Global progress in child labour reduction has stalled since 2016. In South Asia, the negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, recurrent extreme weather events and the cost-of-living crisis further threaten to slow or even reverse the progress made. This synthesis report addresses a timely need for new research to help decision-makers and…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore an employability enhancement initiative, the Additional Skills Acquisition Programme (ASAP) project in the state of Kerala, India, as a case for the inclusive development of employability in college and university students. Design/methodology/approach: ASAP is applied as a case study to examine the…

India is one of the fastest growing major economies and has a burgeoning young workforce. The average age in India will be 29 years by 2020. Given the limitations of absorbing growing labor force-- especially the unskilled and semi-skilled-- in service sector, focus has to be on spurring manufacturing growth to take advantage of this large pool of…

In this paper, the authors seek to disentangle what they see as contradictory uses of the term "professionalisation" with reference to adult educator development and training (AEDT). They set out to distinguish "professionalisation" from "professionalism," and to identify the locus of control of AEDT in Germany, the…

Contributions from and innovation in science and technology over many decades have resulted in dramatic improvements to American lives, including enhanced living standards and life expectancy, better access to information and connectivity across the globe, and increased access to and affordability of consumer goods. The analysis in this report is…

Digitalisation, globalisation, demographic shifts and other changes in work organisation are constantly reshaping skill needs. This can lead to persistent skill shortages and mismatch which are costly for individuals, firms and society in terms of lost wages and lower productivity and growth. These costs can be reduced through better assessment…

We have good reason to predict that a warming climate will produce more conflict and violence. A growing contingent of researchers has been examining the relationship in recent years, and they've found that hotter temperatures and reduced rainfall are linked to increases in conflict at all scales, from interpersonal violence to war. Children are…

This paper makes an attempt to provide a review on challenges, outcomes and present situation in vocational education and training (VET) programs in some Asian countries. Various country-specific studies indicate that the VET system has not responded very well in the South Asian region. The VET stream is quite small. Despite there being a growing…

As a result of changing employer needs, shifts in the labour supply, and demographic forces, there could be increasingly significant mismatches between worker skills and job requirements by 2030, which could raise structural unemployment levels and slow economic growth. These gaps would include shortages of high-skill workers in advanced economies…

India is at the cusp of becoming an economic powerhouse. For that to happen, however, the country needs to alter its workforce education system by reengineering the Indian Vocational Education and Training (VET) System. India's VET strategy includes creating basic work-centered common curriculum for the unskilled; developing a more flexible and…

Akshar Forum, an experimental livelihood school in the semi-rural village of Pamohi, Assam, in Northeast India, tests cutting-edge methods in education in the context of underserved communities and rural development programs. Started in 2015, the school links 42 children and their parents to the vast knowledge resources of the Internet to teach…

"Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators" is the authoritative source for information on the state of education around the world. It provides data on the structure, finances and performance of education systems in the 35 OECD and a number of partner countries. With more than 100 charts and tables, Education at a Glance 2018 imparts key…

Despite rapid economic growth in South Asia, strong inequalities persist and children pay a heavy price. This publication examines latest trends and data on children in the eight countries of the region. It highlights what has been achieved in the 25 years since the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child--and what remains to be done.

This paper estimates the distribution of educational returns by gender for India. While previous studies focus on mean returns, the variance of educational returns has important implications for policy-making and micro-level decision making with respect to education. If the variance of educational returns is large, it can leave large sections of…

As a collaborative effort of the Center for American Progress and The Center for the Next Generation, this report examines where the United States is today and how that compares with two of its fiercest competitors for the jobs and thought leadership of the future, China and India. This report shows that their governments have embarked on…