The coordination of skill supply and demand in the market model of skill formation: testing the assumptions for the case of Chile

ABSTRACT

The importance of skill formation for young people and the challenges of youth unemployment and underemployment are at the forefront of global development agendas. However, there is still an open debate about the most adequate policy frameworks to tackle these societal challenges and, particularly, about the role that the state and the market should play in the coordination of skills supply and demand. Taking Chile as a case study, the paper analyses how the market model of skill formation is re-contextualised by practitioners and other stakeholders at the local level. Through a realist evaluation approach, the paper tests to what extent the underlying theoretical assumptions of the market model hold up when confronted with the reality of the contexts in which young people, education providers and employers make decisions. The case of Chile is particularly interesting for the comparative literature because of its extreme neoliberal orientation and the centrality of the market in the allocation of resources and opportunities among different social groups. The findings show the limitations of the market for coordinating the supply and demand of skills and its negative consequences on the educational and work prospects of young people, especially the most disadvantaged..

KEYWORDS:

• Skill formation
• skill mismatch
• vocational education
• youth transitions
• realist evaluation
• international development

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank our colleagues from the Universidad Alberto Hurtado (Leandro Sepúlveda, María José Valdebenito and Carolina González) and from the University of Glasgow (Paulina Bravo and Alice Aldinucci) for their contributions in the preparation of this paper. We are also grateful to the editors of this special issue for their comments on an early version of this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. TVET is a very important component of the initial education offer in Chile. Schooling in Chile is compulsory until the age of 18 and the last two years of secondary education are differentiated into two tracks: one academically-oriented (científico-humanista) and one vocational (técnico-profesional). Around 40% of upper secondary education students attend vocational schools and around 31% of tertiary education students are enrolled in vocational studies (Centro de Estudios Mineduc, 2017a).

2. The University Selection Test is a standardised admission examination developed in Chile and which determines, depending on the score obtained, access to many Chilean higher education institutions, especially the most prestigious ones.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council through the project Newton RCUK-CONICYT Governing the educational and labour market trajectories of secondary TVET graduates in Chile [ES/N019229/1]. Adrian Zancajo’s research is supported by the funding from the British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship [PF2\180006]

Notes on contributors

Oscar Valiente

Dr Oscar Valiente is Senior Lecturer at the School of Education of the University of Glasgow. His research includes the role of international organisations in the global governance of education and training systems, policy borrowing and policy transfer in TVET and skills, and the effects of education policies on social equity from a comparative perspective.

Adrián Zancajo

Adrián Zancajo is British Academy postdoctoral fellow at the School of Education of the University of Glasgow. He has participated in different projects on education markets and the political economy of educational reforms.

Judith Jacovkis

Judith Jacovkis is postdoctoral researcher at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and at the University of Glasgow. She is currently involved in different research projects addressing the politics, governance and experience of educational trajectories and transitions.