The British are coming … to teach: Burma’s Skills Sector in the Spotlight

RANGOON — Sources in domestic business circles have welcomed a recent call for British companies to consider investing in Burma’s skills sector, with the UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) office saying a dearth of qualified workers could be remedied, in part, by British education and training enterprises.

According to a UN-backed business survey last year, a skills gap in Burma was the second most severe barrier to progress after corruption, and a UKTI report this month said policy liberalization and attendant economic growth of recent years has seen opportunities go unrealized as the workforce has failed to meet the needs of an expanding pool of jobs.

Maung Aung, an economist with the Ministry of Commerce, said the UKTI report painted an accurate picture of the challenges many businesses in Burma face; namely, a shortage of skilled labor.

“For example, in the garment industry, the [low-skill] labor supply is adequate, but skilled laborers are very rare to find. That’s why if we compare to other countries, minimum wages are lower [in Burma],” he said.

“It concerns not only the garment sector; almost every sector in Burma is facing this issue,” Maung Aung said.

“Burma has the advantage of a large workforce of over 30 million people, of which 40 percent are between the ages of 15 and 29,” the report said. “The majority of the workforce, however, is under-skilled and under-educated.”

The report said “recent research highlighted inexperienced trainers, out-dated facilities and minimal processes to align standards with demand.” Current education and training providers in Burma most commonly offered courses in languages, ICT and business, researchers found.

Read more: http://www.irrawaddy.org/business/burmas-skills-sector-in-the-spotlight.html

Developing countries are in a unique position to learn from successful models and do not have to

learn from there own mistakes. They can take short-cuts. Much like developing continents

(Africa, Asia, South and Central America) will ever install country wide copper land lines.

They have skipped straight to cell phones. Maybe they should have a look at the German model

of trade schools and apprenticeships. Learn from countries with successful education/training models

and quickly provide companies with trained, skilled workers, and the workers with a better life. If

politicians would put as much effort into finding solutions to problems as they do trying to monetize

their positions, problems would be solved quickly.

Give Myanmar 10 - 15 years and they will be the country Thailand wishes it could be.