Generalisations abound about the generally poor performance of public sector training institutions in supporting MSEs. However it is clear that there has been very considerable diversity of experiences on the ground. For example, in a study of MSEs in five African countries in Steel and Riopelle conclude that in Tanzania, the Small Industry Development Organisation had been "comparatively successful at providing hands-on training and disseminating information" (Steel and Riopelle, 1995:33). In Ghana and Senegal, on the other hand, "scare resources" had limited the usefulness of government training efforts.
The received wisdom is that it is extremely difficult for most public sector organisations to develop programmes that can promote and develop entrepreneurship in an efficient and effective manner. Such interventions tend only to work well where there are organised entrepreneurship associations and business advisory bodies, small enterprises are 'relatively large', training is closely integrated into a wider programme of inputs and services, and trainees are well motivated for business success. "Many MSE programmes have offered only low level, scheduled generalised often standardised services. This approach seldom addresses the real needs of small and microenterprises. Characteristically, both new and existing enterprises want quick, short term, moderate to high levels, of specialised services that are tailored to their immediate needs" (Grierson and McKenzie, 1996:22).
The key principles of 'good practice' which have emerged from business development support projects for MSE also apply to the informal sector as a whole (see Box 10). Training approaches should "conform to the natural processes of skill acquisition" but most public sector training institutions "are bound by structures and methods derived from bureaucratic imperatives" (ibid). However, it is clear that the combination of major fiscal crises and market-driven VET reform has resulted in major changes to these structures and methods during the 1990s. In particular, with many parent ministries being increasingly unable to fund their own training institutions, these institutions have been granted, in varying degrees, more autonomy in order to commercialise their training activities and thereby generate their own sources of funding. But, without public resources, they will have no alternative but to reorient increasingly to the market rather than the poor.
EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING PAPERS 43 Learning to change: Skills development among the economically vulnerable and socially excluded in developing countries Paul Bennell Employment and Training Department International Labour Office Geneva First published 1999
To learn more about this author, visit International Labour Organization's Website.
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