PROJECT INFORMATION DOCUMENT (PID)
CONCEPT STAGE
Public Disclosure Copy
Report No.: PIDC582
Project Name Afghanistan - Second Skills Development Project (P132742)
Region SOUTH ASIA
Country Afghanistan
Sector(s) Vocational training (100%)
Theme(s) Education for all (100%)
Lending Instrument Emergency Recovery Loan
Project ID P132742
Borrower(s) Deputy Ministry of Technical Vocational Education and Training, Ministry
of Education
Implementing Agency Deputy Ministry of Technical Vocational Education and Training, Ministry
of Education
Environmental B-Partial Assessment
Category
Date PID Prepared/ 09-Jan-2013
Updated
Date PID Approved/ 03-Apr-2013
Disclosed
Estimated Date of
12-Feb-2013
Appraisal Completion
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Estimated Date of 19-Mar-2013
Board Approval
Concept Review Track II - The review did authorize the preparation to continue
Decision
Other Decision (as It was decided that given the complexity of the situation at the MOLSAMD
needed) a decision would be taken later on whether to go ahead with one project or
two projects - one under MOE and the other under MOSAMD. Task Team
would be required to come up with a proposal in this regard after assessing
the situation, after some time. The Task Team presented a proposal to have
two projects, on December 06 to CD, after obtaining Sector clearance, and
CD cleared it on Dec 09, 2012
I. Introduction and Context
Country Context
Afghanistan has experienced an average annual real GDP growth rate of 9 percent since 2003/04.
Despite being relatively high, the growth rates –mainly driven by the agriculture sector- have been
characterized by substantial variability due to weather fluctuations. The overall economic growth
has also been driven by construction, transportation and security spending -coming mostly from
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donor aid. With the political transition in 2014 marked by the drastic reduction in foreign assistance,
the growth predictions are likely to drop to 4-6 percent per annum over 2013-18, threatening to
jeopardize the achievements made in terms of providing security, enabling the business environment
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to attract investors and strengthening the education systems.
Given the above context, the Government of Afghanistan (GOA) has created a multi-pronged
strategy to promote investment opportunities in new areas such as extractive industries, related
infrastructure and manufacturing down the supply chain, Agriculture and Horticulture, and
encouragement of local area economic development in the primary and secondary sectors.
However, the country faces a shortage of skilled labor to respond to the demands that are likely to
be created by these new investment initiatives. The GOA has therefore simultaneously developed
other policy drivers aimed at generating sustainable livelihoods through decent work for the labor
force, with a specific component for skills development. This set of drivers has now been given the
status of a National Priority Program – the National Priority Program on Sustainable Livelihoods
and Decent Work (NPP1).
In view of the above, Development Partners, including the International Development Agency
(IDA) have been working with the GOA to sustain and accelerate progress made so far in the
different areas of state building and service delivery.
Sectoral and Institutional Context
In order to address the shortage of skilled manpower in the aftermath of a decade of conflict, GOA
emphasized the importance of Skills Development through a number of Policy Documents - the
Afghanistan National Development Strategy (2007), the National Education Strategy (NESP
2007-08), NESP II (2010) and the Interim Strategy for Education (2010-11), and very recently, a
specific Vocational Education and Training (VET) component in the National Priority Program on
sustainable livelihoods and decent work. Each one of these strategies established a link between the
efforts at promoting economic growth and the need to develop a large pool of skilled workforce.
The context is informed by both (a) the demand side of the issue in terms of the market need for
skilled manpower, and (b) the supply side, which is the number of persons joining the labor force
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every year, and who are in need of skills.
The emerging context of the need for a skilled workforce includes the GOA initiative to develop a
Resource Corridor that is estimated by the Government to add more than 100,000 jobs directly or
indirectly linked to extractive industries over the next decade. At least 50,000 jobs may be created
in other economic sectors, as a result of other developmental initiatives in various sectors including
Rural Development, Information Communication Technology (ICT), etc. The government estimates
that there is a supply gap of between 15 to 20,000 persons per year even at the existing level of
economic development (including primary, secondary and tertiary sectors). In addition, the small
scale, self-employment and agricultural sectors also face major shortages of skilled manpower as
per government estimates included in the NPP1.
Each year, an estimated 200,000 high school graduates cannot access the higher education system
due to shortage of seats. At the same time, an estimated 500,000 persons enter the labor market
every year, according to the 2007 NRVA. A fair proportion of labor market entrants is unskilled.
In an effort to address the huge need for skills building, the GOA has planned to train around
100,000 in the informal and another 150,000 persons in the formal TVET centers to meet
anticipated demand in various sectors over the next five years. However, there are several factors
that act as barriers to reaching this target of competence-certified individuals who are directly
employable after skills training:
(a) Absence of a credible system of Competence Certification – Currently, there is no system of
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certification for skills that is regionally or internationally recognized. As a result, employers are
reluctant to employ local skilled workers, preferring to hire foreign workers.
(b) A relatively small number of students opt for a formal TVET training – It has been
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estimated by the Government that only about 5% of high school graduates opt for TVET
institutions. This low percentage appears to be due to (i) the lack of quality delivery, (ii) perceived
lower social value of a TVET graduate, and (iii) unclear career path. There has not been a strong
message from the government about the value of TVET and the career options that it opens up, to
deal with these perceptions.
(c) Lack of linkage between the Labor Market and the TVET sector- the TVET sector in
Afghanistan suffers from being supply-driven and service providers in general have little or no
concern for the employment of their trainees, or the market relevance of the skills they impart.
This is particularly true of the Public Sector service providers. Reportedly, in the informal training
sector, rates of employment post training are high. However, it is unclear whether this refers to full
employment and/or skills-relevant employment.
While the GOA has substantially increased the number of VET schools and the number of teachers,
the lack of quality in skills delivery has severely affected the employability of the graduates of the
formal VET programs.
In view of the critical and strategic importance of the TVET sector, IDA has been implementing,
since 2009, the Afghanistan Skills Development Project (ASDP). ASDP aimed at addressing
specific needs of both formal and informal Vocational Education Training. ASDP has demonstrated
that it is possible to provide adequate training, in the Afghan context, so long as the e mphasis is
placed on improved school governance, the quality of skills delivery, institutional management and
strengthening collab oration with the private sector. The project established the National Institute of
Management and Administration which graduated itsfirst cohort of 1510 students in 2011, of which
1058 were given Diplomas from the University of Jyvyskala, Finland. About 70% of them found
employment in both public and private sectors within six months of graduation. In 2012, more than
3000 students apply to NIMA, through an entrance test, for a total of 600 available seats. The
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lesson thus learned is that where quality of delivery and private sector involvement are effectively
implemented (for example, through the setting up of Governing Councils with representation from
the private sector and Teachers) chances of immediate employment radically improve.
Given the overall need for large numbers of skilled manpower through both the formal and informal
streams, IDA interventions so far have sought to strike a balance between the two sub-sectors, as
parts of a single strategy. However, experience shows that this balance is better achieved when the
formal and informal sectors are addressed on their own merit rather than as parts of a wider project.
This also reduces inter-ministerial overlaps in project implementation. Given the governance risks
in Afghanistan, it is essential to focus on ring-fenced components in order to derive desired
outcomes. The concerted strategy embracing both sub-sectors is addressed in NPP1 and the current
project deals with only the formal TVET component which is under the control of the MOE. This
approach is also contextually important. National policies establish links between strategies of
economic growth and strategies for skills development. However, the level of coordination required
at the level of various Ministries to convert the overall policy into a working implementation
program is still to be achieved.
There is thus a clear need for a program that (a) helps to create a TVET system which provides
market-oriented skills; (b) aims at improving the quality of TVET delivery, and (c) introduces
certification/licensing and a Regulatory mechanism in the TVET sector to assure quality and
standardization. ASDP II will address this concern, while building on the gains of ASDP. The
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employability of the graduates of formal TVET programs is the primary objective, and the focus
will be on building a system that will maximize chances of being employed.
Relationship to CAS
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The Afghanistan Interim Strategy Note (FY12-14) has three pillars, and the proposed ASDP II
would directly support the third pillar, focused on inclusive growth and jobs. Jobs will go to skilled
Afghan workforce if the Labor Market perceives the employability of the workforce. ASDP has
shown that it is possible to improve employability by improving quality and relations with the labor
market and ASDP II is predicated on that. The project will support the ISN’s cross-cutting gender
agenda by stressing on gender mainstreaming in skills development. The share of women
beneficiaries in ASDP is already at around 30% and this proportion is proposed to be increased.
II. Proposed Development Objective(s)
Proposed Development Objective(s) (From PCN)
The proposed Project Development Objective for ASDP II is ‘to increase employability of a skilled
workforce’. The PDO of ASDP II has been simplified to focus more on the employability of the
workforce, which is the need of the hour in Afghanistan. The PDO will be achieved through a three
pronged strategy that will focus on (a) relating skills and competencies to market demand and thus
to increase the Assurance level of employers, (b) institutional reforms underpinning quality TVET
delivery, and (c) affirmative action to attract boys and girls to TVET programs.
Key Results (From PCN)
Key PDO level indicators will focus on
• Direct improvement in employability as measured by (1) the Number of skilled persons
who obtain certifications from an internationally recognized institution/Agency, and (2a) Percentage
of formal graduates whofind employment within six months of passing out from project supported
institutions, (2b) Percentage of informal graduates who find employment within six months of
passing out, from project supported programs
• Institutional strengthening of TVET system to respond to demand as measured by (3)
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Number of Occupational Skills Standards developed, endorsed by an internationally recognized
agency and implemented across both formal and informal streams, and (4) Degree of satisfaction of
employers’ representatives in service delivery activities in TVET as determined by an independent
agency,
• Increased attractiveness of TVET, as measured by increased number of beneficiaries from
project funded activities/institutions, showing also diversity disaggregated figures.
III. Preliminary Description
Concept Description
ASDP and the current project ASDP II differ principally in terms of the overall approach and the
identification of focus areas. Strategic issues that came to the fore during ASDP implementation
have been identified in this follow-on project as specific sub-components. There will thus be three
main components in ASDP II – (1) Enhance Quality of Formal TVET Delivery , (2) Enhance
Quality of and Access to Informal TVET, and (3) Technical Support and Project Management. The
approach to implementation has been redesigned on the basis of the learning that multi-level inter-
ministerial coordination is often difficult to achieve in practice, and ring-fencing of the components,
to the extent possible, has been done. Coordination is to be effected largely at a single level – that of
oversight and reporting of the whole project.
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IV. Safeguard Policies that might apply
Safeguard Policies Triggered by the Project Yes No TBD
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Environmental Assessment OP/BP 4.01 ✖
Natural Habitats OP/BP 4.04 ✖
Forests OP/BP 4.36 ✖
Pest Management OP 4.09 ✖
Physical Cultural Resources OP/BP 4.11 ✖
Indigenous Peoples OP/BP 4.10 ✖
Involuntary Resettlement OP/BP 4.12 ✖
Safety of Dams OP/BP 4.37 ✖
Projects on International Waterways OP/BP 7.50 ✖
Projects in Disputed Areas OP/BP 7.60 ✖
V. Financing (in USD Million)
Total Project Cost: 55.00 Total Bank Financing: 55.00
Total Cofinancing: Financing Gap: 0.00
Financing Source Amount
BORROWER/RECIPIENT 0.00
IDA Grant 55.00
Total 55.00
VI. Contact point
World Bank
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Contact: Leopold Remi Sarr
Title: Senior Economist
Tel: 458-5838
Email: lsarr2@worldbank.org
Borrower/Client/Recipient
Deputy Ministry of Technical Vocational Education and Training, Ministry of
Name:
Education
Contact: Wahed Madani
Title: Acting Project Manager
Tel: 0788670670
Email: waleed.madani@gmail.com
Implementing Agencies
Deputy Ministry of Technical Vocational Education and Training, Ministry of
Name:
Education
Contact: Wahed Madani
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Title: Acting Project Manager
Tel: 0788670670
Email: waleed.madani@gmail.com
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VII. For more information contact:
The InfoShop
The World Bank
1818 H Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20433
Telephone: (202) 458-4500
Fax: (202) 522-1500
Web: http://www.worldbank.org/infoshop
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