Skills Development for Productive Citizenship

Challenges

A competent workforce is one of the most important preconditions for productivity and international competitiveness. Human resources with professional knowledge and well developed skills are essential for productive employment, sustainable socio-economic development, and social cohesion. 

In recent years, many occupations and jobs have undergone dramatic changes and new occupations and skills are in demand in the world of work. Mobility in the professional life is gaining momentum and the demarcation between academic professions and practical occupations is diminishing. Changing economic environments, decentralized structures and lean management are catalysts for change as well. Consequently, national and regional skills development and training systems must be flexible and able to adapt to such processes.


GFA Concept and Services

GFA assists national and regional governments as well as private stakeholders to reform and strengthen their human resources and skills development systems. Our experts have professional knowledge and experience in providing assistance to align national policies and strategies with international good practice and developments. The processes of developing customized qualification frameworks, defining skills and occupational standards and implementing credit transfer systems under the umbrella of a life-long learning philosophy are at the core of GFA’s expertise. Also, our consultants strengthen organizational and professional capacities of delivery systems, quality assurance bodies and accreditation systems. GFA strongly supports systematic engagement of employers and other private sector actors in all aspects of human resources development and training to ensure demand orientation, employability and efficient use of scarce resources.  

To support the development of a coherent and conducive framework for skills development GFA employs an effective set of delivery mechanisms:

  • conceptual support to policies and frameworks,
  • establishment of skills development institutions and strengthening of their management capacities,
  • professional development of teachers, trainers and facilitators as well as educational leadership,
  • promotion of participatory pedagogical approaches,
  • development and review of skills and occupational standards,
  • establishment and review of national qualification frameworks, qualifications, curricula and training programs,
  • creation of structural linkages between the labor market and training systems,
  • support to skills development in the informal sector,
  • design of systems for recognition of prior learning.