Methodologies and approaches

The program design benefited from interaction with ADB staff preparing similar Comprehensive Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic (CPRO) programs in other Pacific countries. ADB’s CPRO policy and guidelines were still being refined while the program was under Preparation. Managing the changing internal guidelines and expectations while also coordinating virtually (due to COVID-19 restrictions) with Vanuatu, ADB’s Pacific Liaison and Coordination Office, and ADB headquarters added significant pressure.

Logical sequencing of reforms is crucial to maximizing the impact and sustaining the momentum of reforms.

Setting a high job placement target to qualify for the final milestone payment can can create a negative incentive for training providers to inflate the training costs so as to cover for all their costs regardless of whether or not they meet the job placement target. This lesson, arising from a similar project in Nepal, was heeded by the tranche 1 project that lowered the job placement target from 70% to 60% to ensure that the training providers do not to lose their focus on job placement.

Focusing on existing social protection programs and systems and making in-depth policy discussions on reforming them contribute to avoiding the creation of ad hoc programs and arrangements or introducing reforms without having in place a solid institutional setup for its implementation. Alignment with the relevant national strategies ensures the government's strong ownership of prior actions and outcomes. Consideration of these two key lessons will strengthen the design and implementation of future similar programs.

Urban–rural disparity in training outcomes can be wide, partly because of unequal access to industries and the wage labor market. The national apprenticeship scheme and industrial training institutes are closely linked with employers; the scheme has resulted in impressive employment rates. Skills training providers who cater to rural areas have the greatest challenge in creating jobs. Disadvantaged social groups are normally less involved in skills training.

Stakeholder expectations and reliance on concessional financing have a negative effect on the market upon completion of the project. Until the loan is fully used up, the market seldom finds innovative methods to improve viability without such concessional conditions. Therefore, by design, the project shall encourage the market to evolve and innovate to sustain without any concessional financing.

Despite the market already being available to cater to the project, the TA intervention resulted in a much smoother implementation that may have been difficult without a TA. Such TA components could improve project effectiveness and the good practices introduced would better the overall market. Thus, similar TA projects are encouraged for greenfield projects of this nature.

implementation anchored in a national law. Some output targets—building technical skills and institutional capacity, engaging with SME participants, facilitating the adoption of new processes, and institutionalizing the changes—required a longer time for effective implementation.

Realistic timelines are essential, given government agency capacities and the institutional, policy, and behavioral changes required. Introducing new regulatory frameworks required a sequential building-block approach, from diagnostics to pilot implementation, expansion of pilots, and national

The PSME2 demonstrated the critical role that TA plays in supporting policy, planning, awareness raising, change processes, training, and skills, and in institutionalizing SME reforms. Furthermore, using post-program partnership framework (P3F) support is important in facilitating ongoing SME reform and institutionalizing SME processes.