Vocational and Technical Education and Training

摘要

A competent and flexible work force, one that can acquire new skills as economieschange, is a necessary prerequisite for economic and social development. Society benefits in the form of higher productivity and the capacity to adapt to changing economic circumstances and opportunities. Individuals benefit through higher earnings and enhanced mobility in seeking better employment opportunities. In the modern wage sector, skilled workers and technicians enhance the efficiency and quality of production and maintenance, facilitate the adaptation and use of new technologies, and supervise and train workers with lesser skills. In the rural and urban informal sectors, the acquisition of skills can increase worker productivity in self-employment and in small enterprises. The paper proposes policies that can help governments make the transition to a more dynamic and efficient use of public resources to ensure that the skills needed to meet the challenges of economic change are developed and that equity objectives for the poor and the socially disadvantaged are effectively addressed. (Copyright (c) 1991 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank.)