A comparative perspective on work-readiness challenges in the Asia Pacific region

This chapter presents a brief comparative overview of the higher (HE) and vocational education and training (VET) sectors and their associated graduate work-readiness challenges across the nine Asia Pacific economies included in this book. The chapter is structured into four parts, beginning with a brief introduction to the socio-economic and demographic trends in the region and a review of the common threads in their work-readiness challenges. This is followed by comparative discussions on the history of the HE and VET sectors, and the magnitude of the skills shortages and associated issues, policy gaps and challenges, and innovative work-readiness initiatives in the region. The chapter ends with a summary of the key findings.