Building local responsiveness in employment and skills systems in Southeast Asia : Lessons from Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam

Southeast Asia has experienced unprecedented growth and development as a result of market-led and export-driven policies over the last thirty years. This has had pulled millions out of poverty and drastically improved living standards over the course of a single generation. As industry becomes more diversified, job requirements demand more complex and sophisticated skills. Strong vocational education programmes at the local level can play a significant role in helping national economies to adjust to changes in the labour market, advances in technology and challenges associated with globalisation. This report on Building local responsiveness in employment and skills systems in Southeast Asia presents learnings from local case studies in Thailand, Viet Nam, Malaysia and the Philippines in an effort to showcase successful examples of partnerships between employers and the vocational education system. It draws from local experiences to provide policy makers with practical advice for the implementation of vocational education programmes.