A regional comparative: trends and indicators on human capital development

Abstract

International organizations indicate the urgent need to make educational reforms that improve the quality and participation of the technical and higher education sectors in the country on the face of greater uncertainty, socioeconomic crises, and the dramatic technological changes that nations are witnessing worldwide. At the same time, these entities mention the relevance of increasing the number of people with advanced studies, highlighting nonetheless, how important it is to incorporate educational programs that adjust to the changing demands of the job market, as well as to develop new professional profiles oriented towards better socioemotional, transversal, technical and professional skills required from the present labor force.

Those nations who decide to invest and allocate resources oriented to the well-being of their human resources and the strengthening of their institutions, will be more capable to respond to a very probable deceleration of the world economy.

Nevertheless, in evaluating the national indicators of human capital development in El Salvador, the gap between the amount of people with higher education and those who do not have it, is getting wider in relation to the rest of the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. This implies that the country is not taking advantage of its demographic bonus in a conjuncture where more investment in talent development should be granted. As a result, implementing post Covid-19 reforms in the educational policies of the country, under a modern approach adjusted to the new paradigms, becomes a significant subject for the social and economic development of El Salvador. In view of this, the creation of tools and programs that generate an alert system helpful in aiding the formulation of the required reforms is also recommended.