In education also, there are no taboos against questioning anything and in some countries reforms tend to be general rather than piecemeal. There is a general agreement that changes need to take place at all levels (basic, secondary, vocational training and technical education).

Awareness is growing that education for the world of work starts at primary and that increased access to and retention in primary and secondary education is necessary to build up a skilled and flexible labour force. Every country is now committed to providing nine years of basic education for all. This objective is far from being achieved in many countries, however. Today, the students taught in primary and secondary schools come from very different backgrounds, and constitute a very heterogeneous group, both culturally and socially. Schools and classrooms have not changed their organization, nor have the teachers changed their pedagogical practices. As a result, the number of drop-outs, who later become marginalized, continues to increase.

Another common characteristic is the changing role of the State in education as a movement towards decentralization and privatization is sweeping through Latin America. In technical education, just as in general primary and secondary education, more autonomy has been given to the municipalities or to the provinces. The latter, however, do not always receive the corresponding resources. Decentralization, in a number of countries, is primarily a way of reducing the financial burden on central government. In this process, a greater amount of autonomy is being granted to the schools, although still on a limited scale, and this is increasing the disparities between them.

Integrating technical education with general education. A number of countries intend to close their technical schools and transform them into ordinary secondary schools offering several options or modalities at secondary level: this is the case of Brazil, which is going to suppress its federal technical schools, considered too costly, and postpone the organization of technical courses to the post secondary level. This is also the case in Argentina where reforms envisage that all schools should become 'polymodal'.

Maintaining existing secondary technical schools and decentralizing their management to municipalities (Chile) or provinces (Mexico). Some autonomy is being granted to schools, allowing them to adapt their curriculum and the courses

A system is even being introduced in Mexico in which teachers will be paid on the basis of their results. This raises a number of problems, such as inequalities between States and between schools (Chile, Mexico), job instability for teachers and conflict with teachers' unions (Mexico).

Deregulating and allowing the rapidly growing private sector to apply for public funding (through a system of vouchers).. This is the case in Chile, where apparently private technical schools are more efficient than municipal schools. This may be due to the fact that private schools enjoy more managerial autonomy and/or that they tend to be selective in their recruitment, and to offer courses without risks. The option is thus not without its problems.

The traditional 'S' model: SENAI, SENA. In Brazil, just as in Colombia a few years ago, the 'S' model is being seriously questioned by the Ministry of Labour on the one hand, and by the enterprises on the other. The biggest firms think that they can do the training better themselves, and that the additional taxation on salaries is reducing their competitiveness on the international market.

A model relying much more on enterprises and on private training institutions, applying to the Ministry of Labour for finance, as in Chile. This "demand-driven" model seems to guarantee a better match between supply and demand of trained labour. The disadvantages are, however, the same as those mentioned above for technical education. The lack of certification is another drawback. Enterprises seem to be reluctant to organize training themselves but, in some industries, the training is organized by the federation of enterprises.

Other trends in vocational training have to do with the increase in the number of actors and institutions intervening in training,

Training for marginalized youth is a growing preoccupation of countries. Programmes exist in many countries and the discussions allowed a comparison between the type of courses organized by a big vocational training institution or VTI, such as SENA, and models based more on ONGs and private institutions. The second category is becoming more and more generalized, as even the big VTIs now tend to sub-contract this type of course. The financing agency, whether the Ministry of Labour or the VTI, prepares terms of references and invites private institutions and associations to bid for the organization of the different courses. The formula allows a great deal of flexibility. Specifying norms in terms of costs and the expected results may end up, however, by ruling out application from some of the best performing institutions, which are often more expensive, and/or force institutions to be selective, so as to satisfy the success indicators.

Evaluation of programmes was talked about briefly, but this in itself could become the object of a new seminar.