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The
professional training and its impact on productivity
In the context of a global
economy, education has become the main mechanism to encourage the economic
growth of the nations. The human resources gain their territory before the
presence of the financial resources, at least in the discourse used by the
defenders of globalization. That is why the training skills of the workers
have become the indispensable requirement to increase productivity and
compete in the international market.
However, the importance that has been given to this issue in matters of
competitiveness has not been enough in the less developed countries. This
problem has been reflected through a couple of important aspects. On the one
hand, the country has the indicators of a low productivity level in the long
term; and, on the other hand, this is a densely populated country. Due to
these situations, the qualification of the workers becomes more important in
order to increase the productivity levels and the competitiveness. Therefore,
it is necessary that the national companies invest time and money to
adequately train its employees.
The Economic and the Social Development Report of 2003: “The competitiveness
for the Salvadoran Foundation of Development” (FUSADES, in Spanish) shows
that during the last three years, the most important business companies are
the ones that have provided their employees with more training than any
other sector. This means that while the most important business companies
have trained 85.1% of their workers, the micro-business companies have only
trained 18.2% of their workers. The poll attached to the document reveals
that the business companies that export their products, the ones that count
with foreign investments, are the ones that are more concerned about
improving the efficiency of its workers.
However, the effect that the training policies have must be analyzed not
only from a business perspective, but also from a macroeconomic point of
view to understand its positive impact over the global employment level. It
can be said that training enables the association process between the offer
and the demand of jobs, since it generates qualified workers demanded by the
companies and this means that the employment level will increase, and that
the unemployment levels will be reduced, even if the result connected with
the salaries is not evident. On the other hand, it creates a direct
improvement on the workers’ performance, something that improves, at the
same time, the qualification among the trained workers and those who are
already working.
In this game of promoting knowledge to increase productivity, the
intervention of the State becomes necessary through the creation of an
economically independent organization, with an independent administration as
well, able to design the adequate training policies in accordance with the
demands of the labor market.
INSAFORP and its contribution to the national productivity levels
On May, 1993, the Salvadoran Institute of Professional Training (INSAFORP,
in Spanish) was created. According to Article Number 2 of the Law of
Professional Training, the main objective of this institution is to “satisfy
the demand of human resources that both the social and the economic
development of the country require, and to promote the improvement of the
workers’ personal situation and their families”. The 1996 Strategic Plan of
Professional Training establishes that the Institute has to consider as a
priority the areas of training connected with agriculture, the industry, and
services. The training programs offered by the Institute can be classified
in a couple of sectors: professional training, in order to prepare young
people and unemployed adults that have a low educational level; and
continuous training, in order to improve the skills of those that are
already working.
However, it is necessary to see how does the professional training policy
formulated and implemented by the INSAFORP allows the training programs to
become the means to increase not only the productivity of the “work” factor
in a global scale, but also the skills of the people with less resources, in
order to contribute to the reduction of the social differences.
In a recent study titled “The productivity of the Salvadoran economy: an
evaluation about the equity of the Training Policies of the INSAFORP”, of
March 2004, reveals that even if this organization is new, it occupies the
third place in the list of the rest of professional training organizations
in reference to the coverage index of the Economically Active Population
(PEA, in Spanish), with a percentage of 4.68% for the year 2002. Nicaragua
is at the second place with 5.08% for 2001; and Costa Rica occupies the
first place with 5.97%. However, the same report reveals that the impact
that the INSAFORP has had in the productivity level of the country has not
been outstanding, due to certain shortcomings of the institution. The first
one is the occupational training, which has gained less importance, since by
the year 2002, the total percentage of trained people was 11.84%, when by
1996 it was 93.17%. The former ideas can be confronted with the fact that
the modality of continuous training for 1996 was 6.83%, a percentage very
different from the one of 2002 (88.16%).
In the second place, the indicator of trained people that represent the
branch of economic activity shows that by the year 2002, in the agricultural
sector the courses were aimed to only 3% of the PEA, a sector that
represents 19.6% of it; while 19.3% of the courses were aimed to the
financial companies, when only 4% of the PEA is included in this sector.
This information leads us to wonder if there really is a training policy
aimed to the agricultural area, or if the INSAFORP is basically aimed to
train those sectors that make more profits, without considering the needs of
the PEA.
In the third place, about the coverage of the program in each of the
country’s departments, there is a concentration in the metropolitan area,
since for the year 2002 the training promoted by the institution covered
62.3% of the PEA. On the other hand, Ahuachapan, Chalatenango, Cabañas, and
Morazan have the lowest levels of coverage with only 0.1%. Therefore, in
terms of productivity, the same study reveals that, for instance, if the
number of trained people by the INSAFORP increases by 1000 people, the labor
productivity will increase by $1,932, and when the expenses destined to the
training courses increase by $10,000, the productivity in terms of labor
increases by $0.23 cents. This means that the productivity level per person
(a person that has been trained), and for each dollar invested in that
training, does not increase.
What can be recommended then in terms of productivity and competitiveness to
the country? First, it is necessary that the State strengthens the formal
education system, and that it can be accompanied by a professional training,
focusing on the improvement of the skills of the workers that belong to the
micro and the small business companies in order to increase the social
expenses destined to the area of education to improve this sector. In the
second place, it is possible to suggest that the INSAFORP should create more
programs aimed to the economic sectors that concentrate a higher percentage
of the PEA, to advice the companies in order that they know how to identify
their training needs, and inform them about the importance of investing in
the training skills of their employees. In addition, the participation of
the collaborating centers should be promoted in those departments of the
country that, up to this point, have not received much of the benefits that
should be provided by a training institution. The number of training courses
aimed to the occupation training programs should be increased in order that
the people with less resources are able to improve their life standards.
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