Within the public sector as well, concerted efforts need to be made to improve the pre- and in-service training of all personnel who are directly involved in facilitating knowledge dissemination and skills development among the poor. The key areas of activity are agricultural research and extension and other rural development services; technical assistance/extension for rural non-farm and urban informal sector activities; VET institutions; community development, co-operatives, local government and local economic development agencies, women in development, labour-intensive public works programmes (roads, bridges, irrigation), low cost housing and other construction activities that directly benefit the poor and/or where the poor provide labour inputs. A major objective of pro-poor development strategies is to expand considerably the level of these services to the poor.
As noted earlier, women comprise the large majority of the poor in most developing countries. Given deeply engrained social and cultural norms, it is particularly important, therefore, that the overall numbers of female trainers/facilitators should be increased significantly. As women, female trainers are much better able to understand the multiple constraints that typically undermine women's efforts to improve their livelihoods and that of their families. In general, NGOs have been more successful than government training institutions in employing women.
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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