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Mongolia - Vocational Education

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Reference ID DDI-MCC-MNG-EDU-TVET-SI-2019-V1
Year 2018
Country Mongolia
Producer(s) Kari Nelson - Social Impact
Sierra Frischknecht - Social Impact
Burt Barnow - George Washington University
Sponsor(s) Millennium Challenge Corporation - MCC - Project Funder
Metadata PDF Documentation in PDF
Created on Sep 07, 2018
Last modified Jan 14, 2020
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Overview
Identification
Country
Mongolia
Evaluation Title
Vocational Education

Evaluation Type
Independent Performance Evaluation
ID Number
DDI-MCC-MNG-EDU-TVET-SI-2019-V1
Version
Version Description
Anonymized dataset for public distribution

Overview
Abstract
The Evaluation Team (ET) conducted a mixed methods performance evaluation (PE) of the VEP. This PE was conducted ex-post, approximately five years after Compact close and the completion of the VEP. This PE sought to review the VEP in its entirety, assessing the VEP Program Logic and assumptions, and generating lessons learned to inform future investments in the TVET sector. This PE utilized both primary qualitative and secondary quantitative data, to as rigorously as possible answer key evaluation questions about all but the smallest components of VEP. In total, this PE includes 30 EQs intended to provide information regarding key project outcomes. Data collection occurred in October 2018. The final report was completed in July 2019.

Evaluation Methodology
Ex-Post
Units of Analysis
Individuals, TVET schools, private sector organizations

Kind of Data
Administrative records data [adm]

Geographic Coverage
The VEP conducted activities at 58 of Mongolia's 72 TVET schools, including hard investments in equipment or infrastructure in 28 schools (Millennium Challenge Account-Mongolia, 2013). Twenty-eight Competency-Based Training packages were shared with 22 TVET schools. Other activities included training and capacity building of TVET instructors and school administrators, which also supported specific schools. TVET providers in Mongolia included state-owned Vocational Training and Production Centers (VTPCs), National and Regional Methodology Centers, secondary vocational schools, privately owned TVET schools, and university sub-branches (MCC, 2014). These countrywide facilities have a presence in every region. Additional activities outside of schools - such as establishing a National Learning Resource Center (NLRC), developing a multi-media campaign on TVET issues, and supporting legal and policy changes in the Mongolian TVET system - expanded impacts country wide.

Topics
TopicVocabularyURI
Education MCC Sector
Keywords
Education, Vocational Education, Technical and Vocational Education, TVET
Producers and Sponsors
Primary Investigator(s)
NameAffiliation
Kari Nelson Social Impact
Sierra Frischknecht Social Impact
Burt Barnow George Washington University
Other Producer(s)
NameAffiliationRole
Social Impact Independent Evaluator
Funding
NameAbbreviationRole
Millennium Challenge Corporation MCCProject Funder
Metadata Production
Metadata Produced By
NameAbbreviationRole
Millennium Challenge CorporationMCCReview of Metadata
Date Produced
2019-07-01
Metadata ID Number
DDI-MCC-MNG-EDU-TVET-SI-2019-V1
MCC Compact and Program
Compact or Threshold
Mongolia Compact
Program
The Vocational Education Project (VEP) consisted of five key activities: 1. Reforms to Technical, Vocational Education, and Training (TVET) Policy and Operational Framework Activity 2. Creation of Skills Standards and Competencies System Activity 3. Competency-Based Training (CBT) System Activity 4. Career Guidance and Labor Market Information Systems (LMIS) Development Activity 5. Improvement of Learning Environments Activity (added through the Compact reallocation) According to the Compact Amendment, the VEP was designed to “increase the wages of poor Mongolians by improving their technical skills and productivity to meet labor market demand in key industries (including, among others, construction trades, road construction, mining and mining operations, electronic trades, mechanical trades, transport and nursing and allied health)” (MCC, 2010).
MCC Sector
Education (Edu)
Program Logic
The VEP Program Logic is simple and concise, including four outcomes: 1. Increased employment for the unemployed and underemployed 2. Increased income for the unemployed and underemployed 3. Improved quality of the TVET system 4. Improved relevance of the TVET system The simplicity of the VEP Program Logic, however, belies what became a large and complex project consisting of five activities, each with many sub-activities. Though the simplified Program Logic is clear and concise, the mechanisms by which the stated changes were expected to occur remain a black box. The linkages between the problems identified in the TVET sector and the proposed activities was never clearly explained, leaving only high-level, long-term outcomes to be included in the Program Logic. The roles of specific VEP components such as aligning training to employer needs, the competency-based training (CBT) curricula, the LMIS, and facility and equipment upgrades, are not made explicitly clear. The Program Logic also does not capture the VEP's efforts to increase non-public funding of TVET schools, including public-private partnerships (PPPs).
Program Participants
For the VEP, Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) graduates were the intended beneficiaries of the program. Compact documentation and program materials reiterate the project's goal to “improve the wage and employment prospects of approximately 170,000 TVET graduates” (MCC, 2009). Under the amended Compact, beneficiaries were expected to see benefits-including wages and employment rates-improve by 5-10%. This would be accomplished through the improved curriculum, teaching, and access to resources such as the Labor Market Information System (LMIS). Additional descriptions of targeted beneficiaries included “youth” (MCC, 2007a) or “the unemployed and underemployed” (MCC, 2007b), though these details were not included in any beneficiary descriptions. TVET graduates, as beneficiaries, constitute a sub-group of the broader participant pool. Program participants include all those individuals and entities who were involved in implementing the program and its sub-activities. Participants included the Government of Mongolia and relevant ministries, national-level organizations involved in TVET, private sector firms and associations, TVET schools and administrators/staff, grant recipients, Centers of Excellence (CoEs), and Regional Methodological Centers (RMCs). These participants did not necessarily expect to see income or livelihood benefits from the project.