“You can’t fix in three months what the education system hasn’t fixed in 12 years,” says Manish Sabharwal. As cofounder and CEO of TeamLease, an Indian company that currently employs one new worker every five minutes for the past five years (and which turns down 95% of those who apply), his views have weight. And the most common reason for turning down 95% of applicants? Not lack of specific job skills, but lack of general employability skills.

Employers in fast-growing economies scramble for workers, searching for the best available, giving proof to the timeless saying that ‘your people are your best investment.’ But who are the best? Low employment outcomes from many vocational courses throughout Asia show that simply completing a training course doesn’t necessarily provide the ‘employability edge.’ So what else is at play? To provide better policies and services one has to look at broader horizons... — Blogs.adb.org/blogs