Project assistance completion report : basic skills training, project no. 532-0083

Output targets have been achieved and considerable progress was made towards achieving the project's purpose: all three agencies have strengthened their capacities to deliver skills training. The HEART Trust began functioning as a National Training Agency in 7/91, upon the recommendation of project policy studies. The Trust assumed responsibility for the HEART academies from the MYCD, and developed a management information system (MIS) and fiscal auditing and analysis procedures. Training for Trust staff included: overseas training in institutional management and planning for 29 persons (including one B.A.); observation tours of U.S. Job Corps centers; and workshops conducted by the TA team. The MOE adopted competency-based vocational education curricula covering business education, home economics, auto mechanics, and entrepreneurial skills, and trained teachers in them, improving the pass rate of students in these areas by 45%. The MOE also developed a MIS for its Technical/Vocational Unit, conducted seminars and in-service training for some 1,000 persons, and developed a 3-year program for school leavers who gained teaching diplomas in tech/voc education. However, attrition rates among newly trained personnel have been high due to lack of incentives and low remuneration. Training for MOE staff included B.S. and M.S. degrees for 9 participants and short-term training, observational tours, and conferences for 24 others. In the MYCD component, not much was achieved at first because the academies were shifted to the HEART Trust and the planned establishment of a Nonformal Education Division never materialized. In the later years of the project, the MYCD did establish new vocational training centers. Participant training for MYCD staff included B.S. and M.S. degrees for 6 persons, and overseas training for 30 others, although there has been a 40% attrition rate in the latter group. By the PACD, the HEART academies had trained 10,827 women (185% of target) and 2,909 men (149% of target); 70-75% of graduates have been placed in jobs related to their training areas and others are self-employed or employed in other fields. The technical schools had graduated 10,847 women (146% of target) and 9,743 men (116% of target). Some $6 million of equipment was procured for HEART academies and MOE technical schools. While some problems were encountered, this component was generally a success, although maintenance is continuing concern. Construction and/or renovation of several facilities was added under a project amendment. The following lessons were learned. (1) Projects involving more than one government ministry/institution are impractical. In this project, the institutions failed to establish interagency agreements and continued to protect their own turf. (2) The absorptive capacity of participating agencies was overestimated, the same incumbent having frequently to serve as counterpart to several TA teams. At times there were no counterparts at all. (3) Although a condition precedent to the project was the establishment of a public-private National Training Board, the private sector was not given any specific responsibilities and did not participate in decisionmaking. (4) Before USAID considers purchasing equipment, particularly high-tech equipment, it should impose a condition precedent that there be solid maintenance plans and budgets in place.