Updated 5/3/05
Global Workforce in Transition (GWIT)
The Link between Global Competitiveness and
Relevant Education and Training
Global Workforce in Transition (GWIT) provides expertise and support to USAID Missions, Bureaus and other operating units in developing sound workforce development systems that support economic growth and poverty reduction and increase countries’ competitiveness in the global marketplace.
GWIT can help Missions achieve their strategic objectives related to the following Areas of Focus:
Building Workforce Capacity For Increased Competitiveness, Economic Growth And Trade
Promoting Youth Development And Employment
Making Education More Relevant To Economic Needs
Strengthening Partnerships And Organizational Capacity For Workforce Development
Addressing The Workforce Development Needs Of Post-Conflict Countries
Addressing Workforce Impacts Of HIV/AIDS
Building Capacity Of Small and Medium Enterprises (SME's) And Promoting Entrepreneurship
Building Workforce Capacity For Increased Competitiveness, Economic Growth And Trade
In the interconnected global marketplace, those countries and regions that have adaptable workforces with a rich mixture of skills and a supportive economic environment are able to add value to the free flow of capital, information and technology that characterizes the global economy. They are able to benefit from integration into the global economy. A natural complement to competitiveness and trade promotion strategies, workforce development can help make education more responsive to economic needs. GWIT focuses on ways of facilitating public-private partnerships to increase productivity and support cluster-based development.
Promoting Youth Development and Employment
High levels of youth unemployment are a growing problem in much of the developing world. Addressing this problem calls for strategies that can do the following: create jobs; make learning in schools more relevant to labor market requirements; provide expanded opportunities for out-of-school youth to gain the competencies and experience needed for work; and help young people envision a ladder of skill development and career advancement opportunities that will allow them to climb their way out of poverty. GWIT can help design and implement youth development and youth employment strategies that serve in-school and out-of-school youth who are preparing to enter the workforce, as well as youth already working in either the formal and informal sectors of the economy.
Making Education More Relevant To Economic Needs
Competitive workers have the ability to integrate and apply their academic, technical and practical knowledge and skills to solve real-world problems; to continue learning in formal and informal ways throughout their lifetimes on-the-job, in schools and in their communities; and to work effectively with other people as customers, coworkers and supervisors. GWIT can improve the responsiveness of education and training systems to prepare youth and adults adequately for the demands of the global market place.
Strengthening Partnerships And Organizational
Capacity For Workforce Development
A demand-driven workforce development system is made up of the public and private sector policies and programs that help people acquire the knowledge and skills needed to earn a living, whether by means of self-employment or by working for someone else in the formal or informal sector of the economy. It includes policies and programs that help employers get and maintain a skilled workforce. Unlike separate programs that operate in an uncoordinated and therefore static manner, demand-driven workforce development systems are flexible and able to adapt quickly to changing economic conditions. GWIT can help build the capacity for sustained communication and continual feedback among employers, workers, educators, and government. It can also enhance the capacity of public and private partners in areas such as technology-supported and non-formal learning strategies.
Addressing the Workforce Development Needs of
Post-Conflict Countries
Workforce development strategies are important tools for helping countries rebuild their economies after war. In a post-conflict setting, initial goals are to get people involved in productive work as soon as possible, revive the traditional market economy, restore investor confidence and reduce dependency on donor assistance. The psychological health of the workforce is also critical and counseling and coping interventions must be integrated into workforce development strategies. GWIT has the experience and expertise to work in recovery and transitional situations.
Addressing Workforce Impacts of HIV/AIDS
The spread of the HIV/AIDS epidemic has undermined human capacity and weakens a country’s potential for sustained economic growth and poverty reduction. In the most severely affected nations, the disease is reversing the gains of economic development and shortening life expectancy. GWIT can help develop holistic and adaptable strategies for meeting critical workforce needs in countries impacted by HIV/AIDS.
Building Capacity of Small and Medium Enterprises
(SME's) and Promoting Entrepreneurship
In many developing countries, labor intensive micro, small and medium size firms provide the bulk of opportunities for employment in the formal and informal sectors of the economy. Most of these firms lack access to information, resources, management and other skills that could increase their productivity, and help them grow and provide a better living for those who work in them. Often citizens lack the entrepreneurial know-how to innovate and create new enterprises. GWIT can help build workforce systems that contribute to job creation and poverty reduction in this important sector of countries’ economies.
