Abstract:

In order to meet the expected rise in demand for better-skilled labour force, it is necessary to politically address the issue of skills formation throughout a person's entire life. At all levels of education and vocational training, it is crucial to maintain emphasis on formation of hard and soft skills that would remain valued in the labour market, both at present time and in the future.

Currently, the Ministry of Labour, Migration and Employment of the Republic of Tajikistan, with the support of ILO and a number of donor organizations, is pursuing an active policy towards the development of vocational education system and adult training. The emphasis is placed on the development of a competence-based approach to vocational education and training.

The purpose of the paper is to analyze the possibility of developing countries to implement and apply the skills approach in education, in labour market, and among employers, based on Tajikistan experience. Surveys data in Tajikistan 2015 -2016 together with series of seminars by ILO experts provided the main context for the analysis.

Opportunities and challenges were identified during the study of Tajikistan context, statistic data and surveys results, as well as during discussions with employers and authorities. As a result, recommendations for Tajikistan were elaborated to facilitate the implementation of skill approach.

Tajikistan is a developing country with high rates of economic growth, but with a rather low labour productivity. Currently, the strengths of the socio-economic development, which include the ongoing structural changes in the economy, the growing share of young people, are not fully utilized for overcoming the threats. Among the most significant threats are: the large share of an "informal sector" in the economy, too low labour productivity in agriculture, and poor working conditions.

Solution of these problems requires, in the first place, complex approach and political will.

It was revealed that main actors to solve the problems are government and employers unions. The government may target its efforts on intensifying the activity of sectoral ministries on assisting employers in creating industry development strategies, which would define short-, mid-, and long-term trends, affecting development of future skills and occupations; and also on overcoming the lack of knowledge in the field of skills approach and its popularization among authorities, employers, and educational system.

Keywords:

Competence-based approach, skills, vocational education and training, labour market.