UNESCO-UNEVOC/Danilo Victoriano Jr. under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO

Implementation of new qualifications and competencies in the Asia-Pacific

Asia-Pacific governments and TVET institutions have taken positive action to align TVET training with current and future labour market skills needs

Most lead ministry staff participating in the 2015 Asia-Pacific TVET Progress Review survey said that their government has implemented measures to align TVET training with current and future skills needs by doing one or more of the following: engaging private sector partners in the planning and design of TVET policies and programmes; gathering information on the current and future skills needs of employers, and then updating TVET training in line with these findings and forecasts; offering training in line with occupational standards and/or competences agreed with employers; and involving local communities in the planning and design of TVET policies and programmes. (UNESCO 2016)

The 2021 BILT survey likewise found that Asia-Pacific governments have made conscious efforts to revise TVET curricula in response to green growth dynamics and changing labour market needs and that, at a broader level, competency-based standards are being integrated into TVET. (BILT scoping study of current trends in the Asia-Pacific carried out in 2021)

100% of the Asia-Pacific TVET institutional representatives participating in the 2019/20 UNESCO-UNEVOC trends mapping survey indicated that their institution uses information obtained on changes taking place in the world of work to develop and/or update course curricula, to develop and/or update programme delivery methods, and to determine the training needs of TVET teaching and administrative staff. 100% of Asia-Pacific government and national body representatives responding to the same survey said that their country already has frameworks in place relating to the pre-service and/or in-service training of TVET teaching staff and that their country regularly assesses TVET teaching staff’s skills and training needs. (UNESCO-UNEVOC 2020)

Employers’ organizations responding to the 2015 Asia-Pacific TVET Progress Review survey indicated that the positive actions taken by Asia-Pacific governments and TVET institutions to align TVET training with current and future skills needs have resulted in TVET graduates having the core transversal skills most valued by employers (e.g., ICT skills, teamwork and collaboration skills, communication and customer relations skills, time management and organizational skills, and English language skills) and in employers having greater regard for TVET graduate competencies and, consequently, higher propensities to hire TVET graduates. (UNESCO 2016)

Challenges

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Countries in the region differ markedly in terms of their TVET systems' capacity to respond to evolving labour market needs and demands for new TVET qualifications and competencies

The region’s least developed and developing economies often struggle to implement their NQFs. Owing to financial constraints, they often face a dilemma between expanding access to TVET and improving the quality of TVET qualifications and their relevance to labour market needs. (UNESCO 2018)

While the region’s high-income and upper-middle income countries have been able to implement expensive measures – such as establishing incubators or technology parks on TVET campuses – to support the creation of innovative businesses through TVET, the region’s lower-income countries often lack the funds, knowledge and/or trained staff to sufficiently support entrepreneurship initiatives. They also often have difficulties locating private sector partners willing to act as mentors. (UNESCO 2016)

Asia-Pacific countries with large informal economies and/or scattered populations have had greater difficulties than countries with a high proportion of formally established businesses in engaging private sector partners in TVET activities and in providing workplace training opportunities to TVET students and staff. These issues have had an impact on TVET relevance and TVET graduate pathways. (UNESCO 2016)

Owing to weak recruitment systems and unattractive salaries, the emerging economies of East Asia and South-East Asia also seem to have a shortage of high-quality TVET personnel. (ILO-UNESCO 2018)

Owing to a lack of knowledge and/or technical capacity on how to develop transversal competences, some countries in the region have been unable to refocus their TVET curriculum to develop students’ transversal skills. (UNESCO 2016)

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Development of new qualifications and competencies in TVET for the emerging economic transformation across the Asia-Pacific must be accompanied by suitable curricula and pedagogical tools.

Opportunities

Opportunity

UNESCO-UNEVOC/Li Yang

Participation in international and regional networks can improve TVET systems' responsiveness to changes taking place in the world of work as well as demands for new TVET qualifications and competencies

Over the past two decades, there has been a proliferation of international and regional networks or ‘communities of practice’ in TVET, comprised of individual experts, training providers, research institutes, government bodies and/or universities, which have been established to facilitate exchanges of knowledge and technologies as well as the dissemination of evidence-based techniques, methods and good practices. Many Asia-Pacific countries now take part in these networks to improve the relevance and quality of their TVET systems and to facilitate the educational and labour mobility of their TVET graduates. (UNESCO 2016)

Because their members often face or have faced similar problems and challenges, these networks can enhance the self-reliant development of national TVET systems. Some of the more prominent international and Asia-Pacific-specific regional TVET networks include: the UNEVOC Network, the NORRAG Network for international policies and cooperation in education and training, the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO), and the Regional Association for Vocational Teacher Education in Asia. (RAVTE)

Some countries in the region have also cooperated to form smaller, more bespoke networks. For example, the Skills Development Network, which was launched in November 2021 with support from the ILO-China Partnership Project, provides a mechanism for technical cooperation between 22 TVET institutes in China, Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar. Members engage in activities such as exchange programmes of trainers and students, joint curriculum development, fora and workshops, coaching activities, and competitions. The Network also promotes collaboration with the private sector as well as research and development activities to improve national and regional responsiveness to changing skills requirements in the world of work. (ILO 2021)