IT Workforce

 

Overview:

Mongolia's national ICT policy is formulated in ICT Vision 2010 in the Education Sector of Mongolia. This vision seeks to meet its mission by establishing a flexible system to implement and manage international-standard ICT training for all educational levels. The vision covers four areas - training, hardware, teaching staff and information ware.

Labor Market Statistics9

Labor force: 1.4 million (2000)
Labor force by occupation: Primarily herding / agricultural (2000)
Unemployment rate: 20% (2000)
Industrial production growth rate: 2.4% (2000)
Adult literacy rate: 62.3% (1999)
Primary school net enrollment: 84%
Secondary school net enrollment: 54%
Physicians: 27 per 10,000

Background in Education

Unlike some newly developing countries, Mongolia is not burdened with a low literacy rate which could hamper its economic growth. In fact, at 87%, Mongolia can claim one of the highest literacy rates in the world. However, with the transition from a Russian soviet-dependent economy to a market-driven one, Mongolia's education systems are changing, and not always for the better.

 Mongolian students go to school for eleven years, from age 7 to 17. The education system consists of preschool, primary school (grades 1-6), secondary school (compulsory to grade 8, complete at grade 10), vocational and technical training, and universities. Schooling is considered to be very important; in the rural areas where there may be no schools, children of nomads are often sent to the aimag (province) centers to attend boarding schools, only returning home on breaks and summer vacation.10  


Currently, there are 29 state universities and 40 private universities in Mongolia, and in the last 10 years many kinds of schools have surfaced that are teaching everything from computer technology to traditional medicine, reflecting the changing needs of students. Most of these schools are located in the capital city of Ulaanbataar, so those students who live in the rural areas must find a way to get to the city. With 43% of the total Mongolian population under the age of 14, students' education is the key to Mongolia's continued success.

 Mongolia, with the assistance of many nation-donors and international NGOs, has begun to revamp its educational system. Laws urging and monitoring change were passed in 1991 and 1995 but it has become apparent that many of the revisions are slow in being implementing. Students in remote provincial areas can see that their education system is lagging behind.

An increasing number of students (16.5%) are dropping out, mostly young men who are choosing to stay in rural areas to help their herder families, and the number of children attending the rural boarding schools has also decreased by 35%. At the same time, the Mongolian National Statistical Office survey reports that the number of female students far exceeds the males by a large margin. In fact, women now make up more than 63% of university students and 65% of those earning master's degrees. Even among the employed rural population, women are consistently more educated than their male counterparts. And the 1997 Human Development Report stated that 80% of medical doctors, 70% of lawyers and 73% of teachers in Mongolia are women. The problem now is to continue encouraging young women while addressing the obstacles young rural men face. Distance education is a possibility for some of these rural students and it's one of the best alternatives that Mongolia is seeking at the moment.10  


ICT action plan of EDUCATION SECTOR OF MONGOLIA by year 2004

Within basic education, the Government will conduct training towards improving knowledge and skills of the most popular and commonly used software such as word processing, spreadsheet, information exchange and communication.

 Starting from the academic year 2002 to 2003, the curriculum of the basic education will be revised to include a specification that by completion of 8th grade, students will have been taught at least 70 hours of "Informatics".11  


Furthermore, free access will be provided for students of secondary schools who do not have access to modern and well equipped ICT training labs through a voucher system. Mobile labs will be set up for short term training and information services for school lacking modern ICT facilities.

For upper secondary, vocational and technical education, opportunities will be provided to gain knowledge and skills on the use of the most popular and latest application software, such as desktop publishing, Internet applications and e-mail, access to ICT applications, and to search and use necessary and available information.

Model textbooks will be developed in 'Information Sciences" for all levels of education.

Pre and in-service teacher education initiatives will be established for staff in secondary schools, in revision of contents and curriculum, expansion of professional teachers' training activities considering the increase of professional teaching staff in information sciences up to 50 percent by 2003 and up to 90 percent by 2007.11  


Training will also be organized for teachers who wanted to use ICT in teaching their subjects and favorable conditions will be nurtured to run ICT supported training programs.


Labor Force

By the end of 2000 Mongolia had 809.0 thousand employed persons and the economically active population constituted 68.5 per cent of the whole workforce. The number of unemployed people has been increasing despite the growth of the population leading to a rapid increase in the number of the economically active population, particularly among young people.  High population growth rate during the 1960s and 1970s has provided an abundant labor force in the 1980s and 1990s.

The developing national economy employed this labor pool. The centralized economy was providing new jobs for nearly 90.000 men and women yearly. A vast network of training and professional education was created. Graduates from secondary schools were sent to the former USSR and East European countries for higher education. Nearly 240.000 trainees completed the vocational schools between 1964-1990. New development projects had difficulties concerning shortage of labor force. 

Today's labor market in Mongolia is characterized by increasing unemployment, and consequent decline in training process.


Informal Sector Employment, 2000

Indicators

Employment in the capital city (thous.persons)

Employment in Aimags
(thous.persons)

Total
(thous.persons)

Population of working age

-

-

1 374.4

Economically active population

221.7

625.9

847.6

Employed

215.5

593.5

809.0

Unemployed

61.5

324.2

385.7

Labor force participation rate, %

-

-

62.9

Employment rate, %

-

-

60.0

Unemployment rate, %

2.8

1.8

4.6

With higher education

85.6

125.1

210.7

With special secondary education

72.7

413.7

486.4

Graduated training centers

173.6

765.4

939.0

Untrained

28.2

193.8

222.1

Employees, by divisions, 2000

Divisions

Total
(thous.persons)

Agriculture, hunting

393.5

Mining

18.6

Manufacturing

54.6

Electricity, gas and water supply

17.8

Construction

23.4

Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicle, motorcycle. And personal and household goods

83.9

Hotels and restaurants

13.3

Transport, storage and communication

34.1

Financial intermediation

6.8

Real estate, renting and business activities

7.2

Public administration and defense

34.7

Education

54.4

Health and social security

33.5

Community, social and personal services

29.0

Others

4.2


Social Data:
(Data from 2000 unless otherwise indicated)

  • Life expectancy: 62.5 years (1999)
  • Infant mortality rate: 32.8 per 1000
  • Under five mortality rate: 56.4 per 1000
  • Maternal mortality: 81
  • One-year-old immunization rate: tuberculosis 97 per cent, measles 86 per cent (1999)
  • Access to safe drinking water: rural 89.9 per cent, urban 46.1 per cent (1995)
  • Access to sanitation: 74 per cent (1995)
  • Adult literacy rate: 62.3 per cent (1999)
  • Primary school net enrollment: 84 per cent
  • Secondary school net enrollment: 54 per cent
  • Physicians: 27 per 10,000
  • Hospital beds: 7.5 per 1000
  • Daily calorie intake: 2462.3
  • Television sets: 7 per 100
  • Newspapers: 7.5 per capita, pcs
  • Number of telephones: 112,200
  • Marriage: 9.0 per 1000 over 18
  • Divorce: 0.6 per 1000 over 18
  • Number of pensioners: 287,200
  • Crimes reported: 23463 (2000). As percentage of same period in 1999: 100.5 per cent.

Sources: State Statistical Office, Human Development Report Mongolia 1997

 

 

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