Updated Version 2022 - For SDC, education is a priority theme and comprises both basic education and vocational skills development. The SDC Education Strategy sets out how we will reach this objective through our bilateral and multilateral engagement. It provides guidance to the SDC’s South Cooperation, Cooperation with Eastern Europe, Global Cooperation as well as Humanitarian Aid and inspires the SDC’s cooperation strategies and its global and multilateral programmes.

In poor countries getting a job is one of the main reasons why people are able to rise out of poverty. To meet this goal, SECO promotes the development of skills that improve labour productivity and competitiveness in the specific sectors targeted by SECO. It also contributes to facilitate the dialogue in selected partner countries for developing more conducive working conditions and match the supply and demand for relevant technical skills in selected sectors. By doing so, it can build upon its expertise in economic, trade, and labour market policy within SECO.

The paper outlines SECO's position on vocational skills development. 

This brochure is an introduction to Switzerland’ development cooperation activities in the area of vocational skills development. It includes a select

sample of the many different projects and contexts in which the SDC currently (2016) operates.

Economic and Financial Analysis (EFA) is a widely used approach for assessing whether the benefits of a particular action are greater than its costs over a given period of time. This also applies to VSD: In the application and assessment of a new project idea as well as in monitoring and project evaluations we would like to know if the expected benefits (for example: higher incomes for graduates) are greater than the costs of the project.

Therefore, this working aid and a rather simple Excel workbook have been developed and updated. Their aim is to support SDC program officers, project implementers, consultants and other stakeholders in assessing costs and benefits of VSD interventions, be it in the planning stage of a project (ex ante), for monitoring purposes (ex inter) or as part of a mid-term or end of phase evaluation (ex post).

Why this slide deck?
The Market Systems Approach (MSD) has become a mainstream approach for SDC’s Private Sector Development projects. Several organisations / implementers are also applying the key principles of MSD / systemic approaches to Vocational Skills Development (VSD) projects. However, there is neither a unified language nor an agreed institutional understanding of SDC regarding systemic approaches to VSD.The purpose of this slide deck is to share some thoughts on systemic VSD projects and share initial lessons learnt. Additional insights from ongoing processes may be added step by step.

For whom?
For those involved in the planning, design, approval and implementation of Vocational Skills Development projects.

How to use it?
That’s up to you. Scan the slides quickly or take more time to dive deep in any of publications that are referenced on the slides.

New working aid on the use of indicators in VSD

IED TRI 3, EDU ARI 2, VSD-COI… is it all Greek to you? To facilitate the management of your VSD projects we have reacted to the new SDC Guidance on Results Indicators (published in April) and revised the VSD Working Aid accordingly. All Aggregated Reference Indicators (ARIs), Thematic Reference Indicators (TRIs) and context-specific Common Outcome Indicators (COIs) relevant for skills development are summarised and the most important indicators per project type are shown. Helpful? We are looking forward to your feedback! I

Watch this very short video explaining the rational of the working aid. 

Working aid Result measurement in PSD and FSD programmes.

Vocational skills development (VSD) supports individual development and is a powerful tool to integrate migrants and forcibly displaced populations into local economies and societies. The better educated and trained migrants are, the more they can take advantage of the opportunities migration offers and the greater the benefits for both countries of destination as well as countries of origin.  Migration and VSD are both important topics of the Dispatch on Switzerland’s International Cooperation 2021-24. This working tool brings the two topics together. It offers a structured analysis process that helps you to better integrate migrants into your VSD programs, or to use VSD as an intervention strategy in migration projects. The tool was developed jointly by the SDC Networks Employment and Income as well as Migration and Development.

This VSD Project Typology tool aims to help SDC operations to clearly define the approach and orientation of their VSD interventions, to select the right partners, and thus to manage their Project (Portfolio) in line with the relevant SDC strategies, the policy goals of partner countries, and professional standards. The paper also supports the formulation of realistic and plausible expectations predominantly regarding the outcomes and Impact of VSD projects across time. 

The Typology Tool includes the ADD-ONs on Private Sector Development (PSD), Private Sector Engagement (PSE), Governance and Dual TVET

Responding to the need for a better structured and guided project application and assessment process, in which specific VSD challenges are properly addressed from the very beginning, the e+i network developed these guidelines. Their goal is to provide additional support and ensure high quality in the development of entry and credit proposals.

Education is integral to the inclusive, peaceful and sustained development of a society. If education is equitable and of good quality, it can ensure the participation of marginalised groups in the development process more broadly, thereby reducing social inequalities. Without attention paid to equitable access, learning opportunities and quality learning outcomes, education can entrench existing inequalities within societies. To create more inclusive and just societies, it is thus crucial to leave no one behind in education.

In addition to the note on education, there is a general guidance as well as four other thematic Working Aids on Agriculture and Food Security, Employment & Income, Decentralisation & Local Governance, and Health.

This Glossary includes the most important VSD terminologies and definitions.

This How-to-Note provides an overview and explains the basic concepts of financial and economic analysis focusing on two frequently used methodologies: Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) and the Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (CEA). 

As part of result-based-management CBA and CEA are important means to improve the effectiveness of SDC’s interventions through the improved linking of results and resources. They should thus be increasingly integrated into planning and reporting tools whilst maintaining the pragmatic approach emphasised in this How-to-Note. 

This document explains why financial and economic analyses of projects are useful and important in development cooperation. Staff and partners at the SDC head office and cooperation offices (programme managers, decision-makers, financial staff and in particular project implementers) need to acquire a basic understanding of financial and economic analysis in order to be able to decide without an excessive amount of effort in which cases what kind of analysis makes sense and how to carry it out.

This Glossary includes the most important terminologies and definitions about IED result measurement.

A collection of typical objectives in VSD/TVET projects and programmes with sample INDICATORS of success

Indicators add measurable targets to objectives. Objectives which are formulated in general language (“narrative”), need indicators in order to become specific. Only objectives which are specified by means of indicators are manageable, can be used to negotiate staff performance and responsibilities, can be monitored and become an object of accountability. Sloppily formulated objectives (such as “better employment”) lack such qualities, and their accomplishment is almost always certain with little or no effort. Good indicators are based upon stakeholder dialogue, are monitorable, attached to a strategic objective, realistic and thus achievable, related to a target group and have a schedule for interim milestones and an end-of-project accomplishment (expressed with a ‘SMARTS’ acronym).