SABER: Systems Approach for Better Education Results

SABER-Workforce Development

Republic of KoreaHye-Won Ko and Yoon-Hee Park

29 May 2012Washington DC

THE WORLD BANK

How has Korea’s WfD system evolved?

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1970 20101990

Summary: Sustained leadership and government support leading to steady improvement between 1970 and 2010.

Highlights Strong alignment between economic

development priorities and WfD policy Strong, consistent strategic leadership,

supported by robust planning procedures and focus on facilitating coordination among stakeholders

Little focus on policies to improve service delivery in initial periods

Macro context Effective, government-led development

model Competence of bureaucracy High social value placed on education ICT revolution and globalization

latent > emerging > established > advanced

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1. Direction

2. Demand-led

3. Coordination

4. Pathways

5. Funding

6. Standards

7. Relevance

8. Excellence

9. Accountability

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1970 1990 2010

Close-up:

What were the biggest changes? Inclusion of more non-government

stakeholders in apex-level dialogueMore regular and special-purpose

assessments

What moved the scores?Continuous apex-level coordination of WfD

strategyData-driven strategy with routine evaluations

to assess future skills demand and supply

What held back progress?Commitment to engaging non-government

stakeholders in spectrum of strategic activities took time to develop

Strategic Framework

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1. Direction

2. Demand-led

3. Coordination

4. Pathways

5. Funding

6. Standards

7. Relevance

8. Excellence

9. Accountability

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1970 1990 2010

Close-up:

What were the biggest changes? Introduction of a levy system to encourage firms to train

employees Increase in information provided to individuals to

inform decision about training Promotion of lifelong-learning with recognition of prior

learning

What moved the scores? Improvement in the scope and quality of competency-

based testing Introduction of regular reviews of budgeting to ensure

efficiency in resource allocation Improvement of articulation arrangements across

secondary and post-secondary programs as well as between vocational education and general education

What held back progress? Commitment to use of regular reviews and

stakeholder input did not develop until 1990s

System Oversight

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1. Direction

2. Demand-led

3. Coordination

7. Relevance

8. Excellence

9. Accountability

4. Pathways

5. Funding

6. Standards

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201019901970

Close-up:

What were the biggest changes?More and deeper linkages among training

providers, industry and research institutions Increase in formality, regularity and scope of

assessments of provider and system performance

What moved the scores? Increasing use of financial and non-financial

incentives for private and public providers to respond to the demand for skills

More intensive use of data in monitoring providers and analyzing system performance

What held back progress?Attention to creating a system that promoted

flexibility and quality of delivery weak before 1990

Service Delivery

What have we learned from Korea’s experience?

Challenges faced Individuals’ preference for academic programs High cost and low efficiency of the current WfD system

Lessons learned Importance of aligning WfD policies with national development

priorities Continuous prioritization of WfD for economic development by apex-

level leadership is key Importance of establishing and enforcing relevant standards for

programs, facilities, and instructors