Lifelong Learning in Costa Rica

DIFID -WB Collaboration on Knowledge and Skills in the New Economy First Draft LIFELONG LEARNING IN COSTA RICA 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2. COSTA RICA’S HUMAN CAPITAL Human capital stock Distribution Competencies and Skills in the Labour Force Labour Market Outcomes 3. LEARNING AND TRAINING FOR WORK IN COSTA RICA Overview: VET system? Lifelong learning System? Participation in Learning and Training for Work Adult & Youth Education Vocational and Technical Education: overview and challenges Secondary Technical Schools Post-secondary Technical Vocational Education: Parauniversity Institutions Vocational Training System: Instituto Nacional de Aprendizaje 4. MAPPING THE DEMAND SIDE Mayor trends in the labour market Company’s training needs HR practices 5. CONCLUSIONS/POLICY IMPLICATIONS 6. BIBLIOGRAPHY 7. ANNEX COSTA RICA’S HUMAN CAPITAL This section examines the existing stock of human capital in Costa Rica and the implications for a lifelong learning policy. The focus is placed in describing the current stock of human capital, its distribution in the labour force and society, the pace of the human capital accumulation process and the readiness of the current labour force for meeting the demands of an increasingly knowledge-based economy. Statistical data is used when available. The sections are: (i) hum capital stock (ii) distribution (iii) an current workforce competencies and skill gaps (iv) labour market and competencies. Human capital stock Low educational attainment. Estimations of human capital stock are usually based on the workforce educational attainment. Table 1 shows that the average years of schooling attained by the population older than 25 in Costa Rica was 6.01 years in 2000. This figure is slightly higher than the latin american average (5.92) and very close from the Caribbean average. Costa Rica’s performance is rather poor, however, when compared with the average years of educational attainment in developed economies and other upper-middle income countries (Table 1). This figure reflects that the current stock of human capital is only moderated. As found by many studies, given the strong relationship between education, earnings, productivity and GNI growth it is not surprising that Costa Rica’s deficit in educational attainment has been identified as a major cause for low incomes and a stagnation of the progress towards reducing poverty levels. Table 1. Average Years of Completing of Schooling Costa Rica and Country Groups Costa Rica Latin America Caribbean Low/Middle Income Upper -Middle Income OECD 6.01 5.92 6.19 5.5 6.7 10.1 Sources: Barro and Lee (2000), Duryea (2000), OECD (2001) A complimentary measure for the availability of skilled workers can be proxied by the share of population attaining at least secondary education, which reaches 25.1 % in Costa Rica (23.3 % for Barro and Lee, 2000), according to the 2000 census. This figure is low in comparison with the situation found in other upper-middle income countries in the region like Argentina, Chile and Panama. Table 2. Percentage of the Population Completing Second ary (25 years and more for selected LA countries) Argentina Brazil Chile Costa Rica Mexico 30.1 13.8 30.9 23.3 24.6 Panama Peru 35.9 35.2 Sources: Barro and Lee (2000), Duryea (2000), OECD (2001) The insufficient stock of human capital poses a crucial challenge for Costa Rica if the country is to take advantage of the opportunities brought about by the advent of hightech and sophisticated service industries investment. One the challenges for a lifelong learning policy is how to upskill the workforce with low educational attainment. While the average worker has low levels of trainability because of low schooling levels, new entrants to the workforce may also suffer from low levels of trainability because of the poor quality of their education in primary and secondary schools, as suggested by recent studies (World Bank, 2002). As a consequence the training and continuing education system has to work with low trainable clientele, a challenge is not necessarily prepared for. Slow accumulation. Statistics for the past decades indicate clearly that the accumulation of human capital has been very slow in latin america as a whole, in comparison to developed countries. Costa Rica shows a particularly diminished relative position not only when compared with other upper-middle income economies but also with the average for lower.middle income countries (see Figure 1 and Table 3). Figure 1 . Average Years of Schooling 1970-2000 Costa Rica and Income Level Country Groups 10,0 9,0 8,0 7,0 High Income Countries Upper-Middle Income Countries Lower-Middle Income Countries Low Income Countries 6,0 5,0 Costa Rica 4,0 3,0 2,0 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 Sources: Barro and Lee (2000) and www1.worldbank.org/education/edstats (visited July 2003). Within latin america some countries have been more succesful than others in reaching higher educational attainment. For the period between 1980 and 2000 Mexico, Chile, Panama, Peru and Argentina have managed to increase the average years of schooling by one year per decade while Costa Rica has increased only in 0.6 years per decade. Estimations suggest that if the current pace is kept it would demand more than two decades for Costa Rica to achieve educational attainment figures like the ones observed in other latin american upper-middle income economies, not to speak about OECD countries. Efficiency indicators of the school system does not help: d espite some progress in secondary enrolment and the near universal coverage in primary education, there is alarming evidence of a decline in quality and efficiency reflected in persistent high rates of drop-outs and repetition and low-secondary school completion. Apart from this the situation is explained by the dramatic deterioration of the enrolments in secondary education during the 80s resulting from a severe economic crisis and decreasing quality of the educational provision. Figure 2. Educational attainment by Age (22-60) 100% Completed Secondary and More 80% 60% Some secondary 40% Primary Completed 20% Some Primary 0% Without education 6 0 59 58 57 56 55 54 53 5 2 51 50 4 9 48 4 7 46 45 4 4 43 42 4 1 40 39 38 37 36 3 5 34 33 32 31 3 0 29 28 2 7 26 25 2 4 23 22 Age Source: Proyecto Estado de la Nación (2002) As shown in figure 2, the positive trend in terms of improving human capital stocks slowed sharply some decades ago, when a significant decrease of the secondary edu cation enrollment took place. A comparison between the 30 years old group with the 40 years old group shows almost no difference in the educational attainment achieved. Figures for the population in the school age are also dramatic as net enrolment rates f r secondary education are only 61 % in Costa Rica 1, lower than the o latin american and OECD averages. Secondary completion rates are also very low in Costa Rica (28.3 %), in comparison with countries with similar per capita GDP like Panama (39.1%) and Colombia (43.2%) (CEPAL, 2001). Availability of Advanced Human Capital. A complimentary measure of a country’s human capital is the share of professional and technical workers in the country as a percentage of the total labour force. The following chart sho ws the figures for a group of selected countries. 1 This figure co nsiders student enrolled in Open Education Programmes offered by the Ministry s of Education (MEP) for early school leavers and adults with low qualifications. Excluding this figure secondary enrolment for the age group is 54 %. Table 3. Professional and Technical Workers as a Percentage of the Labour Force Costa Rica Brasil El Salvador Chile Malasia LA average Mexico Colombia Uruguay Korea Hungary Perú Spain Ireland New Zealand USA Finland 16.7 8.34 9.19 10.25 10.6 11.70 13.20 13.23 13.39 16.68 17.20 18.63 20.37 21.56 25.24 28.5 38.72 Sources: INEC (2000), www1.worldbank.org/gdln/kam.htm As can be seen, the group of workers with professional and/or technical qualifications represents a relatively small proportion of the labour force, when compared with OECD countries. Costa Rica’s figure is however higher than the latin american average, a situation that explains the attractiveness of the country for foreign investment in latin america, particularly in the high technology sector. In fact employer surveys show that one of the reasons for foreign investors to consider Costa Rica as an attractive option was the availability of “highly skilled workers” (CINDE-PROCOMER, 2001). This situation creates a divide between a huge percentage of the labour force lacking the most basic skills for entering the labour force and a relatively small proportion being employed by high-tech companies and sophisticated services companies. Distribution Labour force. Figure 2 shows the evolution of the educational attainment achieved by the population over 25 years for the 1973-2000 period. Despite the evident improvement in the 1973 -1984, a less encouraging picture emerges with the 2000 figures. The decreasing share of the population with secondary education completed clearly shows a failure in improving enrolment in this level at the persistence of high drop -out and repetition rates. Human capital is thus unevenly distributed within the labour force as 58.2 % of the workers lack some of the necessary skills for participating in society and only 16.6 % has a tertiary education degree. In OECD countries around 65% of the population over 25 years old has completed secondary education, signalling the gap between developed countries and the situation in Costa Rica. Figure 2. Education Attainment of Costa Rica’s Population over 25 Years 1973-2000 100% 80% 5,8 11,1 6,7 16,6 25,1 Tertiary Secondary Primary and Below 46,7 60% 83,1 40% 46,7 20% 16,1 0% 1973 7,0 1984 58,2 Without education 6,7 2000 Source: INEC (2000) Costa Rica has gone through what is called an unbalanced education transition, meaning the country has reached a relatively high level of tertiary education attainment without achieving previously a high rate of completion of secondary education. In has been said that on average completion of upper secondary education represents the minimum threshold for successful entry into the labour market High private returns to university and post-secondary studies and a dramatic expansion of tertiary education private provision are part of the same picture. It has also suggested that unbalanced educational transitions like Costa Rica’s tend to perpetuate inequality, as a significant part of the workforce is anchored to low-paid/bad jobs while the more educated segment earns high wages. In this sense improving access to secondary education is probably the most relevant imperative for a lifelong learning policy in Costa Rica. Income quintiles. Human capital is also badly distributed across income groups. Estimations from the 1998 household survey indicate that people in the richest quintile had an average of 10.5 years of education while people in the poorest quintile only had 5.9. Figure 3. Average Years of Schooling by Income Groups (20 years and more) 11,0 10,5 years of schooling 10,0 9,0 8,0 7,0 6,0 6,5 5,7 7,5 6,0 5,0 Quntile 1 Quintile 2 Quintile 3 Quintile 4 Quintile 5 Source: INEC (1998), Household Survey. People from the richest income group had more than 4 years of education than people from the poorest quintile. The generally very low level of education attainment of people from less favoured backgrounds undermines their capacity to take advantage of employment opportunities and better salaries offered in the more dynamic sectors of the economy. The situation is especially regressive in secondary and tertiary education. As an example, for the 16 to 18 years old group enrolment in secondary education reaches 72% for the richest quintile versus 38% in the poorest one. Educational attainment is closely linked with income and employment prospects as there´s evidence that wage premiums for higher education are high in Costa Rica (Duryea, 2002; Trejos, 1999) which make To sum up, Costa Rica faces today a crucial challenge derived from its unbalanced educational transition. Improving participation in secondary education remains a must for any education reform. Improving efficiency (reducing drop-out and repetition rates) is also crucia l as inefficiency of the school system is particularly damaging for poorer students. Retaining young people in the school system not only will contribute to equip them with more knowledge and skills but also to reduce poverty as their employment prospects can be better. At the same time a policy is needed for the huge proportion of the total labour force lacking the most basic skills to accomplish the increasingly complex demands that come from a more knowledge-based workplace. This implies to address the increasing demand for Adult Education and to enrich its delivery with skills relevant to improve employability. Competencies and Skills in the Labour Force A complimentary measure of human capital are the actual knowledge, skills and competencies of the labour force. Unfortunately Costa Rica has not been involved in international standardised testing of adult skills (i.e. International Adult Literacy Survey among others) so there is no a rigorous and external measure for the country’s workforce readiness for participating in a knowledge based economy. There is qualitative evidence from several surveys, however, showing that employers from leading companies consider Costa Rica’s workers as adequately skilled. Though this is a very partial and insufficient proxy for the current human capital stock it gives an indication of the knowledge and skills achieved by the more educated population. According to a survey developed in 1996 by the Latin American Association of American Chambers of Commerce, companies from the United States perceived productivity and learning speed of the costarican workforce very high in comparison with the situation in Chile, Brazil and Argentina. A previous study implemented by the Foreign Investment Advisory Services found that multinationals in the technology sector already operating in Costa Rica reported the overall level of education; the availability of professional and technical workers; learning speed and the average proficiency in english as key factors to decide sites where to install their manufactures. A more recent survey developed by CINDE-PROCOMER (2001) with the top 28 high-tech companies in the country confirms the high regards with which employers consider the costarican workforce by levels of qualifications. Table 4. High-Tech Companies Perception of Costarican Labour Force by Levels of Qualification (0 to 10 scale of satisfaction ) Skills and Abilities Managers Engineers Technical Qualified workers Non qualified workers 9.1 9.0 8.6 8.4 8.2 Creativity/Initiative 8.8 8.6 8.2 7.5 7.1 Source: CINDE -PROCOMER (2001) A second survey implemented by CAATEC (Céspedes, 2003) tried to determine the current skill gaps of the workforce in several areas of performance, as perceived by managers from a sample of 277 companies in the Agriculture, Industry and Service sectors. The sampled companies were selected on the ground of their dynamism and the extent to which can be described as oriented towards a knowledge based economy (Céspedes, 2003). The skills included in the survey were those more relevant for a knowledge intensive work environment. As shown in Figure 5, companies reported a very high satisfaction in almost any of the skills and knowledge categories surveyed. Céspedes (2003) points out however that significant differences were found when professional and technical workers were compared with those with low educational attainment, especially in the agriculture and industry sectors. Regarding IT skills, even though the overall picture is positive, workers from the Service sector seem to be more competent in using and integrating computers to their jobs. For the agriculture sector this reflects that ITs have not been integrated to the production processes, giving workers less opportunities of becoming IT users (see Figure 6). Figure 5. Satisfaction with Employees’ Workplace Competencies in High-Tech Companies in Costa Rica (n=277 companies) Business Skills Services Economic Sector Foreign Language Communication Accountancy Math & Science appl Knowledge sharing/training others IT Programming Industry Agriculture 0 50 % of satisfaction 100 Human relations Dealing with high-technology Figure 6. Satisfaction with Employees ’ IT Skills in High-Tech Companies in Costa Rica (n=277 companies) Economic Sector Services IT based teamwork Internet Industry Data Bases E-mail Text Proc Agriculture 70 80 90 100 % of satisfaction Though these measures are not really valid external assessments of the workforce skills, the information they provide tend to confirm anecdotal qualitative information gathered in the interviews conducted f r this study. Top Managers from high-tech o companies like INTEL INSIDE and TRIMPOT and from sophisticated service providers like Procter & Gamble Business Center stressed their satisfaction with the workers they recruited in the country (see Companies interviewed in the Annex Section). Managers from FIRESTONE also agree with the reasonable quality of their workforce. It is interesting to note that managers from all the mentioned companies stressed the importance of Generic Skills or Competencies. In the ca se of TRIMPOT a significant proportion of the money spend in training was devoted to generic skills. English as a Second Language was quoted as a pre-requisite for many jobs, including some at the very operative level. Communication and Learning to Learn were also mentioned as relevant for workers. Finally, it was also said that the ability to adapt to new cultures was especially in the case of high tech companies a good predictor of performance. Educational Attainment and Labour Market Outcomes Returns to Education/Wage premiums. Evidence from household surveys confirms a general trend for latin america of a close link between educational attainment and wage differential. The figure shows that more educated workers definitely get higher salaries in Costa Rica. Figure…Earning Differentials by Level of Educational Attainment and Age Groups in Costa Rica 1000 800 Without education Secondary US$ 600 Primary 400 Tertiary (1-3 years) University (4 years and more) 200 0 18 and 18-24 25-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60 and less more Source: INEC, Households Survey (2000) Recent estimations show that the percentage increase of wages associated with one extra year of primary, secondary or tertiary is very high in most latin american countries. The table below shows the returns to education for urban male workers in a group of selected countries. Costa Rica shares with other countries the high returns for tertiary education (19%) but shows a different trend for secondary education whose return is the same as for primary education. Table… Returns to Education: Urban Male Workers % of workers earning low wages Average years of schooling Returns to primary Returns to secondary Returns to tertiary Returns to 5 years of experience Hourly earnings of a worker without schooling or experience 0.48 0.28 0.5 0.5 0.37 0.55 0.51 0.29 Argentina Brazil Chile Costa Rica Guatemala Mexico Panama El Salvador 17.00 34.8 21.4 18.6 39.9 15.9 17.6 49.6 10.4 7.0 10.9 9.8 7.3 9.2 11 8.7 5 12 7 6 8 7 6 5 8 15 12 6 13 10 8 8 17 22 24 19 14 15 16 20 22 18 9 14 17 18 10 20 Employment and educational attainment. The figure shows that unemployment is higher among the less educated population, particularly those adults without secondary education that have followed the academic track. Figure … Unemployment by Educational Attainment 10,0% 9,0% 8,0% Unemployment Rate 7,0% 6,0% 5,0% 4,0% 3,0% 2,0% 1,0% 0,0% Without education Some Primary Primary Some secondary (academic) Secondary (academic) Some secondary (vocational) Secondary (vocational) Parauniversity University Educational Attainment Source: INEC, Household Survey (2002) Poverty. Finally, in terms of poverty, the following figure indicate that among the employed population Figure…Poverty Levels by Educational Attainment of the Employed Population 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% So m es ec Pr on im da ary ry (ac ad em ic) Se co nd ary So (ac m ad es em ec ic) on da ry (vo ca tion al) Se co nd ary (vo ca tio na l) W ith ou te du ca tio n Pa rau niv ers ity So m eP rim ary Un ive rsi ty Noon Poor Poor Extreme Poor LEARNING AND TRAINING FOR WORK IN COSTA RICA Overview: VET system? Lifelong learning System? This section presents an overview of the different sectors offering learning opportunities for adults and young adults already in the workforce and for young people in the transition from education to work. As stated before, the high drop-out rates from the school system poses special issues for implementing lifelong learning in Costa Rica. While other upper-middle income countries have already achieved almost universal secondary education coverage, Costa Rica still faces the challenge of postponing entrance to the labour market by improving the efficiency of the school system. In addition, the country has to offer opportunities for upskilling and retrain the workforce, particularly of the huge percentage of low skilled workers who left the school system and are probably trapped in a low skills/low wage/bad job vicious circle. In this chapter Costa Rica’s Vocational Education System (VET system) is described and assessed in terms of its quality, relevance and contribution to the human capital accumulation process. It is important to note that the term VET system only can be used in a weak sense as it comprises at least five sectors with relatively low levels of systemic interaction: (i) adult & youth education, (ii) school-based vocational education, (iii) post-secondary vocational education, (iv) public vocational training and (v) company-based training. It has been only recently that several government-employer initiative s have been put in place for building up a National System for Technical Education and Training. These initiatives foster articulating different spaces in which learning and training for work occurs. The idea is to build up alliances among institutions both for taking advantage of possible economies of scale but mainly for opening up multiple learning pathways for their students. In this way technical education offered at secondary education, for instance, could become only a starting point for getting higher technical/vocational degrees and not a dead end as seems to be the case nowadays. Main initiatives are (i) SINETEC (Sistema Integrado Nacional de Educación Técnica para la Competitividad2), (ii) Universidad para el Trabajo (University for Work) and (iii) CONOCETE (Consejo Nacional de Normalización y Certificación Técnica 3) was formally created through a government enactment. A second institutional arrangement called Universidad Para el Trabajo (University for Work) has been also launched to facilitate pathways between different institutions offering combinations of on-the -job, classroom based technical and vocational programs. Interviews and document analysis showed that despite the wide theoretical support each of these initiatives have provoked , the progress made has been very limited in the past two years. According to several interviews the main reason for this situation is the low priority given to these projects as they have to compete with other urgent sectorial demands in a time of severe financial constraints for the public sector. As a result SINETEC, Universidad para el Trabajo and CONOCETE remain mainly legal amendments with little to show at the moment. The following figure illustrate the different learning pathways available in Costa Rica. 2 3 “National Integrated Syste of Technical Education for Competitiveness”. m “National Council of Technical Certification and Normalization”. Figure… Lifelong Learning Opportunities in Costa Rica and Common Learning Pathways4 Primary Education PRIMARY/ SECONDARY Secondary Academic Education (At least 6th grade completed) Secondary Vocational/Technical Education VOCATIONAL TRAINING (INA) Technical Baccaulaurate General Baccaulaurate TERTIARY Parauniversity College Through SINETEC and “University for Work”’s agreements ADULT & YOUTH EDUCATION (Formal Education, Open Education, IPEC, CINDAE, etc. provided by the MEP) University LABOUR MARKET (company-based-training) In this chapter a description of the different learning and training for work opportunities is offered. Special emphasis is given to access, quality and relevance of learning outcomes and main challenges for making the lifelong learning agenda a reality in Costa Rica. The subsections are: Participation in Learning and Training for Work in Costa Rica Adult & Youth Education provided by the Ministry of Education Vocational and technical education (secondary and post secondary) Vocational training offered by the Instituto Nacional de Aprendizaje (INA) Company-based-training offered by employers to their workforce 4 The scheme does not consider in detail neither the different levels within university (BSc, MAs, etc) nor the different methods of delivery available. The scheme does not includes the costarican Pre-School System either, a crucial space in which Lifelong Learning also occurs but is not address in this report. Higher Education provided by universities is not included in the case study. Participation in Learning and Training for Work Costa Rica’s Household Survey includes a module on what is called “non-regular education”, meaning any formal learning occurring out of the school system (which comprises pre -primary, primary, secondary academic, secondary technical and open edu cation) and tertiary education system (including in this category both the so called “parauniversity” and the university system). (INEC, 2002). Figure …Participation of the Population 25 to 64 years of age in Continuing Education and Training, 2002 600.000 31,3% 500.000 25,4% 3 5% 3 0% 2 5% 400.000 2 0% 300.000 14,9% 548.359 1 5% 200.000 332.229 100.000 147.834 1 0% 5% 0 1987 1995 2002 0% According to the figure, 31.3% of the population between 25 and 64 years of age has participated in some form of Continuing Education and Training. Unfortunately comparability of this information with figures from OECD countries as informed in OECD (2001b) is very limited . The question in the Costa Rica’s Household Survey does not make clear whether the courses were taken during the last year or at any time in the lifetime. In addition, is not clear whether the courses are job-related , for leisure or for other reasons. Finally, information regarding how many hours lasted the courses is not available either. However incomplete, a closer view indicates some interesting trends: Participation in Continuing Education and Training shows a sharp increase in the 1987-2002 period (from 220.813 to 798.206 participants) Adults with higher levels of educational attainment are more likely to receive training . This tendency has become stronger during the last two decades, confirming international findings regarding participation of the workforce in formal training. Distribution across income levels shows that access to and participation in Continuing Education and Training is unequal in the country, as the richests quintiles account for more than 60% of the total participation in this form of learning. It is interesting to note however that 35% of the population with incomplete secondary education (both academic and technical) reports to have participated in some courses or training programs not provided by the formal educational system. Men and women participate at fairly equal rates (54.5 % and 45.5 % respectively). There’s a sharp gap between urban and rural areas as more than 70% of the participants live in urban or near urban areas. This poses a problem of equal access that may demand to try non traditional modes of delivery of training courses for those living in rural areas. Participation is linked to job status. 75.5 % of the population reporting having attended to some form of continuous education and training are employed workers. 21.1% of the participants, mostly women, are part of the non-active population. As shown in the following chart, IT courses, namely basics of personal computers usage, are the most preferred by far. More than 140.000 out of the 521.464 people have participated in some course linked to Information Technology, reflecting that IT skills have become or at least are perceived as a relevant in the workplace. Figure x and x …Trends in Continuing Adult education and Training Participation by Income Quintiles 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 1987 Fuente: INEC, Encuestas de Hogaresde los años respectivos Quntil V Quintil IV Quntil III Quntil II Quntil I 1995 2002 Number of Participants by Content of the Courses and Gender 160.000 140.000 120.000 100.000 Mujeres 80.000 60.000 40.000 20.000 0 Hombres Total Se rvi cio Se s cre tar iad o Ali m en tos Co nta bilid ad ex tra nje ros Fuente: INEC, Encuestas de Hogares de los años respectivos A complimentary measure suggests that the more educated and skilled workers are the ones who employers train the most and for longer periods (IADB, 2001). The following chart shows the percent of firms that train their employees by skill level. Figure…Skill Level and the Likelihood of Receiving Training in Costa Rica % of firms tha train employees Idio m as 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Unskilled workers Skilled workers Supervisors Technitians skill level Source: World Business Environment Survey 1999 quoted in IADB, 2001. Anecdotal evidence gathered in costarican companies confirmed the general finding (ie Heckman, 2002) that training low skilled workers is a very difficult task with uneven results. This is the reason for which companies like Procter & Gamble Business Center prefered to invest in an expensive recruitment process targeting educated and expensive workers rather than recruiting and training low skilled workers. Ag ric ult ura y Do ce nc ia pe sc a Ot ros Adult & Youth Education 5 Overview. If Costa Rica is to improve the education level of the labour force is clear it will have to find new ways of re-attracting young adults to learning, particularly those living in rural areas. Adult & Youth Education opportunities offered by the MEP are designed for this aim. R ecent estimations suggest that in fact, Adult & Youth Education opportunities account for 7.1 % of the current secondary enrollment. Nowadays 1 out of 4 secondary students take part in some form of Adult & Youth Education, reflecting the problems the Formal Daytime Education system have to retain their students and signalling the potential of using more flexible learning settings. This phenomena is more significant from 9th grade onwards, where 12.5 % of the enrolment corresponds to some form of Adult & Youth Education against 19.1 % from the Formal School System. Costa Rica’s education system offers a multiplicity of learning opportunities for the population who has not been able to complete primary and/or secondary school. As shown before, this group represents a significant proportion of the active population (12 – 64 years) comprising people living in very different situations, like early school leavers participating in low skilled jobs or unemployed, to low skilled mature employed/unemployed/self-employed workers, inactive women, etc. These diversity is part of an attempt by Costa Rica’s government to implement a great variety of learning opportunities whose main feature is to be responsive to the different learner groups targeted. An impact evaluation of Adult & Youth Education in Costa Rica would have to recognise this complexity. As described in the first section of this report, it is the case that a significant proportion of the population lack basic skills usually acquired through formal daytime education. Consistently, a significant part of the learning opportunities in this sector are intended as a second opportunity for the population with low educational attainment. MEP’s provision in this area is divided in to subsectors meaning Formal Education and Open Education, the latte r comprising a myriad of different programs and methods of delivery whose main feature is flexibility in content and structure. There is another group of programs whose focus does not seem to be helping adults & youths finishing formal schooling but to serve as a mechanism for social integration and for helping the owners of very basic entrepreneurial initiatives, especially in rural areas. According to the Household Survey (2002), only 10.7 % of the total active population with low educational attainmen t participates in some form of education (85.595 out of 799.110 people). As shown in the following chart, overall participation in Open Education, the most flexible way available in Costa Rica for completing primary and secondary education, is less than 10 % of the total active population with low educational attainment. Participation is especially low for the 20 to 29 years old group, a segment for which investment in adult education still can be of some profit. 5 We use Adult & Youth Education in reference to basic education offered outside the regular school system for the population who has dropped-out or prefers to take up a more flexible programme for completing compulsory education. Figure … Participation of the Population between 12 and 44 years of age without Primary and/or Secondary Education in Adult & Youth Education Provided by the MEP 30 to 44 years 20 to 29 years 12 to 19 years Total 12 to 44 years 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Formal Education Open Education No attendance Source: INEC (2002) Interviewees from the MEP pointed out that the problem relies very much in the lack of budget for covering in a more effective way the learning needs of adults already in the workplace. According to several opinions, adults and youth wanting to participate in adult education have to pay to much for textbooks and for exams, raising the opportunity costs for th ose who are employed. Issues of relevance of the curriculum and methodologies used were also mentioned as limiting the attractiveness of adult education, especially for those adults already in the workplace. Evolution of the enrolment in Adult & Youth Education. It is fairly correct to say that Costa Rica has centered its effort, and should continue doing so, in improving access and quality of provision in primary and secondary education for the group in the school age. It is interesting to note however the increasing demand for Adult & Youth Education, as shown in the figure below. Figure .. Enrollment in Adult & Youth Education by Mode of Delivery/Institution, 1990-2003 120.000 100.000 CINDEA Educación Emergente IPEC Postsecundaria 80.000 CINDEA II y III Nivel IPEC Plan 125 Alumnos 60.000 Educación Abierta Secundaria Colegios Nocturnos Secundaria 40.000 CINDEA I Nivel Educación Abierta Primaria 20.000 Escuelas Nocturnas Primaria 0 1990 Fuente: Ministerio de Educación Pública 1995 2000 2001 2002 2003 Source: MEP (2003) As shown in the figure, expansion of Adult & Youth Education was very relevant during the 90s and continues to be so. An important proportion of the increasing enrolment is explained by the new opportunities available, most of which seem to have found their own “niches”, so to speak. The figure suggest that six out of nine of the learning opportunities available for the population with low educational attainment have consolidated in the last decade. Both Colegios Nocturnos Secundarios, (Formal Secondary Education provided in regular schools at evenings) and IPEC Postsecundario (IPEC stands for Institutos Profesionales de Educación Comunitaria) seems to be particularly successful in terms of attracting adult learners. On the other hand, Escuelas Nocturnas Primarias (ie Formal Primary Education provided in regular schools at evening), CINDEA I Nivel (1 to 3th grade) and IPEC Plan 125 have a very modest significance. In what follows the different spaces and methods of delivery used by Adult Education are described, with a focus on content and the clientele they are associated with. BOX. … Adult & Youth Education in Costa Rica: A Diversified System Adult & Youth Education in Costa Rica is mainly provided by the MEP through different institutions. Four main subsectors can distinguished: (i) Formal Adult & Youth Education, (ii) Open Education and the different programs offered by (iii) Institutos Profesionales de Educación Comunitaria IPEC (Community Education Professional Institutes) and (iv) Centros Integrados de Educacióin de Jóvenes y Adultos (CINDEA) , FORMAL ADULT & YOUTH EDUCATION. This is conventional primary and secondary education provided in regular schools in a special timeschedule intended for employed part-time students. Escuelas Nocturnas. offer courses covering basic education (years 1 to 6, corresponding to the first two cycles in Costa Rica’s education system structure ) while Colegios th th th th Nocturnos covers curriculum from 7 to 9 grades in basic education and 10 to 11 in secondary education or “Diversified Education” as called within the costarican Education System ). Applicants have to be 15 years old at least. Most students are employed and are early school leavers. As figure … shows, enrolment in Escuelas Nocturnas has decline severely. Enrolment in Colegios Nocturnos has remain stable over the last five years. OPEN EDUCATION . It comprises several ways of delivery intended for learners with different backgrounds and needs. It is focused in giving adults and youths a second opportunity to complete primary and/or secondary education. a) Taught General Basic Education (1 to 6 grades). It covers standard compulsory curriculum for this level. Admission requirement is 14 years old. Learners can progress at their own pace. There are exams for each subject matter. When all the exams are submitted the system gives the learner a Basic Education Certificate. b) Open General Basic Education . It covers from 7 to 9 grades. Entrance requirement are being 15 years old and having obtained the Basic Education Certificate. Subject matters are the same as for the previous grades excepting English as a Foreign Language. c) Diversified Education by Long Distance Education . It covers from 10th to 11th grades and it is offered only in the academic track (not the vocational/technical). Its main feature is that students th th st th study by their own, share support from tutors and submit 2 exams for each subject. Once they have approved all the subject matters students can submit the General Baccaulaurate to get their Diversified/Secondary Education Certi ficate. Entrance requirements are being 15 years old th th and having gotten previously the 7 to 9 certificate. This type of adult & youth education is provided jointly by the MEP and by the Universidad Estatal a Distancia UNED (Long Distance State University). d) Baccaulaurate for the Population over 18 years. This is intended for over 18 self learners who cannot attend regularly to classroom based education and prefer to prepare themselves for th th the General Baccaulaurate. Applicants have to have got the 7 to 9 grades certificate. Students have to buy for themselves the Learning Materials Packages (textbooks, exercises, etc.). They are also charge for the exams and the general Bacca ulaurate. IPECs. These are institutions offering learning opportunities ma inly to inactive women, single adolescent mothers and other disadvantage groups like very low skilled workers from urban and rural areas, etc. Its main feature is that the curriculum is partially design with the community. This implies that regular subject matters are mingled with other contents making the former closer and friendlier for the learners. Subject matters are organised and taught in three levels in order to reduce repetition rates and encourage learners to complete their studies. Commonly this programs include the teaching of employability and some technical skills. CINDEAs. These are institutions offering more conventional but still flexible taught programs. Learning pathways are flexible, trying to be take into account the learner’s background and learning speed. CINDEAs offer programs for all the levels of the educational system, from basic to diversified education. Enrolment has grown during the past decade, particularly in the secondary level. On the contrary, primary education programs offered by CINDEA are poorly demanded. Given the evolution of the participation in adult & youth education the following findings can be drawn: Within Formal Adult Education, it is probably understandable the low demand for education provided by Escuelas Nocturnas, as participation in primary education has reached high levels in the population at the correspondent age. Likewise, expansion of enrolment in Colegios Nocturnos is probably linked to the increasing number of school leavers and low skilled workers wanting to try again finishing school while working. According to the information gathered on -site, one of the problems Colegios Nocturnos have to face is the lack of expertise and competence of teacher staff for teaching adults (most of them teach n the daytime school as well). A second i problem also mentioned is that both the content and methods of delivery does not fit the needs of adults with work experience. Perhaps these factors contribute to the relatively high rate of desertion Colegios Nocturnos show (23%, according to MEP’s statistics). In the case of Open Education, additional information from the Household Survey shows that active population accounts for 63 % of the current enrolment in Open Education , 82.2 5 of which are employed workers. This suggests that Open Education seems to be a feasible and attractive option for employed low skilled workers. In terms of household income levels, it is interesting to note that only 17 % of the students come from Poor and Extreme Poor groups, while the other 83 % comes from Non Poor backgrounds. This proportion raises the issue of the costs involved in Open Education. Even though the opportunity costs are low for unemployed people, the low participation in flexible adult education suggest that either the contents and methods of provision are not tuned with adults expectations or that the just lack the resources for financing the texts and the cost of the general exams. Interviewees from the MEP confirmed that the costs that adult pupils have to pay are just non affordable for most them, particularly when they suffer some form of unemployment. For a lifelong learning strategy offering flexible opportunities is highly interesting to see what are the learning strategies used by those adults and young adults over 18 years who choose to submit the General Baccaulaurate. The following table shows the exams outcomes and the most common strategies used. Table…Outcomes from the Baccaulaurate Exam (first call in 2003) Preferred Learning Strategy At home Private Academy Private teacher MEP’s project TOTAL Pass Fail Total 4.820 (32.3%) 2.972 (42.3%) 368 (31.6%) 81 (32.3%) 8.241 (35.2%) 10.121 (67.7%) 4.057 (57.7%) 798 (68.4%) 170 (67.7%) 15.146 (64.8%) 14.941 (63.9%) 7.029 (30.1%) 1.166 (5.0%) 251 (1.0%) 23.387 (100%) The general performance is very poor as two thirds of the candidates failed the exams and could get the Baccaulaurate Certificate. This implies a very low effectiveness of any of the learning strategies used by learners. This is especially discouraging as presumably those students that fail the exams will not insist again in the future. Also interesting is the fact that the great majority of the candidates preferred to prepare the exams by themselves at home. This tendency reflects a well known feature of adult learners: they prefer to take control of what and how to learn. Unfortunately the outcome is dramatically poor signalling an area in which much more methodological innovation is needed. In this sense the development of new forms of education delivery (like blended e-learning, long distance education, tutorial programs, etc) could be of high interest for the many people who do not want to come back to the classroom. Postsecondary IPEC has also become an attractive option particularly for t e h population at risk of social exclusion, according with the profile of the participants. Most participants in IPEC programs are unemployed women, adolescent mothers, some very low skills rural workers, among other disadvantage groups. Because of this clientele IPEC is not focused on the formal curriculum but very much in developing basic skills of immediate relevance for students to make a living and to prevent their social exclusion. Part of the IPEC’s clientele includes population with low levels of literacy and numeracy. Evidence shows that IPEC is effective at retaining students and that repetition rates are also low. Besides IPEC’s students have shown high pass rates in the vocational/technical exams taken by the MEP (ILO, 2000). Figure … Enrollment by Age and Gender IPEC 25.000 21.667 20.000 enrollment 15.000 10.000 5.000 4.926 0 12 to 19 20 to 29 30 to 39 40 to 49 Women Men 60 and more Total 50 to 59 age groups Fuente: Departamento de Estadística, Ministerio de Educación Pública, 2002 CINDEA 12.000 11.461 10.000 8.000 7.964 6.000 4.000 2.000 0 12 to 19 20 to 29 30 to 39 40 to 49 50 to 59 Women Men 60 and more Total enrollment age groups Fuente: Departamento de Estadística, Ministerio de Educación Pública, 2002 Quality and relevance of learning outcomes. Perhaps the most important challenge the described institutions have to face is how to retain students on the basis of relevant contents and hopefully help them being successful in their attempt to finish secondary education. High cost opportunity for those in the workforce, learning handicaps making difficult to perform in exams, poor quality of methodologies among different factors can discourage students to complete their education. There is information however about Pass/Fail rates to the exams students have to submit. In the case of Colegios Nocturnos, MEP’s information shows that 30.4 % of the students fail in the level exams. This situation tends to worsen in Open Education where 50 % of the students fails in the exams. Particularly poor is the performance of those participants in Diversified Education by Long Distance Education whose fail rate is 66.6 %. Interviewees in charge of running MEP’s Adult & Youth Education pr ograms pointed out that the main problem they face is the lack of financial resources not only to improve access but to build the particular capacities needed for implementing good quality education. In addition the current system of exams is seen as “perverse” as it imposes to adults to learn the same contents intended for the population in the school age. It was suggested that there should be a different system for adults to get the final secondary certificate. This especial system should be more “competency-based” and should include the formal recognition of knowledge, skills and attitudes acquired through practical experience in the workplace or in social life. On the other hand it was also said that changing the content and approach of the examination system would create a serious inconsistency within the education system, the main consequence being introducing certificates of different value and status for the labour market. This vision is shared by most of the interviewees, some of which stressed that Adult & Youth Education should become a priority considering the percentage of the population with low qualifications. Other views are that there should be more coordination between vocational and training opportunities and adult & Youth education programs offered by the MEP. The rationales is to take advantage of the high interest in adult education for enriching human capital of the participants with more specific, technical workplace competencies, especially those related with Information Techno logies. Recent research in adult education including second choice for low literate adults, is consistent the views expressed by interviewees. Adults are more motivated when they draw on their past experience, when learning is located in the context of their own lives when it is applied to solve daily-life problems and when they have choice and control over what they learn (OECD, 2003). To sum up Costa Rica follows the main international lessons in adult education as it (i) offers a variety of methods of delivery and learning opportunities for population with different needs, (ii) organised in a reasonable flexible way and (iii) has targeted adults who are hard to reach and are under the risk of social exclusion. The challenges seem to be (i) to improve the quality of learning outcomes in every form of Adult & Youth Education available as performance is consistently very poor, (ii) to make content more relevant to the world of work in order to improve student’s employability (iii) to find a better way to finance adult education, as exam fees and cost of learning materials discourage adults to come back to learning. Vocational and Technical Education: overview and challenges The VET system in Costa Rica is marked by vocational streaming starting at the upper secondary level, called Educación Diversificada (Diversified Education). At this level students decide whether to follow the Academic/General stream or the Vocational/Technical one. Among the latter there are different specialties grouped in three sectors: agricu lture, services and industry. At the secondary level technical education is provided by Technical Schools (Colegios Técnicos) managed by the Ministry of Education (MEP). Post-secondary technical education is provided by Colegios Universitarios (University Colleges) which are part of what is called the Parauniversity System. They offer 2 year programs intended to produce middle level technitians. This tier of the tertiary education system has a relative long story, emerging as a second choice option of post-secondary education for students wanting to follow a more straightforward path into the labour market or even as an intermediate step in the way to a university degree (public universities have special agreements with Colegios Universitarios in order to recognise prior learning of those applicants who have completed post-secondary technical degree). There are a number of private Colegios Universitarios as well. Details of enrollment, relevance ,etc are given below, in the correspondent sections. It is important to note that technical and vocational education has played a limited role in the human resources development process of Costa Rica, when only enrolment is considered. Participation rates in vocational schools stagnated some 20 yea rs ago in 20 % of the total enrolment in secondary (diversified) education. Enrollment in the Parauniversity System is about 7.000 students against 140.000 of the University System (considering public and private universities). Information from the MEP suggests that even though real education expenditure increased by 76 % over the past decade, a closer view at per capita spending shows that spending in technical/vocational education has decrease sharply. This information was confirmed by interviewees from the MEP and from two public Colegios Universitarios. It was suggested that financial constraints are particularly damaging for vocational education whose nature makes crucial investment in laboratories, equipment, etc. The acute fiscal constraint Costa Rica is facing now makes unlikely that more resources will be allocated for vocational education . As a consequence some of the improvements in vocational education will have to rely on better use of expenditures or finding new partnerships with companies for financing investment in infrastructure. As in most countries in latin america, technical education is usually seen as lacking social prestige in comparison with tertiary education provided by universities, particularly public ones. A recent study by the CONARE (2002) confirm this trend. More than 96% of a sample of secondary students said they wish to follow university studies rather than post-secondary vocational studies. Notably there is no significant difference between the opinions expressed by students from the technical and the academic track. 6Particularly interesting is the fact that secondary technical students does not seem to conceive post-secondary technical education as the natural path to follow after completing secondary education. Table… Desire to Continue Higher Education After Secondary Education by Preference and Type of Secondary School Desire to continue higher education after completing secondary school University Other Post-secondary Studies (includes Parauniversity Institutions) % Abs % Does not want to continue studying Secondary School Type Academic Technical/Voc Artistic Abs Abs % Total 1.790 387 20 96.6 94.1 100 32 13 -- 1.7 3.2 -- 31 11 -- 1.7 2.7 -- 1.853 411 20 6 The outcomes from the survey were the same when factors like region, level of educational attainment of the parents, gender and age group were controlled. Total 2.197 96.2 45 2.0 42 1.8 2.284 Source: CONARE (2002) The fact that returns to tertiary education are high in Costa Rica and that there’s no evidence for the returns to post-secondary technical education makes understandable the outcomes from the quoted survey. The value of credentials from Parauniversity System probably are not visible enough for prospected students, posing a clear challenge for any policy intended at stimulating demand for post-secondary technical education. As can be seen, strengthening vocational education in Costa Rica is a complex and probably long term task, which has to deal with the expansion of private universities, the social demand for university degrees, the limited public budget for improving the quality of the provision of technical education and last but not least the usually weak links between vocational education institutions and the private sector. On the other hand, it seems clear that the huge population with low educational attainment can find in an articulated VET system a friendly way to be upskilled and to improve their job prospects in companies like INTEL and others. EDUCACIÓN SECUNDARIA TÉCNICA Caracterización de la oferta La Educación Técnica Profesional es una modalidad del sistema educativo regular, dirigida a personas que desean obtener formación en carreras profesionales de grado medio. Se imparte en el Tercer Ciclo de la Educación General Básica, en la modalidad de talleres exploratorios que le permiten al estudiante descubrir sus habilidades, destrezas, aptitudes e intereses y le facilitan el proceso de selección de una especialidad, y en la Educación Diversificada, donde el alumno se especializa en algún área específica de los sectores agropecuario, industrial o de comercio y servicios. En la Educación Diversificada, el plan de estudios comprende 16 horas semanales de asignaturas del área académica y 24 horas del área tecnológica, lo que implica que el estudiante debe recibir un total de 40 horas por semana en forma presencial. En el duodécimo año, durante los meses de octubre y noviembre se debe realizar una práctica supervisada de 7 320 horas de duración . Tanto en el Tercer Ciclo como en la Educación Diversificada, el estudiante recibe paralelamente a la formación técnica formación humanística, de manera que al terminar sus estudios de secundaria tiene la opción de incorporarse al mercado de trabajo o continuar estudios de nivel superior, contando con los títulos de Técnico en el nivel medio en la especialidad y Bachiller en Enseñanza Media. Para obtener el título de Técnico en el nivel medio en las especialidades técnicas, los estudiantes deben: haber cursado el plan de estudios de Educación Diversificada, en la especialidad correspondiente, haber aprobado todas las sub-áreas del área tecnológica del duodécimo año, en la especialidad y modalidad correspondiente, 7 El actual plan de estudios de la educación técnica diversificada rige desde febrero del 2002. Anteriormente, el alumno tenía dos opciones, una primera similar a la modalidad única que rige actualmente, pero que no incluía la realización de la práctica supervisada al final del duodécimo año, y una segunda, que contemplaba 24 horas académicas y 16 horas tecnológicas por semana, en décimo y undécimo año, y 40 horas tecnológicas en duodécimo año. El estudiante podía optar por rendir el Bachillerato al final del undécimo año, para luego egresar o continuar con la especialidad en el duodécimo año y optar al Título de Técnico en el nivel medio. La opción 2 fue eliminada del plan de estudios por las altas tasas de abandono que se presentaban en el undécimo año. - tener una calificación mínima de 70 durante el 12° año, realizar y aprobar una práctica profesional o un proyecto final, y aprobar una prueba comprensiva final, que incluye conocimientos teóricos de la especialidad, desarrollados durante los tres años de formación. Para obtener el Bachillerato, deben: cursar el plan de estudios de Educación Diversificada, en la especialidad y modalidad correspondiente, aprobar todas las asignaturas del área académica del undécimo o duodécimo año, según opción del plan de estudios seleccionado, realizar un trabajo comunal, y realizar las pruebas correspondientes de bachillerato. Evolución de la matrícula y perfil del alumno En Costa Rica existe una demanda creciente por cursas estudios secundarios. Ello se refleja en el aumento constante de la matrícula total en secundaria durante las últimas décadas. Luego de una fuerte caída entre a principios de los ochenta, debida al aumento de la deserción escolar, el número total de alumnos en la enseñanza secundaria empieza a crecer, llegando a duplicar en el año 2003 la cifra de 1985. Cuadro: Evolución de la matrícula total en educación secundaria técnica y académica 350.000 300.000 250.000 200.000 150.000 100.000 50.000 0 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2003 Secundaria Técnica (III Ciclo y Diversificada) Secundaria Académica (III Ciclo y Diversificada) Total Educación Secundaria Fuente: Ministerio de Educación Pública, 2003 Sin embargo, el aumento de la matrícula secundaria no ha ido acompañado de una reorientación de la oferta educativa al interior de este nivel, hacia las modalidades más orientadas al desarrollo de destrezas y habilidades directamente vinculadas al desempeño laboral. Desde 1980 hasta la fecha, el peso de la matricula en secundaria técnica ha permanecido estancado en torno a un 20%, correspondiendo el 80% restante de los alumnos a la secundaria académica. En el año 2002, para atender el Tercer Ciclo había 458 colegios académicos diurnos y nocturnos- y sólo 71 colegios técnicos (13,4%), mientras que en la Educación Diversificada, la relación era de 403 a 85 (17,4%). Ello implica un déficit de oferta en relación a la demanda creciente de formación para el trabajo por parte de los jóvenes y de técnicos de nivel medio por parte de las empresas. Cuadro: Evolución de la composición de la matrícula en educación secundaria por tipo de educación 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2003 Secundaria Técnica (III Ciclo y Diversificada) Secundaria Académica (III Ciclo y Diversificada) Fuente, Ministerio de Educación Pública 2003 La matrícula en la educación técnica del nivel diversificado, en el cual los alumnos escogen una especialidad vinculada a algún sector productivo específico, se concentra principalmente en comercio y servicios, seguido por los sectores industrial y agropecuario. En el primero de éstos la matrícula en su mayoría es de mujeres, mientras que en los otros es mayor la presencia masculina. Cuadro: Matrícula en educación técnica diversificada por sectores y género 24.000 22.000 20.000 18.000 16.000 14.000 Mujeres 12.000 Hombres 10.000 8.000 6.000 4.000 2.000 0 Comercio y Servicios Industria Agropecuaria Total Fuente: Ministerio de Educación Pública, 2002 Al interior de los sectores existen diferencias significativas de género, en términos de las áreas de especialización más demandadas. Las alumnas mujeres tienden en su mayoría a optar por especialidades como secretariado, contabilidad e industria textil, mientras que en los hombres hay una distribución porcentual más pareja entre quienes optan por contabilidad y otras especialidades del área mecánica (mecánica automotriz y de precisión) y agropecuaria. Cuadro: Especialidades más demandas por sectores y género Mujeres Hombres Comercial y Servicios n = 3.736 § § Industrial Contabilidad (48,3%) Turismo (14,9%) n = 6.836 § § Secretariado Profesional (46,2%) Contabilidad (32,9%) n = 3.733 § § § § Mecánica Automotriz (20,7%) Mecánica de Precisión (15,2%) Electrotecnia (9,8%) Electrónica Industrial (9,5%) n = 2.200 § § Industria Textil (49,9%) Dibujo Arquitectónico (7,8%) Agropecuaria n = 2.921 § Agropecuaria (54,4%) n = 1.840 § § Agropecuaria (43,3%) Agroindustria (30 ,1%) Fuente: Ministerio de Educación Pública, 2002. Calidad y pertinencia Las tasas de deserción escolar son más altas -y con tendencia a crecer levemente en los últimos años - en el tercer ciclo en comparación con el nivel de la enseñanza diversificad a. De hecho, los peaks de deserción se producen en el 7° y luego en el 10° 8. Al comparar los niveles de deserción en las modalidades técnica y académica, las mayores diferencias se producen también en el tercer ciclo. En el año 2002 desertaron de la enseñanza académica diurna de tercer ciclo 17.200 alumnos, los que representan un 12% de la matrícula total. En cambio, en la secundaria técnica del mismo nivel los desertores fueron 1.300, pero dado que la matrícula total es mucho más baja, éstos representan una tasa de un 15%. La deserción escolar en la educación diversificada, tanto en la modalidad académica como en la técnica, está entre un 6% y un 7%. Estos datos muestran que el desafío de elevar la retención escolar se debe focalizar especialmente hacia el nivel de tercer ciclo. En el caso de la educación técnica, esto es fundamental, dado el perfil socioeconómico más desfavorecido de sus alumnos. Tasas de deserción en tercer ciclo y educación diversificada Académica Diurna Diversificada Académica Diurna Diversificada Técnica Diurna Diversificada Académica Diurna III Ciclo Técnica Diurna III Ciclo Alumnos Desertores (2002) 3.463 4.747 17.283 1.357 Técnica Diurna Diversificada 1990 1994 1998 2002 Académica Diurna III Ciclo Técnica Diurna III Ciclo 0,0 2,0 4,0 6,0 8,0 10,0 12,0 14,0 16,0 18,0 Fuente: Ministerio de Educación Pública, 2002 Contrario a lo que ocurre con la deserción escolar, las tasas de repitencia son más bajas en la educación secundaria técnica que en la académica. Esto ocurre tanto en el nivel de la enseñanza diversificada (9% de repitencia en la académica y 4% en la técnica) como en el de tercer ciclo (12% y 9% res pectivamente). El mejor rendimiento comparativo de los alumnos de la modalidad técnica en relación a los de la académica puede interpretarse favorablemente en términos de la calidad de la oferta educativa técnica-secundaria. Si a estos datos se agregan sus mayores tasas de deserción, se puede concluir que el mayor desafío actualmente para la secundaria técnica está en el mejoramiento de la cobertura –ampliación de la oferta para responder a la demanda- y la equidad –asegurar la retención escolar, especialmente en tercer ciclo-. 8 En este análisis hemos excluido las tasas de deserción y repitencia de le educación nocturna, pues ésta ha sido clasificada dentro de la oferta de educación de adultos y jóvenes. Tasas de repitencia en tercer ciclo y educación diversificada Académica Diurna Diversificada Técnica Diurna Diversificada Académica Diurna Diversificada Técnica Diurna Diversificada Académica Diurna III Ciclo Técnica Diurna III Ciclo Alumnos Repitentes (2002) 4.751 829 17.703 3.013 Académica Diurna III Ciclo 1990 1994 1998 2002 Técnica Diurna III Ciclo 0,0 2,0 4,0 6,0 8,0 10,0 12,0 14,0 Fuente: Ministerio de Educación Pública, 2002 Una vez egresados de la educación secundaria, los estudiantes costarricenses aspiran mayoritariamente a proseguir estudios en alguna universidad. Esta tendencia se mantiene igual entre los alumnos de último año de la secundaria técnica como de la académica. Menos del 5% desea proseguir estudios en otro tipo de instituciones, como los colegios universitarios. Estos datos, obtenido en una encuesta del CONARE, reflejan la alta demanda existente por estudios universitarios, lo que probablemente está vinculado a la alta tasa de retorno asociada a este tipo de educación en el caso de Costa Rica. Expectativas de proseguir estudios post-secundarios 100,0% 90,0% Porcentaje que desea continuar estudios 80,0% 70,0% 60,0% 50,0% 40,0% 30,0% 20,0% 10,0% 0,0% Estudios Universitarios Otros Estudios Académico Técnico Total No Desea Continuar Fuente: CONARE, Encuesta a estudiantes de último año de secundaria, 2002 Sin embargo, existen diferencias entre los alumnos de último año de la técnica y la académica, en cuanto a sus motivaciones para proseguir estudios universitarios. Casi la mitad de los primeros lo que busca es asegurar su futro económico, respuesta que es dada sólo por un tercio de los segundos, que en primer lugar mencionan la aspiración de “ser profesional”. Razones para seguir estudios universitarios Técnico Modalidad Académico 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Otras 90% 100% Ser profesional Asegurar su futuro económico Razones para querer seguir estudios universitarios Fuente: CONARE, Encuesta a estudiantes de último año de secundaria, 2002 Los datos del cuadro anterior reflejan el perfil de menores ingresos que tienen los alumnos de la educación secundaria técnica en relación a los estudiantes de la académica, lo que se ve confirmado por otro dato: si bien el 63% de los estudiantes académicos piensan estudiar y trabajar simultáneamente, en el caso de los técnicos este porcentaje llega casi a un 80%. Lo más probable que gran parte de esta demanda no logra ser absorbida por las universidades existentes y se canaliza, por lo tanto, hacia otras modalidades de formación más flexibles y compatibles con el trabajo, como las de la educación abierta, educación de adultos y formación a través del INA. Dedicación que se piensa dar a los estudios post-secundarios Técnico Modalidad Académico 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Estudiar y trabajar Sólo estudiar Sin información Dedicación que piensan darle a los estudios Fuente: CONARE, Encuesta a estudiantes de último año de secundaria, 2002 En las Pruebas Nacional de la Educación Formal, el porcentaje de estudiantes que obtiene una nota igual o superior a 65 puntos es de sólo un 17%, lo que refleja severos problemas de calidad y rendimiento escolar. Por modalidades, en los colegios diurnos este porcentaje está por sobre la media (21%) mientras que en los nocturnos está muy por debajo (4%), lo que muestra un problemas específico en éstos últimos, que son los que atienden a la población adulta y joven con estudios incompletos o que estudia y trabaja simultáneamente. En los colegios técnicos, los que obtienen sobre 65 puntos constituyen sólo un 12% del alumnado (873 de 7.519). Porcentaje de estudiantes con nota igual o superior a 65 en Tercer Ciclo 25,0% 20,0% 15,0% 10,0% 5,0% 0,0% Total Nacional Diurnos Nocturnos Técnicos Modalidad Fuente: Ministerio de Educación Pública, Informe Nacional de Pruebas de III Ciclo, 2002 Distinguiendo por materias, los resultados más altos se obtienen en francés y los más bajos en matemáticas, lo que revela deficiencias en una de las competencias básicas para el desempeño en el mercado labor al. Porcentaje de estudiantes con nota igual o superior a 65 por materias en Tercer Ciclo 100,0% 90,0% 80,0% 70,0% Diurnos 60,0% 50,0% 40,0% 30,0% 20,0% 10,0% 0,0% Francés Español Estudios Cívica Materias Sociales Ciencias Inglés Matemática Técnicos Nocturnos Fuente: Ministerio de Educación Pública, Informe Nacional de Pruebas de III Ciclo, 2002 En el caso de las pruebas de bachillerato el porcentaje de promoción total es de un 67%, siendo en este caso el más alto el de la modalidad de técnicos opción 1 (75%), seguidos por 9 los diurnos (70%), técnicos opción 2 (62%) y nocturnos (sólo un 37%). En este caso, los egresados de colegios técnicos obtienen los mejores puntajes, lo que vuelve a confirmar la observación de que los principales problemas de esta mo dalidad parecen estar más bien a nivel del tercer ciclo. Por materias, nuevamente es en matemáticas donde se dan los resultados más bajos, mientras que educación cívica y ciencias sociales son los de mejores resultados de los alumnos. 9 Modalidad ya desaparecida. Porcentajes de promoción en Pruebas de Bachillerato 80,0% 75,0% 70,0% 65,0% 60,0% 55,0% 50,0% 45,0% 40,0% 35,0% 30,0% Total Nacional Diurnos Nocturnos Técnicos Opción 1 Técnicos Opción 2 Modalidad Fuente: Ministerio de Educación Pública, Informe Nacional de Pruebas de Bachillerato, 2002 Porcentajes de promoción en Pruebas de Bachillerato según materias 100,0% 95,0% 90,0% 85,0% 80,0% 75,0% 70,0% 65,0% 60,0% 55,0% 50,0% 45,0% 40,0% So cia les Técnicos Opción 1 Técnicos Opción 2 Diurnos Nocturnos Es tud ios Materias Fuente: Ministerio de Educación Pública, Informe Nacional de Pruebas de Bachillerato, 2002 Finalmente, los resultados obtenidos en las pruebas de especialidades técnicas tuvieron una tendencia decreciente entre 1997 y 2000, para luego repuntar entre esta fecha y el 2002. Por sectores, los porcentajes más altos de promoción se dan el sector agropecuario (97%), seguido por el sector de comercio y servicios (91%) y el sector industrial (85%). Es interesante señalar que el punto más bajo de l a curva (año 2000, donde hubo una promoción de un 70%) coincide con el año en que el 100% del puntaje dependió de la prueba, mientras que en los años de mejores resultados (1997 y 2002, ambos con un 90%) la prueba se ponderó en un 70% y 60% respectivamente, correspondiendo el porcentaje restante a la ponderación de la nota de presentación. Esto significa que las notas de la prueba son generalmente inferiores a la nota de presentación que traen los alumnos, lo que puede ser un indicador de un nivel elevado d e exigencia en esta evaluación. Porcentajes de Promoción en Pruebas de Especialidades Técnicas 95,0% 90,0% 85,0% 80,0% 75,0% 70,0% 65,0% 60,0% 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Fuente: Ministerio de Educación Pública, Informe Nacional de Pruebas de Especialidades Técnicas, 2002 Un último talón de aquiles de la formación secundaria, tanto técnica como académica, tiene relación con la inserción laboral de los egresados. Según diferentes estudios, la inserción plena alcanza según la mejor estimación un 41%. Por lo tanto, la mayoría de los egresados o no se inserta laboralmente o lo hace en empleos de menor calidad o subempleos. § Un estudio de inserción laboral realizado a una muestra de 323 estudiantes de colegios técnicos profesionales en 1998 mostró que el 41% de los egresados tenía un trabajo estable, la mayoría de ellas con jornada completa. La inserción laboral es 10 especialmente alta en los sectores eléctrico y metalmecánico . § Otro estudio de seguimiento realizado por el CIPET a 529 personas egresadas de los Colegios Técnicos Profesionales en 1996 y 1997, mostró que el 29% de ellos estaban trabajando y un 43% trabajando y estudiando al mismo tiempo. El 25% de los egresados se ubicó en trabajos vinculados a la especialidad de contabilidad y un 16% en secretariado, lo que es coincidente con la alta concentración de los estudiantes actuales en ambas especialidades 11. Un tercer estudio realizado por la Dirección de Educación Técnica del MEP y el CIPET a 323 personas egresadas de los años 1996, 1997 y 1998 reveló que un 40% de ellos trabaja en empleos relacionados con la especialidad que estudiaron y en condiciones salariales, de jornada y de estabilidad laboral acordes a sus expectativas. También se consultó la opinión de un conjunto de representantes empresariales sobre la calidad de los egresados, quienes señalaron como principales problemas la falta de formación práctica (30,6%), la falta de disciplina hacia el trabajo (10,0%) y la desactualización de los contenidos de la formación (6,6%) 12. § 10 Citado en INA, MTSS, OIT y Ministerio de Asuntos Sociales de España, “Información Profesional para el Mercado de Trabajo” , Costa Rica, Noviembre 2002. 11 INA, MTSS, OIT y Ministerio de Asuntos Sociales de España, 2002, op. cit. 12 INA, MTSS, OIT y Ministerio de Asuntos Sociales de España, 2002, op. cit. Conclusiones 1. Hay una baja cobertura de la educación secundaria técnica en relación a la secundaria académica. El nivel insuficiente de la oferta para la alta demanda por formación en el nivel de técnico medio va acompañado por bajas capacidades disponibles en términos de infraestructura y equipos. Ello, sumado a la emergencia de modalidades flexibles de formación (educación abierta, INA, etc.), no genera incentivos a la permanencia en la secundaria. Por lo tanto, un desafío clave consiste en mejorar el acceso y la cobertura de la educación secundaria técnica. Desde el punto de vista de la calidad, en general las tasas de repitencia de la secundaria técnica diurna son más bajas que las de la aca démica, lo que es una muestra de los buenos resultados de la técnica, aunque son opacados por la mayor deserción en tercer ciclo. Sin embargo, el problema central se produce al completar y egresar de la secundaria. Por un lado, hay una alta demanda por proseguir estudios universitarios (señal de su alta valoración social) que no puede ser satisfecha por la oferta existente, y por el otro, las tasas de inserción laboral de los egresados son sólo regulares. Muchos empresarios, por su parte, prefieren contrata r a personas con secundaria incompleta pero egresados del 1 3 INA . Es fundamental mejorar la pertinencia de la oferta educativa de la secundaria técnica, adecuándola a los requerimientos del sector empresarial. Esto implica priorizar en aquellas áreas de la demanda correspondientes a los sectores productivos en crecimiento (servicios e industria, en áreas tales como electrónica, mecánica y tecnologías de información), mejorando las capacidades tecnológicas y la calidad de los docentes, y orientando los contenidos curriculares hacia competencias genéricas claves, como el dominio del inglés y la informática. 2. 3. EDUCACIÓN PARAUNIVERSITARIA Caracterización de la oferta La educación superior parauniversitaria imparte una oferta educativa de nivel técnico conducente al título de diplomado en diferentes especialidades. De acuerdo con el marco legal vigente desde el año 2001, entre sus fines se encuentran, entre otros, los siguientes: § § § Ofrecer carreras cortas completas a personas egresadas de la educación diversificada, Ofrecer programas de formación, capacitación o perfeccionamiento a los miembros de la comunidad, Promover y participar en labores de acción social y de investigación de los prblemas que afectan a la comunidad, Ofrecer servicios descentralizados a las universidades del país, mediante convenios firmados con ellas, y Ofrecer oportunidades de nivelación académica que permitan cursar carreras de educación superior parauniversitaria sobre bases más sólidas. § § Cuadro: Especialidades impartidas en los Colegios Universitarios Estatales Colegio Universitario de Cartago (CUC) § § Administración de Empresas Secretariado Administrativo Bilingüe 13 Estudios de evaluación de impacto de los servicios de capacitación y formación profesional en distintos subsectores, citados en INA, MTSS, OIT y Ministerio de Asuntos Sociales de España, 2002, op. cit. Colegio Universitario de Alajuela (CUNA) Colegio Universitario de Puntarenas (CUP) Colegio Universitario para el Riego y el Desarrollo de Trópico Seco Colegio Universitario de Limón § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § § Mecánica Dental Programación de Sistemas Electrónica Investigación Criminal y Seguridad Organizacional Empresas y Actividades Turísticas Administración Aduanera Administración de Compras y Control de Inventarios Administración de Empresas con Énfasis en Recursos Humanos Administración en Servicios de Alimentos y Bebidas Artes y Ciencias Fotográficas Comercio Exterior Computación Empresarial Contabilidad y Finanzas Control de Calidad Electromecánica con Énfasis en Mantenimiento Industrial Electrónica Inglés como Segunda Lengua Salud Ocupacional Salud Ocupacional con Énfasis en Gestión Ambiental Secretariado Bilingüe Supervisión de la Producción Turismo con Énfasis en Conducción de Grupos Administración de Empresas Contabilidad Computación Empresarial Diseño Gráfico Administración Hotelera Guía Na turalista Electrónica Digital e Industrial Inglés Conversacional Producción Industrial Secretariado Bilingüe Producción Bajo Riego Gerencia de Agroturismo Computación Empresarial Dirección de Empresas Contabilidad y Finanzas Computación Empresarial Inglés como Segunda Lengua Turismo Guía Naturalista Las carreras que se imparten tienen una duración de máximo dos años en modalidad cuatrimestral, lo que significa entre 4 y 6 ciclos de 15 semanas cada uno, para completar un total de entre 60 y 90 créditos. Aumento de la cobertura La oferta de formación de las instituciones parauniversitarias ha crecido significativamente durante la última década, considerando tanto el número de este tipo de instituciones como el total de alumnos matriculados y la cantidad de títulos entregados. Antes de 1970 sólo existían cuatro centros parauniversitarios y durante la década de los ’70 se crearon otros seis, los que sumad os daban un total de diez. Cuatro de estas instituciones eran de carácter público y el resto, privadas. Pero el verdadero boom de crecimiento ocurre desde 1980 en adelante. Entre este año y 1991 se crean dieciséis nuevos centros parauniversitarios y entre 1992 y 1998 otros veinticuatro. De este modo, en las dos últimas décadas se quintuplica la oferta total de instituciones de este nivel. Durante este proceso, algunas instituciones parauniversitarias se han convertido en universidades privadas. Cuadro: Instituciones Parauniversitarias creadas por Período 30 25 N° de Instituciones Creadas 20 15 10 5 0 Antes de 1970 Entre 1970 y 1979 Entre 1980 y 1991 Entre 1992 y 1998 Período Fuente: Consejo Superior de Educación, "Instituciones Parauniversitarias" 1997 y CONARE-OPES, "Universidades de Costa Rica" 1998 Las estimaciones de la matrícula en la educación parauniversitaria –que no incluyen las cifras de las instituciones privadas- muestran un alza importante a contar de 1995. aún así, el número de alumnos sigue siendo bajo en relación a otras modalidades de formación para el trabajo, como la educación abierta, de adultos y los cursos del INA. Es importante destacar al respecto que se han establecido diversos acuerdos entre las instituciones parauniversitarias y las universidades públicas para el reconocimiento de diplomas y la convalidación de ciertas materias, lo que permite a los alumnos de las primeras, continuar sus estudios a nivel de bachillerato universitario, licenciatura y postgrados, en las segundas. Estos convenios, impulsados por el SINETEC y el Programa Universidad para el Trabajo, constituyen un incentivo importante para elevar aún más la matrícula parauniversitaria, por las posibilidades que se abren de proseguir itinerarios flexibles de forma ción a partir de ésta. 14 Cuadro: Matrícula en Instituciones Parauniversitarias 22.000 20.000 18.000 16.000 Número de Alumnos 14.000 12.000 10.000 8.000 6.000 4.000 2.000 0 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2003 14 Incluye sólo datos de los colegios universitarios públicos y la matrícula reportada por la Escuela Centroamericana de Fuentes: Ministerio -entidad que Política Económica (MIDEPLAN) - Sistemadel Gobierno-. Ganadería de Planificación Nacional yrecibe 1980 a 2000) y Estimación Propia Indicadores sobre Desarrollo Sostenible (SIDES) transferencias de (año 2003) en http://www.mideplan.go.cr/sides/social/04-02.htm (años La consolidación de los institutos parauniversitarios como opción académica de formación postsecundaria también queda en evidencia al observar el aumento de los títulos oto rgados por ellos. Mientras en 1990 entregaron sólo 230 títulos, en el año 2000 alcanzaron la cifra de 900. Box.. Colegio Universitario de Cartago El Colegio Universitario de Cartago (CUC), es una institución de educación superior parauniversitaria de carácter publico creada el 08 de noviembre de 1976, por ley 6541, cuya misión ha sido definida como “ofrecer carreras cortas y oportunidades competitivas y sostenibles que respondan a las necesidades de los sectores productivos y la sociedad civil, detectadas a través de la investigación” . El CUC, que actualmente cuenta con cerca de 2.500 alumnos, ha venido desarrollando en paralelo a la oferta de carreras tradicionales, una línea de trabajo de acción social dirigida a grupos de población vulnerables (de baja calificación y elevados niveles de pobreza), además de una oferta de formación directa para las empresas. En esta última dirección, destaca un experiencia altamente innovadora que se ha venido desarrollando en el sector turístico. El CUC ha generado un nexo directo con las empresas que ofrecen servicios turísticos locales en Cartago, realizando capacitaciones para chefs de cocina y atención al turista basada en estándares de calidad internacionales. A través de estos programas especiales de formación, los alumnos pueden optar al nivel de diplomado e insertarse en el mercado laboral como técnicos de nivel superior, contando con la posibilidad de realizar prácticas en 50 empresas turísticas que están asociadas a la bolsa de trabajo gestionada por la oficina de intermediación laboral del CUC. Otra experiencia interesante de articulación con el mundo privado se ha producido en el área de electrónica, donde 40 graduados del CUC realizan su práctica en la planta central de Intel, empresa que previamente donó un brazo robótico mecánico que permite realizar trabajos prácticos en el recinto parauniversitario, a modo de simulación de una experiencia laboral real en la empresa. Estos ejemplos de vinculación estrecha con el mundo productivo, sumados a las experiencias que desarrolla el CUC, de articulación con colegios secundarios técnicos, universidades públicas, el INA y otros centros parauniversitarios, son un buen ejemplo de las oportunidades de desarrollo de una oferta formativa pertinente y de calidad de nivel parauniversitario, que debe recurrir a mecanismos de autogestión de recursos, debido a las limitaciones que impone un financiamiento fiscal limitado. Cuadro: Títulos otorgados por los Colegios Universitarios 1000 900 800 Número de Títulos Otorgados 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 Fuente: Monge, R. y Céspedes, O., "Costa Rica hacia la Economía Basada en el Conocimiento" , Fundación CAATEC 2002. El área principal hacia la que se orienta n los títulos es la de Ciencias Económicas, seguida por Educación e Ingeniería. Ello asemeja bastante la oferta parauniversitaria al perfil de la oferta educativa de las universidades costarricenses. Cuadro: Títulos Otorgados por Áreas Académicas, 1990-2000 Área Académica Artes Ciencias Económicas Ciencias Sociales Educación Ingeniería Recursos Naturales Salud Total Porcentaje 3,0% 39,0% 10,3% 16,0% 15,0% 10,7% 5,8% 100,0% Fuente: Monge, R. y Céspedes, O., "Costa Rica hacia la Economía Basada en el Conocimiento", Fundación CAATEC 2002. Si bien no existen estadísticas generales que permitan caracterizar al conjunto de los alumnos de los centros parauniversitarios, los datos proporcionados por el Colegio Universitario de Cartago (CUC), institución estatal que representa aproximadamente el 10% de la matrícula total, pueden permitirnos hacer una estimación gruesa de su perfil. Los alumnos del CUC son levemente más hombres que mujeres y un 70% de ellos tiene entre 17 y 21 años de edad, es decir, han egresado recientemente de la educación secundaria. Un 76% estudió en la enseñanza secundaria académica y un 12% en la técnica. Es interesante mencionar que el 12% restante proviene del bachillerato por madurez, lo que indica que existe un segmento prove niente de la educación abierta, que probablemente está compuesto por adultos que ven a la educación parauniversitaria como un camino de formación técnica especializada. Un tercio de los alumnos junto con estudiar trabaja, lo que significa que están integr ados actualmente a la fuerza de trabajo. Por último, desde el punto de vista de los ingresos, la mitad de los estudiantes provienen de hogares con un ingreso mensual inferior a ¢130.000 (US $325) y un cuarto, de familias que ganan menos de ¢100.000 (US $25 0), señal de focalización hacia grupos de población de menores ingresos. PERFIL DE LOS ALUMNOS DEL COLEGIO UNIVERSITARIO DE CARTAGO Matrícula Total I Cuatrimestre 2003 Género Hombres Mujeres Edad 17 a 21 años 22 a 26 años 27 a 31 años 32 años y más Modalidad de Estudios Secundarios Académica Técnico Profesional Bachillerato por Madurez Condición Laboral Trabaja No Trabaja NS/NR Ingreso Total Mensual del Hogar Menos de 100.000 De 100.000 a 110.000 De 110.000 a 120.000 De 120.000 a 130.000 De 130.000 a 140.000 De 140.000 a 150.000 De 150.000 a 160.000 De 160.000 y más NS/NR Fuente: Colegio Universitario de Cartago, 2003 2.311 % 53,9 46,1 % 69,2 22,2 4,4 4,2 % 76,12 11,94 11,94 % 35,19 64,63 0,18 % 27,26 8,11 12,67 3,28 6,56 8,20 5,74 24,16 4,01 Conclusiones 1. Lamentablemente no se dispone de estudios de seguimiento de egresados, de inserción laboral o de impacto del conjunto de la oferta educativa parauniversitaria. Además, se carece de información detallada sobre la matrícula y la oferta de las instituciones privadas. Por lo tanto, una primera conclusión es destacar la necesidad de una mayor transparencia e integración de la oferta pública y privada de educación de este nivel. Pese a ser todavía una modalidad emergente de formación para el trabajo, hay una demanda creciente por este nivel de formación postsecundaria, la que puede verse aún más incrementada en la medida que se consoliden los convenios de articulación con las universidades y el INA, y se amplíen también hacia la oferta privada. En este sentido, sería necesario aumentar la inversión en los colegios universitarios y consolidar su nivel de articulación con empresas, mediante sistemas de pasantías, prácticas, entre otros. 2. Vocational Training System: Instituto Nacional de Aprendizaje INA’s mission. Like in most latin american countries, vocational training in Costa Rica occurs outside the formal education cycle and is provided mostly by a large national training institution called Instituto Nacional de Aprendizaje (INA or National Learning Institute). INA was created by law in 1965 and depends directly from the President of Costa Rica. Its board includes several stakeholders, mainly employer and employees (unions) representatives. It has administrative and finan cial authonomy and receives its funding from a 2 % compulsory payroll tax imposed to companies for training. INA’s mission is stated in its Organic Law (art.2, Law 6868) as to improve the productivity of the workforce in every sector of the economy implementing programmes aimed at developing, training and certifying workers’ knowledge and competencies and accrediting training programs offered by other public and private providers. Recent literature reflects a very active discussion regarding the role of national training institutions in latin america and the caribbean region (Moura de Castro, 2001; Márquez, 2001; CINTERFOR-OIT, 2001 among several others). The many issues raised around quality, impact, funding , targeted beneficiaries, responsiveness to company’s needs, methods of delivery and so forth are also relevant for INA. It can be said that today INA faces the same dilemmas and challenges that have motivated important reforms in other training institutions like SENA (Colombia), SENAI, INTECAP, etc. In the mid 90s INA made an effort to redefine its priorities and to re-define its structure. The outcome of this effort is a new vision and mission expressed in a documented as an “Institutional Transformation Project” (INA, 1995; Casanova, 1997). The different scenarios analysed are described in the following box. BOX…: INA’s Scenarios in 199 4 In 1994 the INA underwent an internal process of self-assessment, as part of a strategic planning effort. INA’s board of directors envisioned alternative scenarios for a Public Training Institution, as a previous step to re-define the mission and purpose of the institution. The envisioned scenarios were the following: 1. Closing down INA’s operation, assuming that it is not necessary a Public Training Instituti on in Costa Rica and that business companies and institutions can solve for themselves how to upskill their own workforce using private or internal providers. Public funding would be available under a special regulation; INA keeps its current mission, structure and functions but improves the cost-efficiency of the training provided and the organisational performance as a whole. This meant to do the same more efficiently; INA acting as a public regulator of vocational training. In this case the regulator would define and decide training public policies and would be responsible of assuring that training courses provided by private institutions and financed with public sources accomplish certain quality standards. This model implied a clear cut separation between regulation/financing on the one hand and training provision on the other; INA acting as both a regulator and a provider of vocational training. In this scenario the institution retains the role of policy making and training provision but opens up the possibility of contracting other public and/or private training providers in areas where INA does not have capacities. In addition the INA becomes a skills and competencies Awarding or Certification Body; an accreditation agency of training providers and com panies wanting their internal training programms to be recognised by INA. Under this scenario the INA would have to operate more efficiently and with clear and transparent costs facilitating impact evaluation and management. Furthermore, it was consider necessary for this option to be effective a decentralisation of the operations meaning establishing regional centers with “technical and pedagogical autonomy”. 2. 3. 4. The preferred option was the fourth. This scenario implied to broaden INA’s functions introducing new roles to those developed in the previous period and to initiate a deep process of organisational re-design. Two main targets were agreed: (i) by year 2000 to cover at least 150.000 workers annually (equivalent to 10% of the workforce) and (ii) 100.000 out of this 150.000 workers should be covered through the training courses offered by INA and the rest should have taken part on certification programs or training provided by other institutions accredited by the INA. As a result of the scenario planning INA started a re-structuring process for implementing the new institutional project. Funding. INA’s main financial source comes from a 1.5 % payroll tax from companies with more than 5 employees. This mechanism is quite common in national training institutions in the region and has also been subjected to some criticism as … Enrollment and Training Programmes offered by INA. The institution offers a wide variety of training courses using different Modes of Provision and Methods of Delivery. INA attempts to be responsive to different clienteles which explains its very complex structure and operation. INA structures its courses in two groups of programmes: Initial Vocational Training and Complimentary Vocational Training. Initial Vocational Training : intended for adult and young people without previous experience and qualifications in a certain occupational area . There are two types of Initial Vocational Training programmes: (i) Learning Programmes for young people between 15 and 20 years of age and (ii) Job Oriented Training Programmes for both adult and young learners. Entrance requirements are similar for both: 6th grade approved and be older than 15 years old. Programmes in Electronics and Autotronics require 9 th grade approved. Learning Programmes last between 1.5 and 2 years, while Job Oriented Training lasts an average of 127 hours and is very much focused in specific tasks in an occupational area. Complimentary Vocational Training: intended for workers with previous experience in a particular occupational area who need to update their skills and knowledge or to learn how to apply it in different contexts. Entrance requirements include having approved at least 6th grade of primary education and be older than 15 years old. There is process of selection. Average duration of these courses is 72 hours. The following chart shows the evolution of the enrolment in INA’s programmes over the last decades. Figure… Enrollment in INA’s Training Programmes by Mode of Provision 160.000 140.000 120.000 COMPLIMENTARY 100.000 80.000 Job Oriented Training Programmes Learning Programmes TOTAL INITIAL VOC TRAINING 60.000 40.000 20.000 0 1994 Fuente: Instituto Nacional de Aprendizaje, 2001 1996 1999 2001 Total enrollment in INA’s programmes has increase in a significant way over the last decade. While in 1994 enrollment was 56.000 students in 2001 more than 139.000 participated in INA’s programmes. This is a very clear indication of the increasing demand and interest among adult and young workers for improving their skills. Even though INA did not accomplished the target of training annually at least 10 % of the labour force (for 2002 that would have meant to train 150.000 workers), it seems likely that in the future it will do so15. A closer view on the composition of the enrolment indicates that in absolute terms short training courses oriented to the employed workforce (namely Complimentary training Programmes) have become more popular than longer ones directed to students withou t working experience. In fact, while in 1994 only 40 % of the students were enrolled in some Complimentary Training course, the percentage in went up to 70 % in 2001. On the contrary, enrolment in Initial Training Programmes has decreased sharply from 62.0 % in 1994 to 28.3 % in 2001. Learning Training Programmes has remain stagnated but as total enrolment in INA has increased its share has been reduced. Job Oriented Training shows a similar trend. These figures suggests that INA has focused its energies and resources in offering more shorter training for workers in order to reach the target of covering 10% of the workforce. Profiling INA’s clientele. In terms of the regions of the country, enrollment in urban areas (Región Central Oriental y Central Occidental) concentrate represents almost 60 % of the total share. 15 The target for 2010 is to train 15 % of the workforce. Table…Enrollment by Region Región Central Oriente Central Occidental Huétar Norte Pacífico Central Brunca Huéta r Atlántica Chorotega Enrollment 59.258 22.291 13.445 8.172 12.414 12.626 11.085 % 42.5 16.0 9.7 5.9 8.9 9.1 8.0 In terms of gender, in aggregated terms there is no significant difference as men account for 52 % and women for 48 % of total enrolment. This is also the case for the Complimentary Training Programme, as the chart suggest. There are differences however in the case of Initial Vocational Training. Men’s share of total enrolment in the Learning Training programme is 95 % while women’s share reaches 65 % in the case of Job Oriented Training (most of these courses are intended for unemployed women which suggest an overlapping with IPEC’s targeted beneficiaries). Figure … Enrollment in INA’s Training Programmes by Gender TOTAL Job Oriented Training Men Women Learning Training INITIAL VOC TRAINING COMPLiMENTARY VOC TRAINING 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Fuente: Instituto Nacional de Aprendizaje, 2001 Regarding educational attainment, it is interesting to note that 57 % of INA’s students have not finished compulsory education. This mean that INA seems to be well focused in the population with low educational attainment. Regarding the 28 % of the students with secondary education it would be interesting to know whether they come from academic or technical schools, socio-economic background etc. This information could help mapping possible learning pathways for particular groups of workers. Figure..Enrollment by Educational Attainment Some tertiary 6,6% Tertiary 7,9% Without education 3,9% Some Primary 3,9% Primary 22,9% Secondary 28,6% Some secondary 26,3% Source: INA, 2003 (information available for the first hal of 2003 only) In terms of age groups, information available is partial but indicate that more than 40% of the students are less than 30 years old, showing no clear bias towards young or more mature students within INA’s courses. Modes of provision. INA offers different modes of provision for any of the three main training programmes. In so doing the institution wants to give the learner friendly options considering job status, cognitive style, etc. The modes of provision available for students are: Classroom based courses (módulos): this is conventional delivery structured around the relevant skills and competencies relevant for an occupational area. They can be delivered in INA’s centres or in any other place which has the necessary infrastructure. 80% of the enrolment. Customised Training for Production (formación – producción individualizada): this is a highly flexible option, usually intended for developing basic skills that can be easily applied for students for better running their micro enterprises. More than 90% of the participants in these courses are self-employed women from low income backgrounds who have to develop strategies for improving their household earnings. 9% of the total enrolment at the INA. Professional Certificates. This is an assessment and certification process for competent workers who want to obtain a formal recognition for the knowledge, skills and abilities developed through working life. It is mandatory that applicants have to have at least three years of experience in the same occupational area they want to become certified. 4.5 % of INA’s enrolment is explained by this program. Advising. This method consists in special training courses and advice given by INA to companies who have some technical or organisational problem. A by product of this intervention is frequently a specially designed training programme for employees. This mode accounts for 2% of the total INA’s enrolment. Company-based training. This is a tailor -made programme bought by companies to training providers other than INA. INA operates accrediting the provider and financing the courses against the payroll tax for training paid by the company. There are other methods of delivery but are not relevant in terms of enrolment. In principle then, each programme (ie. Initial Vocational Programmes and Complimentary Vocational Programmes)can be delivered through any of the Modes of Provision described. Despite the diverse methods of delivery, 80 % of INA’s enrolment participate in the more conventional one, that is, classroom based training courses. One of the reasons for this, according with qualitative information gathered on site, has to do with the fact that INA knows very well how to deliver conventional courses in the classroom. The other modes of delivery are highly unstructured and costly for teachers to manage. In other words, conventional courses are more supply driven than the other modes of delivery. The following chart shows enrolment by Programme (Initial vs Complimentary) and Mode of provision. Cuadro: Matrícula INA por tipo de acción formativa y modo de formación 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% IN IC IA L Ap ren diz aje TO TA L Otros Asesoría Certificación Profesional Formación-Producción Individualizada Módulo (Curso) CO MP LE ME NT AR IO Programa de Formación Fuente: Instituto Nacional de Aprendizaje, 2001 Por sectores productivos, el mayor crecimiento de la matrícula durante la última década ha ocurrido en comercio y servicios. También experimenta un crecimiento, aunque más leve, el sector de la industria, mientras que el sector agropecuario mantiene un estancamiento en términos absolutos, y una disminución en términos relativos, como porcentaje del total. Cuadro: Evolución de la Matrícula INA por sectores 150.000 140.000 130.000 120.000 110.000 100.000 90.000 80.000 70.000 60.000 50.000 40.000 30.000 20.000 10.000 0 1990 1994 2001 Comercio y Servicios Industria Agropecuario Fuente: Instituto Nacional de Aprendizaje, en Estado de la Nacion 2001 Es interesante hacer notar que la matrícula del sector comercio y servicios se concentra casi en su totalidad en el modo de formación complementario. En cambio, la matrícula en el sector industrial corresponde mayoritariamente a formación inicial. Esto significa que la formación para el sector industrial está más concebida como programa social para la inserción laboral de grupos sociales vulnerables, mientras que en el sector de comercio y servicios está más orientada al desarrollo de competencias de la población que ya está integrada a la fuerza de trabajo. Cuadro: Matrícula INA por sectores y modo de formación 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Comercio Industria Agropecuario COMPLEMENTARIO 64.103 21.927 13.892 INICIAL 4.647 33.526 1.196 Aprendizaje 0 8.850 0 Habilitación 4.647 24.676 1.196 TOTAL 68.750 55.453 15.088 Fuente: Instituto Nacional de Aprendizaje, 2001 Lo anterior se ve confirmado al analizar los subsectores que se llevan la mayor parte de la matrícula al interior de cada sector. En la industria, los principales subsectores son rubros de bajo valor agregado como procesos artesanales y la industria 70.000 AGROPECUARIO INDUSTRIA COMERCIO 60.000 50.000 40.000 Mujeres Hombres 30.000 20.000 10.000 0 Te xtil Se rvic ios Co m erc io y Ag ro pe cu ar io Ali m en tar ia Tu rism o Fuente: Instituto Nacional de Aprendizaje, 2001 alimentaria. En cambio, dentro de comercio y servicios destacan el área de informática y administración, además del subsector de turismo, que representan sectores más dinámicos de la economía costarricense. Cuadro: Matrícula INA por subsectores y género Calidad y pertinencia Uno de los principales desafíos del INA es mejorar la adecuación de su oferta formativa a los requerimientos de las empresas. De hecho, el Plan Nacional de Desarrollo “Monseñor Víctor Manuel Sanabria Martínez” 2002-2006 estableció como meta en el ámbito de la educación y formación es “vincular e incrementar la oferta de capacitación y formación laboral en el campo de la educación técnica con las necesidades del sector productivo nacional, regional y local”. La institución a cargo de implementar esta meta es precisamente el INA. Por ello resulta de interés analizar los datos disponibles acerca de la calidad y pertinencia de los programas formativos del Instituto. Los niveles de deserción son más altos (8,0%) en los programas más cortos (programas de formación complementaria y de habilitación). En cambio, en las acciones formativas del programa de aprendizaje la deserción es de sólo un 2,0%. Por su parte, las tasas de reprobación se sitúan entre un 2,0% y un 3,0% para las tres modalidades. Las diferencias en las tasas de deserción pueden interpretarse como una señal de adecuada pertinencia de la oferta de programas sociales del INA para aquellos alumnos provenientes de grupos sociales vulnerables, interesados en la inserción en el mercado laboral, pero una menor pertinencia de aquellos programas enfocados al desarrollo de competencias de la fuerza de trabajo ocupada. Pr oc es os Ar tes an ale s Ind us tria 9,0% 8,0% 7,0% 6,0% 5,0% 4,0% 3,0% 2,0% 1,0% 0,0% Tasa de deserción Tasa de reprobación Complementario Aprendizaje Habilitación Fuente: Instituto Nacional de Aprendizaje, 2001 Cuadro: Tasas de deserción y reprobación por programas de formación El desafío de mejorar la vinculación entre la oferta del INA y los requerimientos de las empresas también aparece como una necesidad si se consideran las percepciones de los actores que son directamente los usuarios de dicha oferta. Al consultarse a los alumnos egresados de cursos del INA, por sus motivaciones para asistir a éstos, la mayoría menciona aspiraciones de desarrollo personal (mejorar conocimientos) o de integración y ascenso laboral (aprender un oficio, aspirar a un nuevo trabajo, conseguir empleo). Menos de la mitad de los consultados señaló a las necesidades de la empresa como el origen de su decisión de capacitación. Cuadro: Principales razones para participar en cursos INA Razones Porcentaje Mejorar conocimientos 99% Aprender un oficio 74% Aspirar a un n uevo 66% trabajo Conseguir empleo 62% Otros 52% Por solicitud de la 44% empresa Fuente: INA, Evaluación de participantes 2002. También desde el punto de vista de las empresas hay opiniones que señalan los desafíos pendientes que, a su juicio, debe afrontar el INA. El 80% de las empresas 16 ha recibido información sobre los servicios que ofrece el INA. Sin embargo, un 57% de ello considera insuficiente la información recibida. 16 Fuente: INA, Encues a 87 empresas usuarias de servicios, Región Central Occidental, 2002. ta Al ser consultados por los principales motivos por los que los representantes de las empresas eligen al INA como proveedor de capacitación, se menciona en primer lugar la gratuidad del servicio, en segundo lugar, la calidad de los cursos, y sólo en tercer lugar, su adecuación a las necesidades de las empresas El servicio de segu imiento del INA al desempeño posterior de los alumnos egresados en el mundo productivo es mal evaluado: 26% lo califica como malo, 46% como regular, 21% como bueno y 6% como excelente. Ponderando los puntajes asignados a los distintos servicios del INA eva luados, el promedio general de satisfacción de los empresarios es de un 76,3%, porcentaje que se ubica en el rango de “poco satisfactorio”. Cuadro: Evaluación empresarial de servicios INA 100,0 MUY SATISFECHO 95,0 90,0 SATISFECHO 85,0 Puntaje Asignado 80,0 75,0 70,0 INSATISFECHO POCO SATISFECHO 65,0 60,0 55,0 50,0 Información Negociación Capacitación Seguimiento Total Ponderado Servicios Evaluados Fuente: INA, Encuesta de Evaluación Empresarios, Región Central Occidental En otra encuesta realizada también por el propio INA, los empresarios hacen una evaluación negativa del impacto del programa de formación-producción individualizada sobre la inserción laboral de los egresados. En un 78,4% de los casos no existe, luego de terminada la formación, una trayectoria laboral ascendente en términos de los tipos de empleos obtenidos por los egrsados. Cuadro: Nivel de impacto de la capacitación impartida en Talleres Públicos Nivel de impacto Muy Alto Alto Medio Bajo Ninguno Categorías § § § § § Desocupados antes de la capacitaci n, ocupados actualmente en empleos ó relacionados con la especialidad estudiada Ocupados antes de la capacitación en empleos no relacionados con especialidad estudiada, ocupados actualmente en empleos relacionados Ocupados en empleos relacionados con la especialidad estudiada, antes y después de la capacitación Desocupados antes de la capacitaci n, ocupados actualmente en empleos ó no relacionados con la especialidad estudiada Ocupados antes de la capacitación, desocupados después Total 13,5% 5,5% 2,7% 8,1% 70,3% Fuente: INA, Evaluación de empresarios, Región Central Occidental 2002. Escala: menos de 70 “insatisfecho”, de 70 a 79 “poco satisfecho”, de 80 a 89 “satisfecho”, de 90 a 100 “muy satisfecho” En todo caso, la evaluación negativa de parte de los empresarios no afecta exclusivamente al INA. Casi un 70% de un grupo de inversionistas en empresas de alta tecnología encuestados en el años 2001, consideró que los programas brindados por el país no responden mayormente a sus necesidades (CINDE-PROCOMER, 2001). Con respecto a la calidad de la capacitación ofrecida, el INA recibe una calificación más baja que el Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica y la Universidad de Costa Rica, pero más alta que la Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica y las Universidades Privadas. Cuadro: Percepción de empresas de alta tecnología sobre la calidad de la capacitación ofrecida en Costa Rica, según institución Institución Académica Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica Universidad de Costa Rica Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica Universidades Privadas Instituto Nacional de Aprendizaje Colegios Técnicos CEFOF Otros Calificaci ón 9,00 8,75 6,80 6,40 7,75 8,00 7,14 8,30 # Empresas 12 12 5 10 12 7 7 5 Fuente: CINDE-PROCOMER, 2001. Se puede concluir, por lo tanto, que junto con seguir aumentando su cobertura, el INA enfrenta el desafío de mejorar la pertinencia de su oferta para los requerimientos del mundo productivo. Cabe señalar que, pa ra este desafío, el INA se encuentra en condiciones muy favorables en el contexto centroamericano, dados los avances que ha realizado Costa Rica en sus políticas de formación técnico-profesional en comparación con sus países vecinos. .