7.3.2 Training as a basic social service: Mainstreaming skills development for the poor
7.3.2 Training as a basic social service: Mainstreaming skills development for the poor
Not only are private (i.e. individual and household) rates of return to primary education much lower than has been widely claimed, but the demand for primary education in many of the poorest developing countries has been falling over the last decade (see Bennell, 1996, Appleton, 1995). Economic crisis has tended to increase the opportunity costs of education (especially among the poorest households), but improvements in the productivity of smallholder agriculture and microenterprises have remained relatively limited. Because the potential benefits of primary education (at least as far as production is concerned) are only likely to be fully reaped in "modernising" environments, it is essential, therefore, that appropriate training is provided to those who are already in employment. While this argument has been fully accepted with respect to smallholder agriculture, for the many reasons discussed earlier, it has yet to be taken on board by policymakers and donors with respect to non-farm activities.
Government support for skills development for the mass of the poor who live and work in the rural and urban informal sector should, therefore, be regarded as a basic social service. It is clear that acute resource constraints will seriously hinder many governments from being able to fund the large training programmes that are needed and primary education will continue to be given top priority. However, explicit recognition of this role of training in poverty reduction strategies is of crucial importance. In particular, government policy and resources need to be increasingly focused on supporting enterprise development in the informal sector. This is a long-term strategy and community-based organisations and other NGOs will have to take the lead in implementing these programmes in many countries. Strengthening the institutional capacity of all the public and private organisations involved should be a major goal of the training system as a whole (see below).
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
732 Training as a basic social service Mainstreaming skills development for the poor - To learn more about this author, visit International Labour Organization's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 |
Free Download - 11.0 Business support and information: Support for Growth-oriented Women Entrepreneurs in Tanzania, 2005 |
Redressing inequities and under-provision in the formal education system is of vital importance, both for achieving a more equitable allocation of jobs in the formal sector for women and other disadvantaged groups and, more widely, for sustained poverty reduction. However, the provision of reasonable quality free primary education will, on its own, not be sufficient to realise these objectives. Unless there are strong economic incentives for poor parents to send their children to school, the relatively high indirect (opportunity) costs of formal schooling will keep many children out of school.
Not only are private (i.e. individual and household) rates of return to primary education much lower than has been widely claimed, but the demand for primary education in many of the poorest developing countries has been falling over the last decade (see Bennell, 1996, Appleton, 1995). Economic crisis has tended to increase the opportunity costs of education (especially among the poorest households), but improvements in the productivity of smallholder agriculture and microenterprises have remained relatively limited. Because the potential benefits of primary education (at least as far as production is concerned) are only likely to be fully reaped in "modernising" environments, it is essential, therefore, that appropriate training is provided to those who are already in employment. While this argument has been fully accepted with respect to smallholder agriculture, for the many reasons discussed earlier, it has yet to be taken on board by policymakers and donors with respect to non-farm activities.
Government support for skills development for the mass of the poor who live and work in the rural and urban informal sector should, therefore, be regarded as a basic social service. It is clear that acute resource constraints will seriously hinder many governments from being able to fund the large training programmes that are needed and primary education will continue to be given top priority. However, explicit recognition of this role of training in poverty reduction strategies is of crucial importance. In particular, government policy and resources need to be increasingly focused on supporting enterprise development in the informal sector. This is a long-term strategy and community-based organisations and other NGOs will have to take the lead in implementing these programmes in many countries. Strengthening the institutional capacity of all the public and private organisations involved should be a major goal of the training system as a whole (see below).
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
732 Training as a basic social service Mainstreaming skills development for the poor - To learn more about this author, visit International Labour Organization's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
|||
David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
|||
John AlexanderJohn has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center. I look forward to hearing from you! - Visit John Alexander's Website |
|||
Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
|||
Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
|||
Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
|||
Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
|||
Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
 | |
|  |
Subscribe to International's articles
 | |
|
|  |
 | |
|
| |
 | ||
|
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
| ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
 |
 Lifestyle and Leadership Canadian Leadership Winning Sales Letter Emotions Drive Behavior Sample Credit Application |
|
 | ||
 |
Top 50 Franchising Blogs
Top 50 Franchising Blogs | |
 |
Top 50 Productivity Blogs
Top Blogs To Watch In 2008 | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||