Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) is often touted as an important tool in low- and middle-income countries struggling with high levels of unemployment and large skills gaps. As a result, over the last 10 years, donors have invested billions of dollars in it.
Yet these investments have largely failed to deliver results. At the same time, donors have recently cut their aid budgets and refocused attention on how development spending benefits their own populations and economies.
There is one way forward: a triple win. Donors could support some graduates of existing TVET programs to access legal labor mobility pathways. Doing so would improve TVET programs in low- and middle-income countries, while also supporting employers and economic growth in high-income countries. The manifestation of “aid in the national interest.”
New research—conducted by CGD and IREX—outlines why donors should link labor mobility and TVET investments; how they can do so in practice; and where there are “investment-ready” TVET providers ready to take advantage of these opportunities.
