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7.3.3 Reconceptualising the role of training: Mainstreaming skills development for the poor
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| Guest post by: International Labour Organization |
Article Overview: The whole concept of training should be reformulated more in terms of purposeful skills development based on a variety of modalities/interventions and not just conventional, formal training courses. Because 'training' frequently has pejorative connotations, serious thought should be given to replacing it with other terms. 'Skills development' is generally preferable with 'facilitators' (rather than trainers) in appropriate supporting roles.
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Free Download - References: Learning to change: Skills development among the economically vulnerable and socially excluded in developing countries By International Labour Organization |
7.3.3 Reconceptualising the role of training: Mainstreaming skills development for the poor
The whole concept of training should be reformulated more in terms of purposeful skills development based on a variety of modalities/interventions and not just conventional, formal training courses. Because 'training' frequently has pejorative connotations, serious thought should be given to replacing it with other terms. 'Skills development' is generally preferable with 'facilitators' (rather than trainers) in appropriate supporting roles.
Equally important, the conventional training process needs to be transformed in order for the actual skills needs of the poor to be effectively addressed. Training must be directly linked to the development needs of clearly identified groups among the poor. These needs must be identified by the poor themselves using appropriate participatory research and evaluation methodologies.
There is an emerging consensus that skills development for the poor must be part and parcel of community-based economic and political development. Communities need to mobilise around specific "development alternatives" that address key political, social, and economic constraints. Skills development should be driven by a 'people-centred' pedagogy' which maximises locally available skills and empowers the poor to learn for themselves. Support for skills development should be directly linked to the actual skills needs of the poor and, invariably, will need to be closely related to on-going production activities.
It is particularly important to avoid what has been referred to as the "replicability imperative" in policy discourse and formulation. This has led to "forms, design, and delivery of a range of interventions which embody values, assume priorities, attribute beliefs, attribute benefits and require conditions which are removed from the realities of those the interventions are purportedly intended to benefit" (Kabeer, 1994:8). To do so, requires high levels of participation among the targeted beneficiaries in the design of interventions and decentralised decision making in all phases of execution.
Extreme care should also be exercised in the use of new innovative training methods. The introduction of pupil-centred, active learning methodologies in primary schools in developing countries has been largely unsuccessful, in particular because of the poor quality of teachers, the limitations of cascade training models, and lack of powerful enough incentives to introduce major changes to teaching practice (See Al-Samarrai et al, 1998).
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
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About the Author: International Labour Organization RSS for International's articles - Visit International's website As the world's only tripartite multilateral agency, the ILO is dedicated to bringing decent work and livelihoods, job-related security and better living standards to the people of both poor and rich countries. It helps to attain those goals by promoting rights at work, encouraging opportunities for decent employment, enhancing social protection and strengthening dialogue on work-related issues. The ILO is the international meeting place for the world of work. We are the experts on work and employment and particularly on the critical role that these issues play in bringing about economic development and progress. At the heart of our mission is helping countries build the institutions that are the bulwarks of democracy and to help them become accountable to the people. The ILO formulates international labour standards in the form of Conventions and Recommendations setting minimum standards of basic labour rights: freedom of association, the right to organize, collective bargaining, abolition of forced labour, equality of opportunity and treatment and other standards addressing conditions across the entire spectrum of work-related issues. Click here to visit International's website 741 Governance and organisation 521 The MITSME section Support for Growthoriented Women Entrepreneurs in Tanzania 2005 10 Overview Working Out of Poverty 52 International economic integration and social justice Working Out of Poverty 511 Rights and labour law reform Working Out of Poverty |
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