Explaining differing perceptions of employees’ skill needs: the case of garment workers in Ethiopia

Abstract

The Ethiopian economy has grown significantly and the government has prioritized industrial skills development and expanded technical and vocational education and training (TVET). However, mismatches between the skills available and the skills required are widespread and the unemployment rate for TVET graduates is high. Little scholarly effort has been made to empirically identify the exact types and domains of skills in which these supply-demand mismatches happen. The present study relies on interviews with 30 vocational trainers, 19 employees, 13 factory managers and 3 garment industry experts. To measure the perception gaps between the supply and demand sides of worker skills and explain why mismatches occur, we conducted an assessment in which assessors from among the factory managers and vocational trainers along with the three industry experts concurrently graded the garment-manufacturing vocational skills of the same workers. For this purpose, we developed a unique instrument that captures the knowledge and skills of workers in real work environments. The analysis reveals that TVET trainers expect students to have comprehensive skills and grade the skills of workers more generously, whereas factory managers expect not variety but quality, and score workers' performance more critically. Differences in the educational backgrounds and practical experience of assessors contribute to these gaps. The evidence from this study suggests that the vocational skills assessment instrument we have developed for our research is valid and can serve as a basis for future large-scale performance assessments.

Perception gaps on employable skills between technical and vocational education and training (TVET) teachers and students: the case of the garment sector in Ethiopia

“…Some analysts argue that one of the causes of such a low rate of graduates' absorption into the labor market is a gap between the acquired skills and employers' expectations, caused by the inability of TVET institutions and their curricula to catch up with the fast pace of change in the economic environment and the consequent changes in demanded skills (Wolter and Ryan, 2011). This argument is supported by the authors' earlier study demonstrating that employers tend to appreciate a high level of production skills in specific domains as well as an attitude suited for the workplace, whereas TVET teachers prefer to see a comprehensive understanding of garment production and all-around performance (Yamada et al, 2018a). Given this mismatch of skills expectations between TVET teachers and prospective employers, our interest in this article is to contrast perceptions about important skills within TVET institutions, namely between teachers and students.…”

“…Though expectation gaps between the supply and demand sides of a trained workforce are a significant cause of a low employment rate, the motivations of students and their matches or mismatches with the contents taught in TVET institutions may also influence students' careers after graduation. The Ethiopian Occupational Standards for garment production, which serve as the basis of the teaching programs of the respective TVET institutions, are designed to meet the demands of diverse work contexts, from selfemployment and microenterprises to formal export-oriented factories (Ethiopia Ministry of Education, 2018;Yamada et al, 2018a). Because of the catch-all nature of the standards, the teaching programs of TVET institutions may not fit well with students' aspirations and the available opportunities for work, both of which may change according to personal conditions or labor market prospects.…”

Demand-supply Mismatch in TVET Academic Programmes: What Is It and What Should It Be?

“…Suna et al (2020) explained that the supply and demand mismatch is an essential performance indicator between education (the TVET system) and the workforce. According to Yamada, Otchia, and Taniguchi (2018), this mismatch occurs due to limited interaction between the supply and demand stakeholders. Previous literature postulates various causes of supply and demand imbalances.…”

“…To further exacerbate this situation, higher learning institutions have made minimal effort to determine whether the programmes offered comply with the current needs or industry demands; and whether the training provided aligns with the rapidly developing technology. Therefore, the students' acquired skills were not equivalent, compatible, or relevant to the current industry needs (Husain et al, 2020;Pankhuri, 2019;Sehgal & Nasim, 2020;Teixeira et al, 2016;Vladimirovna & Nikolaevna, 2016;Yamada, Otchia, and Taniguchi 2018).…”

“…This situation is unaligned with the employability requirements that require graduates to increase their knowledge and skills to optimise their work performance (Ali & Mahmod, 2017;Bakar, Islam, & Lee, 2015;Cheong et al, 2016;Mamun et al, 2017;Kamaruzaman et al, 2019;Rodzalan, 2018;Zahari et al, 2018), and can be translated as the mismatch between supply and demand in the labour market. Thus, a high unemployment rate has been reported, particularly among TVET graduates (Yamada, Otchia, & Taniguchi, 2018). As highlighted by Schweri et al (2020), this is due to the inability of TVET institutes to meet the fast pace of change in the economic environment and the consequent change in skills demanded, which contributes to the mismatch between training and employers' expectations.…”