Meeting in the Middle: Linking Education and Employment in Developing Contexts

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 15
  In Roundtable Session: Career and Technical Education Roundtable 2

Abstract

Education-employment linkage captures the power-sharing between actors from the education and employment systems in a given vocational education and training (VET) program. Linkage is related to overall outcomes on the youth labor market, and is a good measure of program quality across institutional contexts. However, the theory has been tested in only developed countries thus far. This study examines the education-employment linkage of the largest formal VET program in four developing and emerging countries: Nepal, Benin, Costa Rica, and Chile. We find that linkage is generally low with the exception of Benin, where an employer-based program is entering the education system instead of bringing employers into an education-based program. Some developing countries might have a unique approach to improving VET.

Authors

• Katherine Marie Caves, ETH Zurich

• Andrea Ghisletta, ETH Zurich