Youth unemployment across low- and middle-income countries (L&MICs) remains a challenge, with the number of youths not in employment, education or training (NEET) stagnant for the last three years. The green energy transition and AI are reshaping the nature of work, with the potential to create millions of new and different jobs. Yet, investment in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) is not meeting demand to adapt to this evolving landscape. In this context, understanding the state of the evidence to inform programming and research investment is essential. To date, there has been no systematic mapping of rigorous TVET and skills evidence across L&MICs.
A new Evidence Gap Map (EGM) conducted by 3ie, in partnership with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), systematically identified and organised the evidence base on TVET and skills. The EGM was based on a framework that captured the full scope of supply-side learning-to-earning interventions and labour market outcomes. With 510 impact evaluations and 17 systematic reviews, this EGM provides a wealth of rigorous evidence on multiple TVET topics that can inform programme design and research across many contexts. The map provides clear opportunities for future synthesis based on the clusters of evidence found, specifically in TVET programmes that evaluate labour market outcomes, such as wage employment and income. Other interventions are under-researched, such as the effects of system-strengthening interventions and in emerging areas in TVET (green skills and AI). Future research should be prioritised in geographical areas with little evidence, such as countries with high NEET rates, where very few studies were found.
This webinar will present the main findings of the EGM and its implications for policy, practice and future research in an era of increasingly limited resources for both research and practice.
Chair: Abdelrahman Nagy, Program Director, Middle East and North Africa, 3ie
Moderator: Constanza Gonzalez Parrao, Senior Evaluation Specialist, 3ie
Speakers:
- Calum Hebron, Higher Education and Skills Policy and Programme Adviser, FCDO
- Pierre Marion, Senior Research Associate, 3ie
- Diana Belén Córdova-Aráuz, Research Assistant, 3ie
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