A “sales unit” to connect Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and the business world

Solution: Job and Business Services (JBS) model
Organization: Woord en Daad
Country of Implementation: Philippines
Region: Asia & Pacific
Subregion: Southeast Asia
Start Year: 2003
First published: 31.01.2017

To minimize the gap between Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and the job market, Woord en Daad developed a model called Job and Business Services. Like a sales unit JBS provides regular market assessments, coaching and training for students as well as feedback from the job market.

The model increased the placement rate from 30 to 90 per cent.

Solution details

People

“Soft skills are very important in business. It is essential to be technically sound, but one should also have the ability to convey the idea to the masses in the simplest possible manner.” Mr. Mayurkumar Gadewar, Consultant, PricewaterhouseCoopers

As a Christian foundation from the Netherlands, Woord en Daad runs a variety of support programmes around the world. The Job and Business Service (JBS) model, which targets people with and without disabilities and minimizes the gap between TVET and the job market, was developed in 2003 in the Philippines and is now used by Woord en Daad and its partners in 15 countries, training more than 7,000 students per year.

Problems Targeted

The link between TVET and the job market is often weak because TVET is not demand-driven or it is not based on proper market research. In many cases, the industry is not involved in the design of the curriculum.

Solution, Innovation and Impact

To minimize the gap between TVET and the job market, Woord en Daad developed a model called Job and Business Services (JBS). In effect, JBS is the “sales unit” whereas TVET is the “production unit.” JBS provides regular market assessments; student coaching for apprenticeships, employment, and business start-ups; soft skills and business skills training; and feedback from the job market to the TVET centres. The JBS model started in the Philippines, where a TVET centre provided quality training for 400 students per year. Still, it had only limited impact because the placement rate was low. The introduction of the JBS model increased the placement rate from 30 per cent to more than 90 per cent. Graduates find jobs in manufacturing or the service industry or they start their own business.

Funding, Outlook and Transferability

The cost to setup a JBS programme is around US$100,000 for the first five years, after which the programme can become financially sustainable. The organization currently receives public funds from the Dutch Government as well as grants from Dutch companies and private persons. The JBS   model also improves the financial sustainability of the TVET centre by generating income from various student and company fees as well as from alumni contributions. Notably, Woord en Daad’s partners in 15 countries in Asia, Latin America, and Africa have multiplied the model.