Publication: The Skills Road : Skills for Employability in Uzbekistan
Loading...
Other Files
34 downloads
Published
2014-09
ISSN
Date
2014-10-08
Author(s)
Abdulloev, Ilhom
Audy, Robin
Hut, Stefan
de Laat, Joost
Kheyfets, Igor
Larrison, Jennica
Nikoloski, Zlatko
Torracchi, Federico
Editor(s)
Abstract
This report addresses a fundamental question facing policymakers in Uzbekistan: are worker skills hindering employment outcomes? The main finding of the report is that, indeed, worker skills gaps are hindering employment outcomes in Uzbekistan. In fact, employers—particularly formal sector employers—seek workers who possess both cognitive and non-cognitive skills. The higher employability and higher wage rates among higher skilled workers is mostly explained by the use of those skills in workplaces. But, skills gaps persist, leading a large share of employers to report shortages of high-skilled workers. These shortages are resulting in high wage premiums—tertiary graduates earn on average 55 percent more than similar workers with a general secondary education. However, large variations in observed skills among adults with the same level of educational attainment indicate that formal education is failing too many people. The report outlines weaknesses in the way skills are formed in Uzbekistan. While skills are developed during different stages in the life cycle and a host of actors are involved—families, for example, play a central role—the education and training system has a mixed record in skill formation. The report argues that the government could do more to align the skills imparted through the education and training system with the needs of employers. The government can also do more to get children off to the right start by investing in early childhood development, where rates of return to investment are generally very high and important soft skills are learned. Finally, more can be done to match the supply of skills with employer demand by improving the use of information in matching skills to jobs in the labor market.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Abdulloev, Ilhom; Audy, Robin; Hut, Stefan; de Laat, Joost; Kheyfets, Igor; Larrison, Jennica; Nikoloski, Zlatko; Torracchi, Federico; Ajwad, Mohamed Ihsan. 2014. The Skills Road : Skills for Employability in Uzbekistan. © http://hdl.handle.net/10986/20389 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication The Skills Road : Skills for Employability in Tajikistan(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-09)This report addresses a fundamental question facing policy makers in Tajikistan: is the current level of worker skills hindering employment outcomes? Using a unique household survey, the study finds that skills are valued in Tajikistan’s labor market, yet skills gaps persist. Jobs have been created in more knowledge-intensive occupations and in the service sector as opposed to the more traditional manual jobs, and employment outcomes are stronger for workers with better skills. Analysis of worker skills shows that workers with better cognitive and non-cognitive skills are typically more likely to have the highly sought-after formal sector jobs; and in fact make more frequent and intense use of mathematics and reading skills on the job. Furthermore, workers with better non-cognitive skills tend to become supervisors. The study finds that there are large variations in observed skills among those with the same level of educational attainment, indicating that formal education is failing too many people even though skills are developed during different stages in the life cycle and a host of actors are involved—families, for example, play a central role. The report’s conclusion is that the government could shift the focus from providing access to educational institutions and instead focus on providing the skills (cognitive, non-cognitive, and technical) students need to succeed as adults. The government can also do more to get children off to the right start by investing in early childhood development programs, where rates of return to investment are generally very high and important soft skills are learned. Finally, more can be done to match worker skills with employer demand by improving the use of information in matching skills to jobs in the labor market.Publication The Skills Road : Skills for Employability in the Kyrgyz Republic(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-09)This report is about education, skills, and labor market outcomes in the Kyrgyz Republic. The report shows that skills are valued in the Kyrgyz Republic labor market, yet skills gaps persist. Three findings are particularly noteworthy. First, higher skilled youth have better employment outcomes, meaning that youth with more cognitive and non-cognitive skills are more likely to be employed than inactive or discouraged youth. Second, workers with higher cognitive and non-cognitive skills are more likely to use those skills in their daily work. Third, workers with higher skills—cognitive skills especially—tend to have higher quality (formal sector, less repetitive tasks, less physical work) jobs. However, large variations in observed skills among those with the same level of educational attainment indicate that formal education is failing too many people, even though skill development occurs at different stages in the life cycle and a host of actors are involved—families, for example, play a central role. The report argues that the government could shift some of its focus from providing access to educational institutions and instead focus on providing the skills (cognitive, non-cognitive, and technical) students need to succeed as adults. The government can also do more to get children off to the right start by investing in early childhood development programs, where rates of return to investment are generally very high and important soft skills are learned. Finally, more can be done to match the supply of skills with employer demand by improving the use of information in matching skills to jobs in the labor market.Publication Skills for the Labor Market in Indonesia : Trends in Demand, Gaps, and Supply(World Bank, 2011)Creating jobs and increasing productivity are key concerns for policy makers across the globe. For East Asian countries seeking to reduce poverty, expanding employment and productivity is at the top of the agenda. This book is a comprehensive look at the demand and supply of skills in Indonesia how skills have changed, how they will continue to evolve, and how the education and training sectors can be improved to be more responsive and relevant to the needs of the labor market and the economy as a whole. Using an innovative firm survey, the authors shed light on the functional skills that workers must possess to be employable and to support firms' competitiveness and productivity. They also assess the role of the education and training systems in providing those skills. Although this book focuses specifically on Indonesia, its methodologies, messages, and analysis will be instructive for researchers and policy makers who shape the delivery of education and training in other middle-income countries around the world.Publication Investing in Turkey's Next Generation : The School-to-Work Transition and Turkey's Development(Washington, DC, 2008-06)This report assesses the prospects for Turkey's youth by examining the 'school-to-work transition'. Turkey needs to invest in its young people to capture the potentially substantial dividend of today's large youth cohort. Because of the sheer number of young people, Turkey's working-age population will expand by over 800,000 every year during the next decade. This so-called 'productive population' will continue to grow until around 2020 when the demographic window starts to close. By that time, Turkey will have the population profile of an aging society. East Asia's economic miracle of the 1970s and 1980s demonstrated that a large youth cohort can propel an economy to very high growth rates. However, the experience in other regions, such as Latin America, has shown that this outcome is by no means guaranteed. Investments made now in today's children and youth will be critical in determining the extent to which Turkey benefits from this 'demographic dividend' While the potential benefits are great, so are the risks if today's large youth cohort does not find its place in tomorrow's labor market and society. The potential downside of this demographic profile is also significant. If Turkey's young people are not well prepared for the world of work and if the labor market does not generate more and better jobs for them, then this large youth cohort will be the source of social and economic pressures and tensions. Indeed, managing the transition into adulthood will be a very important factor in determining how well Turkey achieves the goals of stability, equity, and competitiveness that are at the heart of the Ninth Development Plan. In many respects, Turkey has taken important steps to prepare for this future. Today's young people are more educated and healthier than previous ones, which is a strong base to build on. Educational achievements have been notable, especially in basic education. Enrollments are up at all levels. Some important steps have been taken to modernize the labor market and to establish the foundations for employment institutions and policies suitable for an open, private-sector led economy.Publication Skills for the Labor Market in the Philippines(World Bank, 2010-10-01)This book investigates trends in skills demand and supply over the past two decades for insights into ways to build (and use) the critical skills needed to sustain competitiveness of the Philippine economy. Part one of the book investigates trends in demand for skills in the country overall and by sectors, explores its possible determinants, and attempts to identify emerging skills gaps. Part two turns to the analysis of the supply of skills in the country with a focus on the ability of education and training to provide highly skilled labor, keeping workers' skills updated, and providing skills development opportunities for the unskilled. It explores employers' perceptions on the quality of institutions and provides detailed analysis of the main characteristics, outcomes, and challenges in four key (or growing) subsectors of the provision of skills in the country: higher education, postsecondary technical-vocational education, non-formal secondary education, and postemployment training. It concludes with a summary of policy recommendations.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Digital Africa(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-03-13)All African countries need better and more jobs for their growing populations. "Digital Africa: Technological Transformation for Jobs" shows that broader use of productivity-enhancing, digital technologies by enterprises and households is imperative to generate such jobs, including for lower-skilled people. At the same time, it can support not only countries’ short-term objective of postpandemic economic recovery but also their vision of economic transformation with more inclusive growth. These outcomes are not automatic, however. Mobile internet availability has increased throughout the continent in recent years, but Africa’s uptake gap is the highest in the world. Areas with at least 3G mobile internet service now cover 84 percent of Africa’s population, but only 22 percent uses such services. And the average African business lags in the use of smartphones and computers as well as more sophisticated digital technologies that catalyze further productivity gains. Two issues explain the usage gap: affordability of these new technologies and willingness to use them. For the 40 percent of Africans below the extreme poverty line, mobile data plans alone would cost one-third of their incomes—in addition to the price of access devices, apps, and electricity. Data plans for small- and medium-size businesses are also more expensive than in other regions. Moreover, shortcomings in the quality of internet services—and in the supply of attractive, skills-appropriate apps that promote entrepreneurship and raise earnings—dampen people’s willingness to use them. For those countries already using these technologies, the development payoffs are significant. New empirical studies for this report add to the rapidly growing evidence that mobile internet availability directly raises enterprise productivity, increases jobs, and reduces poverty throughout Africa. To realize these and other benefits more widely, Africa’s countries must implement complementary and mutually reinforcing policies to strengthen both consumers’ ability to pay and willingness to use digital technologies. These interventions must prioritize productive use to generate large numbers of inclusive jobs in a region poised to benefit from a massive, youthful workforce—one projected to become the world’s largest by the end of this century.Publication The Journey Ahead(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-31)The Journey Ahead: Supporting Successful Migration in Europe and Central Asia provides an in-depth analysis of international migration in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) and the implications for policy making. By identifying challenges and opportunities associated with migration in the region, it aims to inform a more nuanced, evidencebased debate on the costs and benefits of cross-border mobility. Using data-driven insights and new analysis, the report shows that migration has been an engine of prosperity and has helped address some of ECA’s demographic and socioeconomic disparities. Yet, migration’s full economic potential remains untapped. The report identifies multiple barriers keeping migration from achieving its full potential. Crucially, it argues that policies in both origin and destination countries can help maximize the development impacts of migration and effectively manage the economic, social, and political costs. Drawing from a wide range of literature, country experiences, and novel analysis, The Journey Ahead presents actionable policy options to enhance the benefits of migration for destination and origin countries and migrants themselves. Some measures can be taken unilaterally by countries, whereas others require close bilateral or regional coordination. The recommendations are tailored to different types of migration— forced displacement as well as high-skilled and low-skilled economic migration—and from the perspectives of both sending and receiving countries. This report serves as a comprehensive resource for governments, development partners, and other stakeholders throughout Europe and Central Asia, where the richness and diversity of migration experiences provide valuable insights for policy makers in other regions of the world.Publication World Development Report 2006(Washington, DC, 2005)This year’s Word Development Report (WDR), the twenty-eighth, looks at the role of equity in the development process. It defines equity in terms of two basic principles. The first is equal opportunities: that a person’s chances in life should be determined by his or her talents and efforts, rather than by pre-determined circumstances such as race, gender, social or family background. The second principle is the avoidance of extreme deprivation in outcomes, particularly in health, education and consumption levels. This principle thus includes the objective of poverty reduction. The report’s main message is that, in the long run, the pursuit of equity and the pursuit of economic prosperity are complementary. In addition to detailed chapters exploring these and related issues, the Report contains selected data from the World Development Indicators 2005‹an appendix of economic and social data for over 200 countries. This Report offers practical insights for policymakers, executives, scholars, and all those with an interest in economic development.Publication Morocco Economic Update, Winter 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-04-03)Despite the drought causing a modest deceleration of overall GDP growth to 3.2 percent, the Moroccan economy has exhibited some encouraging trends in 2024. Non-agricultural growth has accelerated to an estimated 3.8 percent, driven by a revitalized industrial sector and a rebound in gross capital formation. Inflation has dropped below 1 percent, allowing Bank al-Maghrib to begin easing its monetary policy. While rural labor markets remain depressed, the economy has added close to 162,000 jobs in urban areas. Morocco’s external position remains strong overall, with a moderate current account deficit largely financed by growing foreign direct investment inflows, underpinned by solid investor confidence indicators. Despite significant spending pressures, the debt-to-GDP ratio is slowly declining.Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.