Lao has embarked on an ambitious plan totransform its economy, reduce poverty, and graduate fromleast developed country status by 2020. The objectives ofthis report are 1) to provide critical information to theGovernment of Lao PDR (GoL) about existing skills gaps inLao; 2) to provide the GoL and the steering committee thatwill revise the Human Resource Development Strategy2000-2020 (and link it to the 8th NSEDP) with evidence ofthe current skills situation in the country, to betterinform decisions and human resource planning for the future;and 3) to provide the GoL, the World Bank, and otherdevelopment partners a baseline of skills indicators againstwhich to measure progress going forward. Lao's economicgrowth has led to increased demand for workers at all skilllevels, but employers have a difficult time finding workersto meet that demand. The lack of skills among the workforceis the most commonly cited constraint. The first prioritywill be to increase the limited flow of students progressingto higher education levels, in part due to high dropoutrates among students (especially in rural areas) in primaryschool or between primary and secondary school. The secondpriority will be to increase the level of cognitive skillsamong the population by improving the quality of theeducation system. The third priority will show as Lao'seconomy moves forward, skills taught in the higher educationsystem will need to become better aligned with labor marketneeds. The fourth priority will be to promote lifelonglearning and skills upgrading by increasing the incentivesand opportunities of workers to skill up, and employers toinvest in the skills of their workers.
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