Laos

Improving Career Opportunities for Youth and Low-Skilled Workers

This project is part of the broader multi-partner ASTI Programme, implemented in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, together with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)

Limited access to formal education and training opportunities leads to high youth unemployment and low-skilled labour. The lack of a skilled and job-ready workforce is detrimental for any economy and private sector. In Laos, Helvetas promotes the integration of work-based learning into the national TVET system to improve employability and economic inclusion of youth and low-skilled workers.

Project Name

ASTI: ASEAN-Swiss TVET Initiative
Project Phase

2022 to 2026
Funding

Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
Thematic focus

Education and Vocational Skills
Economic Empowerment
Private Sector Development
Skills, Jobs and Income

From limited options to lasting opportunities

A majority of Lao youth enters the labour market with limited education and no formal qualification. As a consequence, most of them end up in lower skills level and low-income jobs. Their chances to access skills training, develop further and find better employment opportunities are slim.

While national legal frameworks and policies indicate the importance of work-based learning (WBL) to enhance the quality of workforce, it is not yet sufficiently integrated in the formal TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training) system. What's more, collaboration and coordination between the private sector and relevant government stakeholders is limited and so are their capacities.

ASTI aims at bridging this gap. By promoting WBL and strengthening collaboration between national authorities and private sector actors, the project works towards a comprehensive, inclusive vocational education system that provides opportunities for everyone.

Building an inclusive system that offers career pathways for everyone

Work-based learning (WBL) represents an informal education trail where participants gain relevant labour-market skills and earn an official certificate that can transform their career prospects. It complements the formal TVET system by catching young people who have slipped through the cracks of the formal TVET system as well as low-skilled workers who lack official qualifications, providing them with a new path to employment.

ASTI offers WBL opportunities across a wide range of trades, including electrical work, hybrid and electric vehicle mechanics, bricklaying, retail customer service, warehouse logistics, and industrial machine maintenance. Each training programme is built on tailor-made curricula designed to reflect real industry needs. To achieve this, ASTI works in close collaboration with private-sector partners, who provide essential insights into the skills and competencies that WBL graduates need to succeed in today’s job market.

The ultimate goal is to build a sustainable, robust, and inclusive vocational education system that creates opportunities for everyone. For this, ASTI is actively working on strengthening the exchange, coordination, and collaboration between WBL and TVET actors, public authorities and the private sector.

Through work-based learning, unemployed youth and low-skilled workers acquire labour market relevant skills like computer repairing and improve their career opportunities. © Helvetas

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The collaboration with actors from the private sector ensures that what participants learn is valuable and relevant for the current demand in the job market. © Helvetas

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To become certified bricklayers, these youth need to pass an assessment first. They have previously attended WBL training and are well prepared for their futures. © Helvetas

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Joint efforts on national and international level

To ensure an inclusive vocational education system, WBL must be integrated into the formal TVET system. That is why ASTI is closely working with the Lao Ministry of Education and the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which are jointly responsible for the TVET/WBL system. The project provides them with capacity trainings, strengthens their coordination with industry representatives and supports them with developing WBL regulations and guidelines for a smooth and effective integration into the national TVET system.

These national efforts are reinforced by close collaboration between Switzerland, Laos, and the wider ASEAN region, encouraging the exchange of experiences and best practices in WBL. In doing so, the project contributes to—and helps shape—the development of ASEAN strategies and workplans that support the long-term, cohesive promotion of WBL in Laos and across the region.