CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Rationale of the Study

Vocation Education and Training is important for raising the country’s overall level of
social and economic development by producing high-skilled labor. The youths’ employment
prospects are closely related to the education received. Access to basic education is widely
recognized as an effective means of combating youth unemployment. The provision of public
vocational education and training is less than adequate as it often offers insufficient opportunities
for practice in the urban wage sector. It provides courses that are often rigid and too standardized
to meet the multi-skills needs at the workplace and often include little accountability and few
incentives to monitor and adjust to changes in the demand for skills of formal and informal
sectors. Young people, and in particular ethnic young women and men in rural areas face
particular challenges on employment. They have less capital in the form of skills, knowledge and
experience, savings and credit, and more difficult access to business networks and sources of
information.

In Myanmar, there are growing numbers of largely unskilled new entrants into the labour
market. Youths of 15 to 35 years old represent the largest group in the population, and most of
them move to urban areas with the hope of securing employment in industries. The root cause of
youth unemployment may be attributed to a combination of factors, the inability of the economy
to absorb the rapid growth in population, a mismatch of skills, inappropriate technologies and a
general failure of economic programmes to take in those activities with the greatest potential for
creating employment. Parents and young people consider the vocational training to be the most
significant for they are wage-labour orientated, for the ethnic youths to become useful resource
they must be gainfully employed, but every year thousands of graduates are completing
vocational education and other colleges but there are no jobs.

The problem of youth unemployment is currently a serious issue in Myanmar and the vast
majority of youths receive no vocational training of any kind. Many youths work as unskilled
labourers in small and medium sized firms, and their employment is inferior and lowly paid.
Unemployment rate in Myanmar increased to 1.79 percent in 2020 from 0.70 percent in
2019. And, unemployment was higher among young people and much higher in urban areas than
in rural areas (World Bank, 2021)

One of the objectives of Motor Sewing Machine Course of the Central Training School of
the Ministry of Border Affairs is to promote a balancing of supply and demand for skilled labour
in both wage employment and for skills needed for self-employment in ethnic areas. Motor
Sewing Machine Course has been given the role of transforming of country’s economy, hence
the vocational training system must meet the demands of labour market and must also address
issues concerning unemployment. The Motor Sewing Machine Course enriches a person for life
and it provides the competences which are necessary in modern society. Societal and economic
development of trainees depends on the strength of Motor Sewing Machine Course of the Central
Training School as it provides access to skills and entry routes into the labour market.

A number of studies have been done to assess the impact of training activities on
different labour market outcomes. Although vocational training is practiced in Myanmar, ethnic
youth employment is still low and there is no documented information on the contribution of
vocational education and training to ethnic youth employment. The purpose of this study is to
explore the contribution of vocational education and training to ethnic youth employment.

The study will be conducted on the job attainment and income effect for ethnic youth
across the country after completion of the Modern Motor Sewing Machine Training Course
under Ministry of Border Affairs which opened and trained in Central Training School, North
Dagon Township. And, and to examine the opinion about employment of ethnic youth. It will
focus on the following reasons:
(a) vocational training and training are central pillars of employability for the country,
(b) skills development is key in stimulating a sustainable development process and can
contribute to facilitating the transition from the informal to the formal economy,
(c) skills development is also essential to address the opportunities and challenges to
meet new demands of changing economies and new technologies in the context of
globalization,
(d) vocational training enhances people’s capacities and creativity, opportunities, and
satisfaction at work.
1.2 Objective of the Study

The objectives of this study are as follows:

(1) To study the vocational education and training in Myanmar
(2) To examine the contribution of vocational education and training to ethnic youth
employment

1.3 Methods of the Study

This study based on both primary and secondary data. The primary data are collected by
survey questionnaires and interviews with the respondents from related government departments
and 120 samples from the candidates who attended at the Modern Motor Sewing Machine
Course arranged by the Ministry of Border Affairs in its Central Training School. The sample
respondents are selected with random sampling method. The primary data are collected by
asking perception on employment of ethnic youth who attended the training of Motor Sewing
Machine Course. The interviews with related persons were conducted by using structured
questionnaires with telephone interviews. Their perceptions were measured using Yes or No
questions and Five Likert Scale questions. The secondary data are collected from the Ministry of
Border Affairs and other respective departments and from library research and related websites.
These data are analyzed by descriptive method.

1.4 Scope and Limitation of the Study

The study mainly focuses on the vocational education and training for ethnic youth
arranged by the Ministry of Border Affairs in its Central Training School in Myanmar. The study
is dealing with the aspect of the contribution of vocational education and training to ethnic youth
employment, emphasizing case study of the job creation and income effect for young ethnic
women across the country after completion of the Modern Motor Sewing Machine Course under
Ministry of Border Affairs which opened and trained in the Central Training School, North
Dagon Township and to examine the employment of ethnic youth in the period of 2014-2015 ~
2021-2022. The study period was 2014-2015 to 2021-2022 for secondary data and 2019-2020 to
2021-2022 for primary data. The population of this survey study includes the persons who
attended the Modern Motor Sewing Machine Courses and employed in garment factories, and
self-employed. As samples, 35 candidates from the 24th Intake and 25th Intake respectively, and
50 candidates from 26th Intake; totally 120 candidates, among 2990 graduates of the Central
Training School, were selected to study their vocational education studies for employment of
ethic youth. The questionnaires were individually performed by the researcher by telephone calls
in the different days and hours of week. The study doesn’t focus on all activities of vocational
education and training for ethnic youth in Myanmar, arranging by various Ministries. In addition,
though the Central Training School has running many training courses, the study choose to
explore the attendants of the Modern Motor Sewing Machine Training Course.

1.5 Organization of the Study

The study is composed of five chapters. The first chapter is the introduction chapter
which includes the rationale of the study, the objectives of the study, the method of the study, the
scope and limitations of the study, and the organization of the study. The second chapter presents
the literature review about vocational education and training. The third chapter presents the
background information of vocational education and training in Myanmar. The fourth chapter
presents analysis on Vocational Education and Training and Employment for Ethnic Youth. The
last chapter is the conclusion which includes findings and suggestions.