagascar’s national education team in 2006-07, is designed to contribute to ongoing education reform discussions. It analyzes the constraints to system expansion and presents possible next steps for an appropriate course of action. This report aims to encourage discussion among policymakers, stakeholders and donors, and does not promote one approach over another. To promote a more competitive economy in Madagascar in the 21st century, the government expects to increase the average years of schooling from the current 4.5 years to about 9-10 years by 2015 for the relative age groups. This report discusses the ongoing reform and its impact and provides suggestions for implementation. This report is intended to be used as a discussion instrument and to be disseminated among Madagascar’s stakeholders in education. We hope this report will contribute to improved implementation of the secondary education reform in Madagascar.This study was prepared as part of the Secondary Education and Training in Africa (SEIA) initiative which aims to assist countries to develop sustainable strategies for expansion and quality improvements in secondary education and training.

Technological change has squeezed the demand for middle-skill jobs, which typically involve routine-intense tasks. This squeeze has coincided with an increase in the number of part-time working individuals who wish to work more hours. We argue that these two trends are linked. Due to the decline of middle-skill employment, medium-educated workers shift into low-skill employment, increasing the supply of labour for jobs in this segment of the labour market. This pushes those dependent on these jobs to accept part-time jobs, even if these involve fewer hours than they prefer. To empirically assess this claim, we analyse involuntary part-time employment across 16 European countries between 1999 and 2010. Our analysis confirms that a decline in middle-skill employment is associated with an increase in involuntary part-time employment at the bottom end of the labour market. This finding implies that the automation of routine-intense labour worsens employment possibilities in this segment of the labour market. However, we show that training and job creation schemes mitigate this effect. These programmes cushion competition either by providing medium-educated workers with the necessary skills to shift into high-skill jobs or by increasing employment possibilities. Thus, governments have the tools to support workers facing challenges in the knowledge economy.

While demand for cybersecurity professionals is high, the field is currently facing a workforce shortage and a skills gap. Thus, an examination of current cybersecurity position hiring requirements may be advantageous for helping to close the skills gap. This work examines the education, professional experience, industry certification, security clearance, and programming skill requirements of 935 cybersecurity positions categorized by sub-field. The nine sub-fields are: architecture, auditing, education, GRC (governance, risk, and compliance), management, operations, penetration testing, software security, and threat intelligence / research. Prior work experience and higher education degrees in technical fields were found to be frequently required across all sub-fields. Over 48% of positions listed an industry cybersecurity certification, while 19% of positions required a security clearance. In addition, 25% of positions listed knowledge of a programming language as a requirement for employment. There were notable differences in certain position requirements between sub-fields. On average, management positions required three years of additional work experience than positions in the auditing, operations, and penetration testing sub-fields. Security clearance requirements were relatively similar across all other sub-fields, with the GRC sub-field having the highest percentage of positions requiring a security clearance. Programming skills were desired most prevalently in positions within the architecture, software security, and penetration testing sub-fields. Demand for industry certifications varied by sub-field, although the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification was the most frequently desired certification. Cybersecurity education programs should consider the diverse nature of the cybersecurity field and develop pathways to prepare future cybersecurity professionals for success in any sub-field.

This title provides a comprehensive analysis of education development in Singapore since 1965, giving particular attention to the strategic management that has enabled Singapore to transform its education and training system from one similar to many Sub-Saharan African countries four decades ago into one of the world's best-performing systems.