Evidence-based policy reform

Switzerland has been engaged in strengthening the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system in Nepal for more than a decade. One of the key elements introduced has been the Dual VET Apprenticeship program inspired by the Swiss approach, designed to address the mismatch between skills trained to youth and skills required by employers.

Today, SDC Nepal has scientific evidence that the Dual VET Apprenticeship model is a win-win-win for workforce development: Youths gain industry exposure, earn while they learn, and obtain a recognized qualification. Employers get a net-cost benefit during the apprenticeship period having an additional skilled workforce in the company, ultimately increasing productivity. Finally, this model produces more graduates for the overall labour market and it is cheaper since it requires less investment for training infrastructure like labs outside the industry for training purposed, usually financed by the government or private technical schools.

A research collaboration between ETH Zurich and Kathmandu University, supported by SDC, drives evidence-informed policy reform in Nepal. A randomized control trial (RCT), a methodology widely used in medicine, allowed researches to evaluate labor market outcomes for apprentices versus other youths. The findings are compelling.

Randomized Control Trial (RCT) reveals particular benefits for women and industry

The Randomized Control Trial (RCT) on the apprenticeship program in Nepal proves that the program improves labour market outcomes, particularly for women, addressing persistent gender disparities in the labour market. The study showed that 50% more male graduates employed in a company in Nepal than other youths who were not enrolled in the program (non-apprentice male: ~30% vs male apprentice completers ~45%). The effect is even larger for women. 2.5 times more female graduates found employment in a company in Nepal after completion of the program. (non-apprentice female: ~12% vs female apprentice completers 30%). See figure 1 for details.

TVET champions bring Swiss approaches to scale

Political drive for reform requires more than technical data. Therefore, the Swiss support to Nepal also entails direct engagement with and capacity building of reform leaders through the Implementation Lab “i-lab”. This format allows reform leaders from government, private sector, academia and the development sector to jointly design and implement their envisioned, specific “reform case” with support from ETH Zurich and Kathmandu University.

Example case: The reform case led by the Confederation of Nepalese Industry (CNI) led, amongst other things, to the creation of a private sector strategy for engagement in the TVET system. Today, CNI hosts the Sector Skills Committee for Manufacturing preparing competency standards for selected occupations, which are ultimately translated into actual curricula for the given profession.

To date, SDC, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, are working towards developing a sector-wide program to implement the envisioned sector wide TVET reform, leveraging substantial private and public investments into the sectors over the forthcoming years. This will allow SDC Nepal to scale all elements successfully tested and introduced across the country to realize the envisioned TVET sector reform in near future.

For more information, please contact Pankaj Parajuli (PARPA), Program Officer, Swiss Cooperation Office in Nepal at pankaj.parajuli@eda.admin.ch