The economic changes have generally reduced available jobs in large production industries whilst creating work opportunities in smaller, often service based, companies. To exploit this shift in opportunity, there has been a need for re orientating the vocational training institutions which had typically evolved to meet the needs of the old industry. In parallel with this, large numbers of workers have had to be retrained and training provided also to those newly entering the formal labour force: school graduates, many women and many from agriculture.

The skills required by managers have also changed drastically. Training programmes, supported by twinning and exchange programmes with EU business, have helped to buid new management skills. There has also been emphasis on encouraging entrepreneurship and providing the basic skills necessary to run small businesses.

Employment services lubricate the process of people moving from one type of job to another. Public employment services have typically only been poorly developed – and not trusted – in societies which have had a ‘job for life’ culture. A large effort has gone to improve both the physical infrastructure used by the services and the skills of the officials involved. Public employment services are also now supplemented by privately run outplacement services, offering career change advice to those needing to switch employment.