Planning and Policy Development for Technical Vocational Education and Training Systems

R Maclean, Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong, Peoples Republic of China M Pavlova, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Introduction
Planning and policy development in any organization can be analyzed and understood through a number of approaches. Traditionally, policy has been conceptualized as a program of action. Any policy has usually been presented as a rational plan, consciously articulated by an authoritative body, usually a government or government agency, codified in text such as law or regulation which articulates clear expectations for behaviour (Bascia, et al., 2005: xii). This tidy linear process in which policy progresses from one stage to another and where policy is defined as whatever governments choose to do, or not to do (Dye, 1992) has been criticized by policy researchers from different theoretical standpoints (e.g., liberal, neoliberal, positivist, or post-structural approaches). There is now a considerable body of theoretical and empirical work that views the nature of planning and policy development as far more complex, dynamic, and interactive than any of the traditional linear or staged models suggest (Walford, 2003: 2). The complexity of the process has become an important feature of a number of well-known frameworks for policy analysis, for example Balls (1993, 1994) and the Taylor et al. (1997) models. Taylor et al. (1997) focus on three aspects of policy: context (economic, social, and political factors that give rise to an issue emerging on the policy agenda), text (broadly refer to the content of the policy), and consequences (differences in implementation). Balls (1993, 1994) model of policy as text and policy as a discourse provides another way to understand the complexity of policymaking. Both frameworks are widely used in the literature (e.g., Bell and Stevenson, 2006; Olssen et al., 2004). For example, Olssen, et al. (2004) in developing Balls approach argue that: Education policy must be contextualised both nationally and globally as a transformative discourse that can have real social effects in response to contemporary crises of survival and sustainability (p. 3). The purpose of this article is not to analyze the differences between the various approaches to policy development and policy analysis but to explore a number of important considerations in terms of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) policy development, such as scope, scale, principles, and theoretical justifications. The point that we are making is that

TVET policy is multidimensional, is value-laden, exists in particular contexts, interacts with policies in other fields, its implementation is never straightforward, and it results in unintended and intended consequences. Policymaking for TVET is mainly a state activity and the state is regarded as a complex and nonunitary entity of competing parts that adds an additional aspect to any analysis.

Complexity of TVET
Scope The great diversity of TVET systems worldwide illustrate a range of policy options that have been used and are available to shape and reform them. In trying to classify existing TVET systems, researchers have considered a number of factors, including place of learning (typically, vocational schools and the workplace/enterprise workshops); type of regulation (government, market, and tradition, see e.g., Greinert, 1995); or nonformal/informal learning as a leading criterion for classifications. In reality, combinations of these patterns across the above dimensions can be found in particular countries and all these dimensions should be accounted for when undertaking planning and policy development in particular countries. Scale Another component of complexity in policy formulation for TVET can be related to the scale of the policy within (any) TVET system. Improvements within a TVET system can be carried out in terms of a particular element of the system, such as qualification standards and specialization; articulation with general education; assessment and certification for achievements; methods of curriculum development; governance; labor-market analysis; financing; legislation; access and admission; provision of training places; special target groups; institutional arrangements for delivery; and, information and guidance. Alternatively, improvements can be made to the system as a whole which is known as a systematic reform. Systematic reform is built upon the assumption that changing most or all elements of the system is more likely to lead to TVET improvement.

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Coherence In planning TVET systems and in developing policies, coherence across sectors such as the interests of different institutions involved and different policies should be taken into consideration. TVET is situated at the border between education and work. To contribute successfully to economic development TVET policy must outline: coherent and integrated changes in a range of related institutions, including the economic, human resources and [TV]ET agencies of the state, the labour market, the social organisation of work and in the forms of employer and trade union organisation (Kraak, 2006: 3). A coherent approach to TVET policy development needs to relate it to a range of other policies and issues, including general education policy (both school and university); youth policy; adult education policy; vocational rehabilitation; public service employment and remuneration conditions; economic policy; private-sector and enterprise-promotion policies; industrial development policies; and labor-market and employment policies (Kro nner, 2006). Thus, TVET policy should be closely linked with other policy areas and institutions, in particular to those dealing with education, work, employment, and economic development. Globalization The strategic direction of much of education policy is frequently justified as a means to enhanced economic development leading to a more competitive economy, greater productivity, and increased wealth. Investment in education and training is believed to provide the key to national competitiveness. Globalization processes and the pressures for global uniformity have the tendency to strengthen the Anglo-American influence on policy development and raise concerns as to the appropriateness of such an occurrence:
Anglo-American scholars continue to exert a disproportionate influence on theory, policy and practice. Thus a relatively small number of scholars and policy makers representing less than 8% of the worlds population purport to speak for the rest. (Walker and Dimmock, 2002: 15)

micro-level shapes policy development at an institutional level (Bell and Stevenson, 2006: 33). What is required are the analyses of the state, economy, and models of policy development that recognize different cultural contexts. Generally, the more loosely-coupled state structures are, the more opportunity there is for policy variation at the local level (Bell and Stevenson, 2006: 30).

Principles of Policy Planning

At the level of global policy, principles for policy planning and administration have been established in the joint document by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO): Technical and Vocational Education and Training for the Twenty-First Century (UNESCO and ILO, 2002). The document states that policy should be directed to both the structural and the qualitative improvement of TVET. The partnership between the government and the other interested partners must create a coherent legislative framework to enable the launching of a national strategy for change (para 9 a, p. 13). The UNESCO and ILO document presents five principles:
 Planning should respond to national and, if possible, regional, economic and social trends, to project changes in demand for different classes of goods and services, and for different types of skills and knowledge in such a way that technical and vocational education may easily adapt to the evolving scientific, technological and socio-economic changes. This planning should also be coordinated with current and projected training action and the evolution of the world of work in both urban and rural areas. (para 11, p. 14)  Policies for the structural improvement of technical and vocational education should be established within the framework of broad policies designed to implement the principle of lifelong education through creation of open, flexible and complementary structures of education, training and education and vocational guidance, considering the provisions of modern information technology in education regardless of whether these activities take place within the system of formal education or outside it (para 13, p. 15)  Policy should be directed to ensuring high quality so as to exclude discrimination between the different educational streams. In this respect, special efforts should be made to ensure that national technical and vocational education seeks to meet international standards (para 14, p. 16)  In order to ensure quality, responsible national authorities should establish criteria and standards, subject to periodic review and evaluation, applying to all aspects of technical and vocational education, including to the

However, many recent studies have shown that globalization-driven policy developments are sometimes so sharply modified by national contexts that the output they promise would vary greatly (Rhoten, 2000; Welmond, 2002; Astiz et al., 2002) if implemented in another context. Therefore, for the policy formulation, the specific context of a particular country should be taken into account to identify an adequate response to immediate and future labor-market needs. It is important to identify that way in which global pressures have driven state restructuring. . . and the particular way in which restructuring at the

Planning and Policy Development for Technical Vocational Education and Training Systems greatest extent possible, non-formal education (para 15, p. 16)  National policy should foster research related to technical and vocational education, with particular emphasis on its potential within lifelong learning, and directed to its improvement and relevance to the prevailing socio-economic context. This research should be carried out at national and institutional levels, as well as through individual initiative (para16, p. 16).

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These principles highlight the importance of national policies aimed at the quality of training, which can be achieved through structural change. These principles and approaches represent a traditional way of interpreting policy as a rational plan of action; therefore, the level of effectiveness of their application will be different for different countries. For example, with a state-guided labor market, Singapore might find these principles to be more useful than other countries where the labor market is less regulated. These principles provide a useful list of general rules that should be used creatively by governments.

Theoretical Frameworks
This section discusses a possible basis for theoretical frameworks that could provide a foundation for TVET policy formulation in both developed and developing countries. The first set of theories relates to the structural reform/policy formulation and the second set to the theories that shape our understanding of how humans learn. The idea of an alignment between education, training, labor market, and economic policies can be underpinned by the theoretical arguments of the high-skills thesis, combined with what is described as the joined-up approach (Brown, et al., 2001). The high-skills thesis has caught the imagination of policymakers around the world (p. 31). It was developed through the work of a UK team in the late 1980s and 1990s (see Finegold and Soskice, 1988; Finegold, 1991; Ashton and Green, 1996; Brown et al., 2001). They argued that diversity and variability in economic performance are underpinned by social, cultural, and historical factors. Finegold (1991) explores the concept of equilibrium in terms of the self-reinforcing nature of the institutional networks that support the continuation of a given skills-formation system and economic development path. Any change of one variable without corresponding shifts in the other institutional variables is unlikely to lead to long-term changes in the social and economic system as a whole. Using this concept, Finegold identified two ideal types of economic and education/training (ET) systems: an institutional framework based on low-skills equilibrium (LSE) and one based on high-skills equilibrium (HSE). Finegold et al. viewed Britain as being typical of an LSE

society where the majority of enterprises are staffed by poorly trained managers and workers produce low quality goods and services (Finegold and Soskice, 1988: 22). LSE institutional factors identified by Finegold discourage and constrain any movement toward a high-skill alternative. They included uncoordinated state policies, incoherent TVET policies, low educational level of the majority of workers, minimal state intervention in TVET, and labor markets. Another analysis (see Brown, et al., 2001) demonstrates that there is some presence of high skills in Britain. Thus, joined-up or cross-sectoral policy coordination and complementarity are associated with a high-skills thesis. Joining up is essentially an argument about the necessity for educational reforms to interlock with macroeconomic, industrial, and labor-market reforms so that the combined impact would influence the outcome in a significant and positive way. A high-skills policy has been the center of economic, social, and educational policies in many Western countries. However, due to differences in context there is no one recipe or blueprint for developing a high-skills economy (Lauder and Brown, 2006: 37). Lauder and Brown (2006) identified four different types of labor market structures. An occupational labor market where education and training are closely related to the labor market; an internal labor market, where high general skills are provided by TVET and specific skilling is undertaken by corporations; and the state-guided labor market which is a demand-led (e.g., specific to Singapore where the state encourages high-end production and innovation and matches skills to the demand of the multinational corporations) market structure. All three types of labor markets have in common a close integration of TVET and the labor market. The fourth type of market, a flexible labor market, is characterized by a high degree of individualism, in which the fit between education, training and the labour market is often problematic; there is considerable time spent in job search and work is insecure; and the flexibility is numerical, so that employers can hire and fire as economic conditions change (Lauder and Brown, 2006: 39). Some authors are less critical of flexible labor market; however, there is agreement that more emphasis on the development of generic skills and good credentialing systems are important for this type of labor market to be successful. Each type of labor market influences policy development in TVET and the type of skills that are emphasized in the policy. If one accepts that the longterm aim of the economy is to achieve an HSE and capacity building, then contributing to achieving such a goal should be seen as an important function of TVET policy development. Each country can be conceptualized within this framework, for example, high-skills society (Germany), developmental high-skills society (Singapore), bipolar high-skills/low-skills society (UK), and hybrid and

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differentiated low-, intermediate-, and high-skills society (South Africa) (Brown, et al., 2001; Kraak, 2006). TVET policy developers could use this analysis as a starting point for policy formulation. Theories about human learning have shaped our views of the conditions necessary to support curriculum development and instruction. However, it should be noted that learning in TVET as well as learning at work, as such, are seldom the central focus of policy. Rather, the typical situation is that policies that are targeted at something else include learning at work within their scope. In the process, learning at work is usually assumed to be, in an uncritical and common sense way, simply the acquisition of discrete items of knowledge and skills (Hager, 2005: 830). Recent research on TVET (see, e.g., Staron et al., 2006). argued that life-based learning (not work-based learning) was required for vocational education focusing on capability development and consideration of the learner as a whole person. According to Staron et al., life-based learning is a winwin situation with benefits to both employee and employer, based on employees taking personal responsibility for their learning, based on the provision of rich learning environments (p. 49), which provides, according to Staron et al.: performance, growth and opportunity. It is adaptive, self-facilitated, based on reflexive practice and uses any strategy appropriate to the task (p. 49). This broad interpretation of learning views TVET as a knowledge-based industry, where knowledge is its core business (Staron et al., 2006: 24). As argued in the Life Based Learning report (Staron et al., 2006): the current period is one of rapid change where new ways of working and living are required. Staron et al. argue that a learning ecologies metaphor can be used to understand how we might work and live successfully. Staron et al. focus on the tendency of ecological environments to move to equilibrium as the key to the metaphor. Thus, when there is change (to work or life) this is regarded as a disturbance and we need to work to achieve equilibrium, and we do that by adapting. Rather than a model or a set of procedures, the focus of an ecological approach is orientation and thus it offers a complex, diverse, dynamic and adaptive framework that gives us a fresh perspective on working and learning in contemporary environment (Staron et al., 2006: 27). These two types of theories, one that relates to the economic aim of achieving an HSE and the other that focuses on the learner in coherent ways could provide a useful framework for policy development.

Cases Around the World

Policy development as a complex and multifaceted process can be identified through the product, the policy document, and the process in which implementation is as

important as formulation. According to Bell and Stevenson (2006), It is important to understand the context in which policy development takes place how policies emerge, how they form and take shape, and how they become lived through the actions of those engaged in the policydevelopment process (p. 25). Smyth (1993) has emphasized the need to recognize the pivotal role of central governments in shaping policy. This section examines four policies across developed and developing countries to illustrate the points discussed above. Two examples from England and Australia relate to policy as text or the content of the policy itself. They illustrate a capacity-building thesis within the lifelong learning paradigm. Two examples from developing countries relate to policy as discourse that gradually builds over time and sets boundaries to what actors are allowed to think and do. Discourses, then, as Ball (1990) summarizes them, embody meaning and social relationships, they constitute both subjectivity and power relations (p. 2). The first example is the English participation policy (2007). The English document: Raising Expectations: Staying in Education and Training Post-16 presented to Parliament in March 2007 (Department for Education and Skills, 2007) argues for the new policy on the basis that the structure of the economy has changed dramatically, with an ever-growing dependence on more highly skilled workers (1.5, p. 9). The goal of the policy is: to stop young people dropping out of education or training before 18, because of the benefits that higher attainment and longer participation bring, to the individual young person, to the economy and to society (p. 11). Continuing in education or training is seen as important to the economy, which will increasingly demand more highly skilled employees (2.2, p. 11) and the aim is to reach 90% participation in education or training among 17-yearolds by 2015. Measures across different areas already being implemented in England include: reforms to the 1419 curriculum; changes to Key Stage 3; a major expansion of capacity in work-based learning; the Education Maintenance Allowance; the Youth Matters reforms, and others. Employers are playing an important part in providing training or releasing young people from work to undertake training. This policy is closely related to a high-skills thesis. It is also an example of a policy that addresses one issue across a number of sectors and positions it within some existing policies. The pressure of globalization is presented through the request to increase competitiveness of the economy. Since the 1990s there has been a similar concern across Australia that young people are not gaining the right skills to compete in the global economy. Although the different state governments (who have responsibility for education) have responded in different ways, Australias National Strategy for Vocational Education and Training 20042010

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(ANTA, 2003) developed at the national level, highlighted an attempt at a systematic approach toward TVET development in the country. Key objectives for vocational education and training (VET) that are formulated in the National Strategy 200410 highlighted: 1. the global economic competition as the reason for skills development (industry will have a highly skilled workforce to support strong performance in the global economy); 2. the end-user as a focus of the policy (employers and individuals will be at the center of VET); and 3. benefits for communities (communities and regions will be strengthened economically and socially through learning and employment and Indigenous Australians will have skills for viable jobs and their learning and culture will be shared). In November 2003, state ministers endorsed the key performance measures for the VET system as part of the 200410 National Strategy. The key performance measures cover the following critical areas:
 Student participation and achievement in VET.  Student employment outcomes and satisfaction from    

VET. Employer engagement and satisfaction with VET. VET outcomes for Indigenous Australians. Community engagement and satisfaction with VET. VET system efficiency (ANTA and NTSC, 2005).

Some of the strategies identified include: increase participation and achievement in TVET, particularly by existing workers; help clients navigate and interact with VET; improve the value, brand, language, and image of VET and public recognition of its employment outcomes; strengthen industrys role in anticipating skill requirements and develop products and services to meet them; make learning pathways seamless; improve quality and consistency; and facilitate access to international markets. This policy is an example of systematic reform, where participation (as in the English case) is just one component of the policy. Both examples from developed countries represent competitiveness-driven TVET policies as governments sought to defend their global competitiveness by enhancing the productivity of the domestic labor force. Two examples from developing countries come from Africa and Cambodia. Although education policies in developing countries can be closely related to donor priorities and perspectives, these cases provide illustrations of how policy can be used in different ways. On the one hand, international funds can be used to implement measures that are episodic and lack essential coherence. On the other hand, they can be used to provide partial financial support for a large-scale systematic educational reform.

Between the 1980s and 1990s, international donor funding in Africa was directed away from TVET and toward support for basic education. TVET provision was marginalized as the attention of policymakers was directed elsewhere (McLean and Kamau, 1999). However, during the late 1990s, two factors emerged: a growing crisis of youth unemployment and low levels of economic competitiveness. These factors became the main policy drivers in bringing skills back into the policy spotlight, particularly for the Southern African countries (Roberts, 2005: 50). One of the challenges facing educational planners is the need to develop a coherent policy on skills development that articulates well with the economic development plans. This example can be analyzed within Estevez-Abe et al. (2001) approach where they distinguish three types of skills: firm-specific (Japan and Korea), industry-specific (Germany), and general skills. In any economy all three types of skills will be utilized; however, in some structured economies, the development of one of these skills types will predominate over the others. Firm-specific skills are the least portable, industry-specific skills are portable across an industry, while general skills can be applied across a range of firms and industries. Each type requires different type of training and assumes particular kinds of economic development strategies. As argued by Lauder et al. (2006), for firm-specific skills a high level of general education is desirable. This is then used as the foundation for the in-house development of skills that firms demand. Industry-specific skills require some interaction between the education and training system and industry for the training to be appropriate and up to date in supplying the skills required. . . . For general skills, education at only a minimum level is required for the lower end of the flexible labour market. (p. 48). Thus, the assumption that an improvement in general education in Africa would provide the opportunity for firm-specific training proved to be wrong. This was due to the limited number of firms able to provide such training. The conclusion to be drawn from this is that more emphasis on the development of industry-specific skills is required so that the economic development plans can be achieved. This requires government commitment in the form of policy development, sound skills and human resource development planning, inter-ministerial co-operation primarily between education and labour ministries and financial commitment to developing a skilled population (Roberts, 2005: 52). Cambodia is an example to demonstrate the effectiveness of a sector-wide education approach presented through a developed national program for education in a developing country. In Cambodias case the approach comprised: The Education Sector Support Program (ESSP) 200106. The overall goal of the ESSP was to contribute to the achievement of the Governments poverty reduction strategy through pro-poor systematic and

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targeted interventions (Forsberg and Ratcliffe, 2002). TVET is included in this policy. Government flexibility in negotiating a mix of donor-financing modalities helped maintain inclusive partnerships. High-level national leadership and authority of the ESSP reform process has been critical and it was provided directly through the minister. This is an example to illustrate when policy development is not a simple case of setting up the priorities. Policy had been seen as a dialectic process in which the government and the donors were involved in shaping its development. Policy development is therefore both a continuous and contested process in which those with competing values and different access to power seek to form and shape policy in their own interests (Bell and Stevenson, 2006: 2). These four cases demonstrate the different ways the governments approach policy development: through the high-skills thesis in Australia and England; and through the combination approach (high skills/low skills) in Africa and Cambodia. Systematic approach at different levels has been seen important for the three cases examined.

development should be based on research that is directed toward TVET improvement and its relevance to particular socioeconomic contexts.

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Conclusions
This article analyzes issues, such as the scope, scale, and coherence within TVET and across different sectors within particular countries to demonstrate the complexity of TVET policy formulation. It is argued in the article that tensions between the pressures for global uniformity and regional specificity should be considered by policymakers. It is also argued that any attempt to develop a universal set of principles for policy development should be adopted with caution, particularly due to differences in the labor-market structures across the countries. Two types of theories are proposed to provide the basis for understanding how educational policy could be planned. They are high-skills thesis and life-based learning. They provide the basis for macro- and micro-level planning. The issues and theories discussed in the opening section of the article provide the basis for the analysis of policy examples from developed and developing worlds presented in the next section. The conclusion is advanced that TVET systems policies and planning should exist as part of a system of lifelong learning adapted to the needs of each particular country and to worldwide economic development. It is important to be aware of the complexity of TVET and its interdependence with other policy areas. In a modern market economy, governments carry primary responsibility for TVET policy design. However, a partnership between government, employers, professional associations, industry, employees and their representatives, the local communities, and nongovernment organizations should play a crucial role in policy design (UNESCO/ILO, 2002: 9a). The overall conclusion to be advanced in this article is that policy planning and

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