The Republic of Korea vaulted in less than three generations from being one of the poorest countries in the world to becoming a member of the OECD. This economic transformation has attracted considerable admiration and inquiry. One of the key factors for Korea’s success was the provision of skills to support industrialization and economic diversification. This report takes advantage of a new World Bank diagnostic tool to examine the development of the Korean system for WfD from 1970 to 2010. The findings are intended to document good practices, lapses and key breakthroughs and generate insights that can be used to enrich dialogue on WfD policy in the World Bank’s partner countries.
Table Of Contents
Chapter 1. Introduction 1 Chapter 2. Country Context 5 Chapter 3. Overview of Benchmarking Results 15 Chapter 4. Detailed Results : Dimension 1 - Strategic Framework 21 1. Policy Goal 1 - Articulating a Strategic Direction for WfD 23 2. Policy Goal 2 - Prioritizing a Demand-led Approach 27 3. Policy Goal 3 - Strengthening Critical Coordination 30 Chapter 5. Detailed Results : Dimension 2 - System Oversight 33 1. Policy Goal 4 - Diversifying Pathways for Skills Acquisition 35 2. Policy Goal 5 - Ensuring Efficiency and Equity in Funding 39 3. Policy Goal 6 - Assuring Relevant and Reliable Standards 42 Chapter 6. Detailed Results : Dimension 3 - Service Delivery 45 1. Policy Goal 7 - Fostering Relevance in Training Programs 47 2. Policy Goal 8 - Incentivizing Excellence in Training Provision 51 3. Policy Goal 9 - Enhancing Accountability for Results 53 Annex 57 Annex 1. Analytical Framework of SABER-WfD 59 Annex 2. Benchmarking Scores 60 Annex 3. Acronyms 61 Annex 4. Documents 62 Annex 5. Informants 65 Annex 6. Benchmarking Rubrics 66