Skills for Solomon Islands

1 1 Skills for Solomon IslandsOpening new opportunitiesStephen Close world bank Sydney October 2012WB001 BKL Solomon 126/03/13 11:35 AM2 world bank 2012 International bank for Reconstruction and Development/International Development Association or;The world bank 1818 H Street NW Washington, DC 20433 T: 202-473-1000 photo: Alison Ofolatau, world BankThis work is a product of the staff of The world bank with external contributions. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of The world bank , its Board of Executive Directors, or the governments they world bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of The world bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such and permissionsThe material in this work is subject to copyright.

2 Because The world bank encourages dissemination of its knowledge, this work may be reproduced, in whole or in part, for noncommercial purposes as long as full attribution to this work is permission to reproduce any part of this work for commercial purposes, please send a request with complete information to the Copyright Clearance Center Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA; telephone: 978-750-8400; fax: 978-750-4470; internet: All other queries on rights and licenses, including subsidiary rights, should be addressed to the Office of the Publisher, The world bank , 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA; fax: 202-522-2422; email: report was supported by a programme of analytic and advisory work over 18 months from 2009 to 2011. As well as integrating information and reports by SIG and other partners, this advisory report serves to draw together the advice of several key recent pieces of work supported by the world bank and AusAID: National Human Resource Development and Training Plan 2011 2013 (May 2011) Pacific Labor Note (February 2011) ASPBAE/COESI Survey (July 2010) Second Chance Education and Training Desk Study (February 2011) Pacific Early Childhood Development Mapping (January March 2012) Pacific Labour Migration advice (Ongoing) Rapid Employment Project (Ongoing) Sources of Growth analysis (November 2010).

3 Regional Vice President: Axel van TrotsenburgCountry Director: Franz R. Drees-GrossSector Director: Xiaoqing YuSector Manager: Luis BenvenisteTask Team Leader: Stephen CloseWorld BankWB001 BKL Solomon 226/03/13 11:35 AM1i. Executive summary and recommendations 3ii. Introduction and objectives 6iii. Solomon Islands : key statistics 71. Sources of growth, demand for labour, and Skills gaps 82. The supply of Skills in Solomon Islands 173. Closing the Skills gap 31 Skills for Solomon Islands : References 46 Skills for Solomon Islands : Annexes and Background notes 48 Annex 1: STEP options for Solomon Islands 48 Annex 2: The ASPBAE/COESI education experience survey and literacy assessment 51 Annex 3: Opportunities in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) 55 Annex 4: Summary of Solomon Islands Skills Dialogue on 16th July 2012 57 List of boxesBox 1: Reported literacy versus functional literacy 22 Box 2: Hem No Leit Tumas 30 Box 3: Keeping the first chance, offering a second three models explored 38 Box 4: Youth employment the Rapid Employment Project (REP) 42 Box 5: Silicon Islands ?

4 56 List of tablesTable 1: Labour force participation rates, Pacific Islands 11 Table 2: Employment rate 11 Table 3: Unemployment rate 11 Table 4: Solomon Islands key education indicators in the Pacific context 19 Table 5: Solomon Islands key education indicators, 2005 2010 21 Table 6: Sub-sector shares of the Solomon Islands education budget (combined), % 22 List of figuresFigure 1: Projected growth of population aged 15 34 to 2020, East Asia Pacific 9 Figure 2: GDP per capita and age dependency, young (% of working age population) 10 Figure 3: Life cycle proportion of workers by activity type 13 Figure 4: Reported literacy 22 Figure 5: Labour force participation in Pacific Island countries 26 Figure 6: Percent males and females in education (age 15 24) and employment (age 15 29) 27 Figure 7: Solomon Islands employment and education indicators by province 29 ContentsWB001 BKL Solomon 126/03/13 11.

5 35 AM2 Currency 1 USD = SBD ( Solomon Islands Dollars)Exchange Rate effective 10 March Qualifications FrameworkNSTPN ational Skills Training PlanNZAIDNew Zealand Agency for International Development PETPre-Employment TrainingPICsPacific Island CountriesPSWPSP acific Seasonal Worker Pilot SchemeREPR apid Employment ProjectRSER ecognised Seasonal EmployerRTCsRural Training CentresSCETS econd Chance Education and TrainingSICCIS olomon Islands Chamber of Commerce and IndustrySICHES olomon Islands College of Higher EducationSIEMISS olomon Islands Education Management Information SystemSIGS olomon Islands GovernmentSIPSS olomon Islands Public ServiceSIQFS olomon Islands Qualifications FrameworkSISTAS olomon Islands Student Testing and AssessmentSPCS ecretariat of the Pacific CommunitySPBEAS ecretariat of the Pacific Board for Educational AssessmentSTEPS kills Toward(s) Employment and ProductivitySWPS easonal Worker ProgramTREET raining for Rural Economic EmpowermentTVETT echnical and Vocational Education and TrainingUNESCOU nited Nations Educational.

6 Scientific and Cultural OrganizationUNICEFU nited Nations Children s FundUSPU niversity of South PacificWBWorld BankAcronyms and abbreviationsADBA sian Development BankASPBAEAsia South Pacific Association for Basic and Adult EducationASRHA dolescent Sexual and Reproductive HealthARTTLeAssessment Resource Tools for Teaching and LearningAusAIDA ustralian Agency for International DevelopmentCOESIC oalition for Education Solomon IslandsECDE arly Childhood DevelopmentECEE arly Childhood EducationECEDE arly Childhood Education and DevelopmentEUEuropean UnionHIESH ousehold Income and Expenditure SurveyHRDH uman Resource DevelopmentICTI nformation and Communication TechnologyILOI nternational Labour OrganizationI PA MInstitute of Public Administration & ManagementLASIL iteracy Association of Solomon IslandsMDPACM inistry of Development Planning and Aid CoordinationMEHRDM inistry of Education and Human Resource DevelopmentNABVETN ational Advisory Board for Technical and Vocational Education and TrainingNEAPN ational Education Action PlanNESUN ational Examinations and Standards UnitNHRDTCN ational Human Resource Development & Training CouncilNHRDTPN ational Human Resource Development & Training PlanNFENon-Formal EducationNGOsNon-Government OrganizationsNLPN ational Literacy ProjectWB001 BKL Solomon 226/03/13 11:35 AM3i.

7 Executive summary and recommendationsSolomon Islands needs new sources of growth to open opportunities for its young and rapidly expanding population. Firms report that if they could find employees with the right Skills they could add over 50 percent more jobs. Yet only about 20 percent of 15 24 year old Solomon Islanders are employed1, while over 40 percent of youth are Seven out of every ten Solomon Islanders are under There is a serious Skills deficit in Solomon Islands , constraining its people from taking advantage of the economic opportunities available to them. Functional literacy rates in major provinces are as low as 7 to 17 percent. A lack of basic cognitive Skills is a major constraint to formal and informal sector work. The key message of this report is that loosening this constraint will require action in a number of areas, and not only Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).

8 This report explores the demand for Skills from current economic opportunities, the mismatch with Skills available, constraints to forming Skills demanded, and how to address this growth constraint through current initiatives and further action. New economic opportunities are emerging at home in exploitation of natural resources and tourism, and for work overseas, including through seasonal employment schemes. But Solomon Islands faces a shortage of workers with the Skills needed to take advantage of emerging opportunities. The result is that Solomon Islands imports labour to fill Skills shortages, even while up to 80 percent of youth in Solomon Islands are unemployed. Employers report a lack of key behavioural as well as technical Skills , contributing to staff shortages which constrain growth. The basic literacy and numeracy needed to boost productivity is lacking.

9 Formal and informal self-employment and enterprise is further constrained by a lack of entrepreneurial, financial management and livelihood Skills . The problem begins with the absence of basic cognitive Skills . Available evidence suggests that the lack of functional literacy may be a major constraint on the life and livelihoods of many Solomon Islanders. Literacy and numeracy are widely perceived as important to daily life. Yet the Asia South Pacific Association for Basic and Adult Education/Coalition for Education Solomon Islands (ASPBAE/COESI) 2007 survey of Honiara and Malaita reported an average functional literacy rate of only 17 percent. This matches the rate recorded in the 2010 survey of Isabel province presented in this report. Solomon Islands has significantly improved access to education in recent years, raising its net primary enrolment rate to 91 But too few primary students learn to read and write to a functional level: the survey of Isabel province showed that only 22 percent of those currently enrolled in primary school are functionally literate.

10 Ministry of Education & Human Resource Development (MEHRD) data from its Solomon Islands Student Testing and Assessment (SISTA) survey show that 68 percent of Standard 4 students perform less than satisfactorily in literacy and numeracy. In Solomon Islands National Literacy Proposal, the MEHRD identifies illiteracy as a major factor in limited socio-economic development and social problems including poor health and sanitation, lack of economic diversification, poor natural resource management, low employment, and low participation in community and Addressing the challengeLike other Pacific Island Countries, Solomon Islands faces multiple challenges to expanding economic growth, including remoteness and the small size of the private sector. Addressing the Skills gap will not resolve all of these but will loosen a key constraint on growth identified by employers.