Basic Education Assistance for Muslim Mindanao - “BEAM and TVET in ARMM” Presentation during the ARMM Regional TVET Forum, April 22, 2014, By: Peter Bellen, Component Manager,

Basic Education Assistance for Muslim Mindanao

“BEAM and TVET in ARMM” Presentation during the ARMM Regional TVET Forum

April 22, 2014By: Peter Bellen,

Component Manager, BEAM-ARMM TVET

Presentation Structure

1. What is BEAM-ARMM Program? 2. Who and what are the targets of the TVET Component

of BEAM-ARMM Program? 3. What are the key principles and strategies of BEAM-

ARMM’s TVET Component?4. What is the labour market context in ARMM and the

ways forward?5. What are the areas of establishing synergy and

collaboration?

Program OverviewBEAM-ARMM GoalTo contribute to the alleviation of poverty in ARMM and, in the longer term, to the emergence of sustainable peace through closely targeted investments in basic education that prepare ARMM to engage productively with economic opportunities as they arise.

BEAM is an education program that enables the children and youth of Muslim Mindanao to develop and reach their full potential.

The Program delivers accessible and healthy learning facilities, quality teachers, quality learning materials, and a protective environment for children in need and out of school youth, through effective, transparent and accountable management systems.

Program ComponentsBEAM-ARMM is a Program of the Department of Education in ARMM (DepED-ARMM), funded by Australian Government, and implemented by a Managing Contractor, BRAC Philippines, GIZ and UNICEF

Component 1a Early Childhood Education (Tahderriyah)Component 1b Basic Education ImprovementComponent 2 School health and habits; WASHComponent 3 Technical Vocational Education and Training Component 4 Implementing Alternative Delivery Model for

pre-primary and elementary schools, targeting out-of-school and indigenous children

Unified M&E Program-wide monitoring and evaluation systemTimeframe Current: 3 years (October 2012-June 2015)

Extension: 3 years (2015-2018)Budget AUD $90+ Million (Current 3 years)

Of the 100 children supposed to enrol in high school….

38 actually enrol in high school (38% NER)

27 finish high school

(70% CSR)

62 do not enrol (in high school)

11 do not

finish HS

73 unable to enter or finish high school 27 high school graduates

RESULTS: Growing Youth Population characterized by: • Low literacy level• Limited access to training leading to lack of employable skills • High unemployment level• High incidence of hopelessness• Highly vulnerable to abuse , exploitation and recruitment by lawless groups

THE CONTEXTS OF YOUTH IN ARMM AND IMPLICATIONS

Target Groups

1. Senior secondary school techvoc students

2. Out-of-School Youths (OSY)

a. 15-24 years of age;b. Did not complete high school c. Not a beneficiary of socialized or

free techvoc trainingsd. Not enrolled in any formal training or

education

Target Outcome

Improved employability of OSY and senior secondary

school graduates

Approach

• Introduce TechVoc Education and Skills Training in senior secondary school levels

• Provide TechVoc skills training to OSY, closely linked to (wage/self) employment opportunities, coupled with work readiness training, entrepreneurship and post-training support systems

• Conduct Labor Market Research• Train 15,000 OSY on livelihood and

employment opportunities, work readiness and entrepreneurship

• Equip 22 secondary school TVET workshop rooms

• Train 300 TVET Trainers• Train 300 Parents, community

members • Develop post training accompaniment

for graduates (i.e. referral to micro-credit facilities, job referral, or marketing support)

Strategic Interventions and Target Outputs

Key Training Outputs

• At least 50% of completers from TESDA covered courses acquire corresponding certification

• At least 50% of completers are employed or are engaged in entrepreneurial activities

Key Principles and Strategies

Relevance

Effectiveness

Cost-EfficiencyEquity

Sustainability

Key Principles and Strategies• Customizing the training to suit to the

qualifications and circumstances of OSY • Skills Requirements and Opportunities in the

formal and informal market as bases for programming

Relevance

• Provision of toolkits to training completers

• Provision of post-training follow up and accompaniment for 3 months after training completion (job placement, mentoring and coaching

Effectiveness

• Maximizing local stakeholding and buy-in process;

• Earning while learning, training cum production schemes

• Multi training modalities

Cost-Efficiency

Key Principles and Strategies

• Focus on marginalized OSYs, e.g. low educational qualification, from indigenous communities, women and those with dis-abilities;

• Community- base trainings • Flexible training schedules

Equity

• Developing replicable training models and tools drawn from field experiences

• Emphasis on increasing the capabilities of training partners (schools and TVIs)

Sustainability

Highlights of Labor Market Assessment

Geographic Coverage: 5 provinces of ARMM and major cities in Mindanao

Respondents and sources of data: • Survey of 1,561 registered firms (33% from within ARMM and 67%

from major cities surrounding the region. • Survey of 315 informal enterprises from ARMM• Interview of 840 OSY and 490 senior high school students – from

ARMM. • Secondary data from NSO, DTI, Provincial Development Offices

Labor Requirements of Registered Firms in ARMM (2013)

Figure 1: Current labor requirement of ARMM registered firms, 2013

Wage Employment Profile in Cities Surrounding ARMM, 2013

Figure 2. . Wage Employment Profile in Cities Surrounding ARMM

Labor Requirements in Informal Business in ARMM, 2013

Figure 3. Current Labour Requirement - Informal Businesses in ARMM, 2013

Preferences of Formal Firms in Hiring Workers

Figure 4: Preferences of Formal Firms in Hiring Workers

Profile of Out-of-School Youth in ARMM • There were 1,594,166 OSY (in 2010)

• The majority of have some high school education.

• Most do not have skills to engage either in livelihood or wage employment.

• Almost all of those without skills are interested to attend trainings, although only few can afford the training cost

• Generally, more OSY are interested in livelihood activities: and they want to apply their skills in self-employment than in wage employment.

• 66 Technical-Vocational Institutions in ARMM offering a total of 266 programs;

• TVIs are largely concentrated on the services sector. Very few training service providers (e.g. 6%) in the region provide agriculture-related and livelihood-based trainings.

• Training and post-training service provisions, particularly placement, is more oriented towards wage employment market than livelihood or self-employment.

• There are very few organizations in the region which provide job research, counseling, and OSY counseling while on job.

Supply of Training and Post-Training Services in ARMM

Table 1: TVI Programs in ARMM, 2013

Initial Observations: Supply and Demand Situation

• There is a high degree of inadequate labour absorption in the region. Only 3 out of every 100 OSY in the region has the possibility of getting (wage) employment in both formal and informal businesses

Est. 200,600 of OSY of employable age (15-24) are unemployed; Current job requirements only total 7,891 within ARMM in 2014.

• There are occupational skills where the demand cannot be sufficed by the volume supplied by the current TVIs.

• Many of course offerings are over subscribed relative to the requirements of the local market;

• The potential for job generation in terms of forward and backward linkages is minimal, and thus constricts opportunities for employment within the formal sector

• TecVoc design should consider low achievements in formal education because majority of the OSY only had high school level education.

• Tech-voc programs should seriously consider providing on-training and post-training support like job information, counseling, and market information.

• Scholarship support is necessary in tech-voc service provision

• Interventions should consider their aspirations, relative to their age range.

Implications on the Designing and Programming of TechVoc for OSY

• A key solution in improving productivity of OSY in ARMM is through programs, projects, and activities that increase OSY competencies to engage in livelihood activities, e.g. on building competencies of the OSY in agriculture, fisheries, and forestry; three areas that are resource-based and has the potential to provide sustainable livelihood.

Livelihood Skills Training as the Viable Options

• Current formal job markets within ARMM and in cities outside ARMM are generally unable to absorb the increasing numbers of OSY.

• The growth of jobs in both formal and informal economy do not equal the growth of OSY and of the over-all labour force population in the region.

• There are limited opportunities in the formal wage employment market for OSY in the region.

• Skills required overseas and in cities outside the region, like housekeeping and construction-related courses, are an option for youth in ARMM, however OSYs face stiff competition with increasing jobseekers in the region. Effective post-training package is needed to improve competitiveness

Summary of Findings

• Wide and long-term income earning opportunities for OSY exist in livelihoods, particularly those that are connected to key agricultural and marine resources abundantly available in ARMM. These include:

Skills BAS LDS MAG SUL TAW

Banana-based products processing

Cassava-based products processing

Coco-based products processing

Corn-based products processing

Seaweed-based products processing

Summary of Findings

• Focus on livelihood skills training and support as the main intervention in improving productivity of OSY in ARMM

• In coordination with TESDA, develop a market-determined, skill-based, and life-learning training program that would capacitate OSY to participate as an effective player in the value chain.

• Higher priority should be given to the following factors: a. Work skills e.g. communication, ability to work in teams, critical

thinking; and Work attitudes e.g. honesty and integrity, penchant for hard work, attitude towards learning. • Develop an on-training and a post-training support program that would ensure

that OSY are producing the commodities effectively and efficiently and that production are channeled through appropriate markets

• Advocate with TESDA for program that better align with OSY context, job skills and livelihood requirement with capacity building interventions.

• Strengthen partnership with several support stakeholders in each of the value chain to ensure complementariness of efforts and productive collaboration

Summary of Findings and Recommendations

• Higher priority should be given to the following factors: a. Work skills e.g. communication, ability to work in teams, critical

thinking; andb. Work attitudes e.g. honesty and integrity, penchant for hard work, attitude towards learning.

Summary of Findings and Recommendations

Avenues for Creating Synergy

BEAM-ARMM offers partnerships with TVET service providers with wide track records and strong capability to conduct trade and livelihood skills training and post-training assistance to OSY in 5 provinces of ARMM

Maraming Salamat po!