Translated by Amy Johnston
Federal Government programs aimed at the youthful "nini" generation [16 to 29], those neither in school nor employed, are also "nini"; that is, they guarantee neither one. The Superior Auditor of the Federation concluded that programs aimed at focusing on keeping students on course for their high school degree are not fulfilling their goals and programs focused on helping young people enter the labor market are also poorly designed.
These are the findings of the financial and compliance audit carried out regarding the fulfillment of the strategy “A Budget Based on Results and the Evaluation of Achievement System” as published by the Secretariat of the Treasury and Public Credit, in the Federal Budget for 2014.
According to the report published by the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development, “OECD Skills Outlook 2015: Youth, Skills and Employability”, within the age group of 16 to 29 year olds in Mexico, there are slightly more than seven million people who neither work nor study. The report warns that this signifies
The Secretariat of Public Education (SEP) manages four programs to offer greater study opportunities within high schools. In addition, the Secretariat of Labor and Social Security offers two programs for young people to enter the labor force.
According to the Auditor, in 2014, despite the Secretariat of the Treasury revising and combining programs in order to use the budget in a more effective way, there are still failures in their design, they did not reach their programed goals or simply cannot measure their effectiveness.
The audit programs findings are as follows:
Secretariat of Public Education
1. Skills-based Human Resources Training Program:
The Secretariat of Public Education did not form comprehensive strategic objectives to meet the requirements and potential of the productive market. Although the program tries
2. Program for the Expansion of Educational Opportunities in High School and College:
The purpose is to create [necessary] school infrastructure to meet the demand for educational services and to increase the number of openings for students. According to the auditor, the Secretariat of Public Education partially fulfilled this since “the expansion of school buildings did not contribute significantly to an increase in school enrollment”. Even though the estimates by the Secretariat of Public Education highlight an increase of 1.5% in available openings, “this would not fulfill the goals laid out in the Education Sector Program for 2013-2018.”
Furthermore, lacking a national diagnostic of the educational infrastructure, the needs of the school buildings at an individual level cannot be known; therefore the number of new openings cannot be determined in the medium or long term.
The SEP did not share information about strategic objectives, implementation of policies and monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. Even though the progam met the basic elements, “it cannot guarantee processes to improve its scope, openings available, treatment of problems, analysis of alternatives and definition of strategies” and neither can it present a strategy to increase enrollment for the medium or long-term.
It lacks definition of its target population, nor does it report the analysis of coverage [openings available] on a state by state basis, the social and economic profile of the pupils nor the mechanism of interinstitutional coordination.
4. Provision of Technical Education Services:
Its objective was to ensure greater coverage [number of openings], inclusion and educational equity between all of the groups of the population and use the 28.4 billion peso [US$1.6 billion] budget during 2014. However, the Auditor warns that there seem to be no signs of advances, nor they did report their annual goals, nor do they have the instruments which allow them to know the level of satisfaction of the beneficiaries.
Secretariat of Labor
1. Employment Support Program:
The Secretariat “understands the problem of lack of opportunities for employment as an issue of ‘self-regulation in the supply and demand cycle" of the market, but the National Employment Service does not have estimates or methods in place to measure the increase in productivity, since the training courses are only updating and improving work skills to increase the possibilities of finding employment. Furthermore, the program presents its goal as being a certain number of people attending, instead of a certain number of people finding work.
2. Coordination of actions linking the factors of production in order to support employment:
The program seeks to develop the labor market by bridging the gaps between the supply and demand for workers. This requires a change from a dysfunctional market to a functional one; however, the program “does not explain what it means by linking offer and demand, what it means by a dysfunctional market and why these problems are the origin of the effects being highlighted.”
Although it has defined its strategy to increase enrollment in a general framework, and its expectations for growth, the program lacks any documentation or academic study which analyses the work force that can help in specifying the problem and which can possibly offer solutions or recommendations.
The Auditor recommends that the Secretariat of the Treasury and Public Credits carry out assessments in order to know and measure the social and economic impact of the Federal Budget programs which are aimed at increasing employability and productivity in the workplace and therefore, assign the budget accordingly.
It asks the Secretariat of Public Education to generate alternatives to review the potential population and the target population, the goals of the budget programs and the indicators of achievement.
Federal Government programs aimed at the youthful "nini" generation [16 to 29], those neither in school nor employed, are also "nini"; that is, they guarantee neither one. The Superior Auditor of the Federation concluded that programs aimed at focusing on keeping students on course for their high school degree are not fulfilling their goals and programs focused on helping young people enter the labor market are also poorly designed.
These are the findings of the financial and compliance audit carried out regarding the fulfillment of the strategy “A Budget Based on Results and the Evaluation of Achievement System” as published by the Secretariat of the Treasury and Public Credit, in the Federal Budget for 2014.
According to the report published by the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development, “OECD Skills Outlook 2015: Youth, Skills and Employability”, within the age group of 16 to 29 year olds in Mexico, there are slightly more than seven million people who neither work nor study. The report warns that this signifies
“not only a misfortune for those in question but also a wasted investment, given that the skills that had been acquired during education did not increase employability.”Even though there are programs, the outlook for youth is discouraging, as school drop out reaches nearly 50% [after middle school, ninth grade], one of the highest rates in Latin America, according to the OECD. In turn, this has repercussions for those trying to obtain employment, as 30% of Mexican businesses say that they have problems contracting capable staff.
The Secretariat of Public Education (SEP) manages four programs to offer greater study opportunities within high schools. In addition, the Secretariat of Labor and Social Security offers two programs for young people to enter the labor force.
According to the Auditor, in 2014, despite the Secretariat of the Treasury revising and combining programs in order to use the budget in a more effective way, there are still failures in their design, they did not reach their programed goals or simply cannot measure their effectiveness.
The audit programs findings are as follows:
Secretariat of Public Education
1. Skills-based Human Resources Training Program:
The Secretariat of Public Education did not form comprehensive strategic objectives to meet the requirements and potential of the productive market. Although the program tries
“to close the gap between abilities which are acquired in schools and those which the world is demanding today, nevertheless, it does not specify what those abilities are.”The program does not assess high school graduates’ employability, which is the reason for the program, or its contribution to the area of employability or the improvements of graduates’ skills and the quality of high school education.
2. Program for the Expansion of Educational Opportunities in High School and College:
The purpose is to create [necessary] school infrastructure to meet the demand for educational services and to increase the number of openings for students. According to the auditor, the Secretariat of Public Education partially fulfilled this since “the expansion of school buildings did not contribute significantly to an increase in school enrollment”. Even though the estimates by the Secretariat of Public Education highlight an increase of 1.5% in available openings, “this would not fulfill the goals laid out in the Education Sector Program for 2013-2018.”
Furthermore, lacking a national diagnostic of the educational infrastructure, the needs of the school buildings at an individual level cannot be known; therefore the number of new openings cannot be determined in the medium or long term.
MV Note: Mexican law requires that states provide opportunity ("coverage", ie., spaces) for high school education (10th through 12th grade) to all youth of high school age. The federal government has not provided the funds necessary to accomplish this goal. Student attendance is not compulsory3. Training and Certification for Employment:
The SEP did not share information about strategic objectives, implementation of policies and monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. Even though the progam met the basic elements, “it cannot guarantee processes to improve its scope, openings available, treatment of problems, analysis of alternatives and definition of strategies” and neither can it present a strategy to increase enrollment for the medium or long-term.
It lacks definition of its target population, nor does it report the analysis of coverage [openings available] on a state by state basis, the social and economic profile of the pupils nor the mechanism of interinstitutional coordination.
4. Provision of Technical Education Services:
Its objective was to ensure greater coverage [number of openings], inclusion and educational equity between all of the groups of the population and use the 28.4 billion peso [US$1.6 billion] budget during 2014. However, the Auditor warns that there seem to be no signs of advances, nor they did report their annual goals, nor do they have the instruments which allow them to know the level of satisfaction of the beneficiaries.
Secretariat of Labor
1. Employment Support Program:
The Secretariat “understands the problem of lack of opportunities for employment as an issue of ‘self-regulation in the supply and demand cycle" of the market, but the National Employment Service does not have estimates or methods in place to measure the increase in productivity, since the training courses are only updating and improving work skills to increase the possibilities of finding employment. Furthermore, the program presents its goal as being a certain number of people attending, instead of a certain number of people finding work.
2. Coordination of actions linking the factors of production in order to support employment:
The program seeks to develop the labor market by bridging the gaps between the supply and demand for workers. This requires a change from a dysfunctional market to a functional one; however, the program “does not explain what it means by linking offer and demand, what it means by a dysfunctional market and why these problems are the origin of the effects being highlighted.”
Although it has defined its strategy to increase enrollment in a general framework, and its expectations for growth, the program lacks any documentation or academic study which analyses the work force that can help in specifying the problem and which can possibly offer solutions or recommendations.
The Auditor recommends that the Secretariat of the Treasury and Public Credits carry out assessments in order to know and measure the social and economic impact of the Federal Budget programs which are aimed at increasing employability and productivity in the workplace and therefore, assign the budget accordingly.
It asks the Secretariat of Public Education to generate alternatives to review the potential population and the target population, the goals of the budget programs and the indicators of achievement.