Skills, TVET & School-to-Work Transitions
This page contains a selection of published outputs from projects I have led related to skills development, Technical and Vocational Education (TVET), and school-to-work transitions.
I also regularly work with educational institutions, governments, funders and other agencies to provide strategic advice on skills policies and programmes. This has included working with 3 local government organisations to undertake strategic reviews of their skills provision, providing advice on skills issues to 2 UN agencies, and analysing TVET financing systems in Africa and Asia.
Earlier in my career, I worked for the Mayor of London on skills policy development and evaluation, managing a portfolio of evaluation, analysis and research (including a major new survey of learners), and advising on the development of the skills funding framework.
Economic and labour market impacts of TVET for refugees in LMICs
Ahead of the Global Refugee Forum 2023, I was commissioned by Finn Church Aid, UNHCR, GIZ and the ILO to review the evidence on the extent to which TVET leads to positive employment and livelihood outcomes for refugees in low and middle-income countries.
The review finds that the labour market impact of programmes is mixed. In many of the studies considered, the intended employment impacts of TVET interventions are not achieved, with refugees experiencing difficulties in navigating saturated labour markets, restrictive labour market policies and regulations, and other barriers. The review recommends focus on the legal and policy framework around right-to-work, more responsiveness to skills needs in target labour markets, and support for learners to navigate employment opportunities.
Accelerating "green" school-to-work transitions
This report, commissioned by UNICEF's Global Office of Research & Foresight, sets out what governments and other stakeholders can do to expand the pathways into the green jobs and livelihoods that will be necessary if we are to make the transition to net zero.
It argues that policymakers should look beyond just a narrow focus on occupational skills for green economy sectors. A more holistic, lifecycle approach is needed, which ensures that young people have the basic and transferable skills that they will need to navigate the labour market shifts caused by the green transition.
It highlights financing as a key issue – and suggests that a better framework for measuring the impact of investment in green education, skills and employment interventions on climate adaptation and mitigation could help to unlock more funding for this area.
Greening TVET systems
In 2023, I worked with the British Council and Paeradigms on the development of a framework for assessing how ‘green’ TVET systems are at policy, industry and practice levels. The framework helps policymakers to take a broader view of what creating a TVET system that supports the green transition entails. We piloted the tool with stakeholders in Morocco, Botswana and Tanzania.
The framework contains 60 self-assessment questions – covering the following 'dimensions of greening':
- Policy coherence and vision
- Labour market intelligence & skills anticipation
- Employer engagement
- Curriculum and assessment
- Learner engagement and support
- Institutional strengthening and TVET workforce development
- Financing
Skills development in the informal sector
The labour markets of many low-and-middle-income countries are highly informal. My masters’ research, published in the International Journal of Training Research, examined barriers to participation in skills training faced by informal economy workers in India, and analysed government efforts to incentivise upskilling. It identifies challenges and potential options at each stage of skills development – improving access to training, improving skills acquisition, improving skills utilisation, and improving system capacity.
In 2023, the International Labour Organisation commissioned me to write a background paper on improving skills and lifelong learning for workers in the informal economy for the Employment Ministries Working Group of the BRICSs countries.
The future of TVET after COVID-19
In 2021, the World Federation of Colleges and Polytechnics, commissioned me and Charlynne Pullen to lead the development and drafting of a ‘Global Statement’ on the future of Professional Technical Education and Training (PTET).
Drawing on a rapid review of more than 40 relevant reports, and seven workshops with college leaders from around the world, the Statement (and accompanying report) set out a vision for the contribution that PTET can make to the world’s response, recovery, resilience and reimagination following the COVID-19 pandemic. The report identifies four ways PTET can help rebuild post-pandemic, and six priorities for the future of PTET.
© Joel Mullan 2020-25. All rights reserved.
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