National strategy on technical and vocational education for vulnerable people launched

by Gamini WARUSHAMANA

A national strategy on technical and vocational education and training making provisions for vulnerable people was launched last week. The policy document has been developed on the guidelines of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) policy framework.

Technical and vocational education and training will be provided for six vulnerable groups identified by the National TEVT policy. These groups have been selected based on limited access to skills training. They are disadvantaged women (especially those who head households), people with mental and physical disability, disadvantaged youth (school dropouts and children who have been used in child labour, the poor in estates, rural and urban areas, persons affected by conflict (IDPs and ex-combatants) and migrant workers.

The policy was formulated by the Technical and Vocational Education Commission (TEVC) with financial support from the ILO.

These groups are marginalised from mainstream educational and training due to various barriers generated by economic, social and geographic fault lines and physical disabilities and other specific constraints. Natural disasters and conflicts have also contributed to the rise in vulnerable groups who are displaced from their original places of living and livelihoods.

Participation of these groups in vocational training is significantly low. Women account for 51 percent of the population, barely reach 10 percent enrolment in technical trades that are critical to skilled employment and higher wages in the formal sector. Labour force participation of women is around 35 percent.

Single women headed households are in significant numbers in the North and the East due to the conflict and the 2004 tsunami. People with disabilities is estimated at around seven percent of the population. Migrant workers belong to the semi and unskilled category and therefore command comparatively low wages affect their financial state and the country's gross national income, the report said.

Senior Program officer of ILO country office, Shafinaz Hassendeen said that skills development of vulnerable groups remains a major challenge in Sri Lanka. Vulnerability has many causes such as gender, disability, ethnicity, geographical constraints and employment conditions.

Although considerable effort has been made in strengthening the TVET system it has not yet reached these groups.

In this context, national consultation on skills development for vulnerable groups was held in collaboration with the then Ministry of Vocational and Technical Training in 2008.

This national strategy will be a stepping stone to bridge this gap and contribute towards enhancing employability of these groups, Hassendeen said.