TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training)

TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training) is education and training that provides the necessary knowledge and skills for employment.[1] It uses many forms of education including formal, non-formal and informal learning.[2] Crucial to attain social equity, inclusion and sustainability of development among others, this discipline is very important for UNESCO. Other domains, such as literacy and higher education, are also among the ones leading to lifelong learning for all.[3]

Development

The term 'Technical and Vocation Education and Training' or TVET was officiated at the world congress on TVET, which took place in 1999 in Seoul, Republic of Korea. At this event, it was decided that TVET was an effective title that was broad enough to incorporate other terms that had been used to describe similar educational and training activities, for example, Workforce Education (WE), and Technical-Vocational Education (TVE). Therefore, the development and definition of TVET is one that parallels other types of education and training, such as Vocational Education; however, TVET is likewise used as an umbrella term to encompass education and training activities that describe the field.[1]

The decision in 1999 to officiate TVET led to the development of the UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training in Bonn, Germany.[1]

Hybridization

One of the main reasons that TVET, particularly secondary TVET, often appeared unattractive to learners in the past was its relative isolation from other education streams. In most countries of the world, TVET was widely perceived as a ‘dead-end’ stream. Positive steps were taken to reduce the segmentation of education and training, and to address institutional barriers that restricted TVET learners’ options and choices to move vertically to higher levels of learning, or horizontally to other streams. Policy-makers have introduced forms of hybridization, and some of the traditional distinctions between TVET and ‘academic’ education streams have been blurred. Maclean and Pavlova[4] described a trend towards hybrid programmes, and often to more hybrid institutions that incorporate aspects of both ‘academic’ education and TVET. This has been termed the ‘vocationalization of secondary education’. A similar process can be observed, to some extent, at the tertiary level.[3]

France and the Netherlands 

In such programmes as the baccalauréat professionnel in France, and the middelbaar beroepsonderwijs (MBO) programmes in the Netherlands, which were created during the 1980s, general education content was enhanced so that up to one-half of the course is based on general education while, at the same time, learners gain specialist knowledge and skills and have to obtain an extensive amount of work experience in the area they are specializing in.[3]

 

Germany and Austria 

Apprenticeships enhanced general content within occupational training, and considerable emphasis was placed on personal skills, such as taking responsibility for one’s own learning.[3]

India

Work education was included in the primary standards (grades 1-8) to make the students aware of the concept of work. At the lower secondary level (grades 9-10) pre-vocational education were included and aimed to increase students’ familiarity with the world of work.[3]

 

Republic of Korea

About 40% of secondary students are currently enrolled in TVET. In some schools, academic and vocational students share almost 75% of the curriculum.[3]

Russian Federation  

A new approach to vocationalization of secondary schooling has been introduced within the framework of general educational reform guided by the Ministry of Education’s strategy of modernization. Vocationalization in the Russian Federation relates to the introduction of what is called pro le education at the upper-secondary level (the last two years of schooling, grades 10 and 11) and the process of preparation for profile selection. Profile education provided students with the opportunity to study in depth a chosen area, usually one that would be related to their further study (TVET or academic). Schools could design their own pro les, such as science, socio-economics, humanities, and technology pro les, or keep a general orientation curriculum. In preparation for the upper-secondary specialization, a ‘pre-profiling’ programme in grade 9 has been introduced to help students make their choices in grade 10.[3]

 

United States of America 

Tech-Prep programmes in the United States of America are an example of how the ‘blending’ approach was used to help students make the connections between school and the world of work. In year nine, programmes in broad occupational fields (such as the health professions, automotive technology, computer systems networking) are offered with the sequence of general technology studies. The programme continues for at least two years after the end of secondary school, through a tertiary education or an apprenticeship programme, with students achieving an associate degree or certificate by the end of the programme.[3]

Private sector

Private TVET providers include for-profit and non-profit institutions. Several factors triggered actions to support the expansion of private TVET and include these providers as part of the TVET system. The limited capacities of public TVET providers and their low responsiveness to enterprises and trainees were among the factors driving this process. Private TVET providers were expected to be more responsive because they were subject to fewer bureaucratic restrictions than public institutions (particularly in centralized systems) and their presence was expected to help raise quality system-wide. Furthermore, in many developing countries, government budgets constituted a vulnerable and unreliable source of financing for TVET. Thus an important objective was to finance TVET systems by increasing the contribution of beneficiaries, including employers and trainees.[3]

Private TVET provision over the past decade has become a significant and growing part of TVET in sub-Saharan Africa[5] and in the Middle East and North Africa.[6] In some countries, for example Lebanon, enrolments in private TVET institutions have exceeded public enrolments. In Jordan, private provision at the community college level has been promoted by the government, and has become significant in terms of the number of enrolments.[6] Not all private experience has been positive, however, as the provision of TVET by private proprietary institutions or NGOs has often been concentrated in professional areas that typically do not require large capital investment, permitting easy entry and exit by private providers from the sector. Quality issues have also emerged, where market information about quality has been unavailable.[3]

Technological advancement and its impact

TVET has an important role to play in technology diffusion through its transfer of knowledge and skills. Rapid technological progress has had and continues to have significant implications for TVET. First, understanding and anticipating changes has become crucial for designing responsive TVET systems and, more broadly, effective skills policies. Second, the flexibility to adapt the supply of skills to the rapidly, and in some cases radically, changing needs in sectors such as information technology and the green economy has become a central feature of TVET systems. Third, globally, the skills requirements and qualifications demanded for job entry are rising. This reflects a need for not just a more knowledgeable and skilled workforce, but one that can adapt quickly to new emerging technologies in a cycle of continuous learning.[3]

 

TVET is responding to the diverse ICT needs of learners, whether these are related to work, education or citizenship. New courses have been introduced to address occupational changes in the ICT job market, while many TVET providers have shifted provision towards a blended approach, with significantly more self-directed and/or distance learning. In developed countries, new ICT approaches have been introduced to modernize TVET organizations and to manage their administration and finance, including learner records.[3]

 

Education for all

Main article: Education for all

The Education for All (EFA) movement has had its own implications for TVET at both international and national levels. Although it may have lacked precision and measurable targets for TVET, the third EFA goal called for ensuring ‘that the learning needs of all young people and adults are met through equitable access to appropriate learning and life-skills programmes’.[7] This goal had a symbolic value, helping to raise the visibility of TVET and skills development and create a more prominent place for them on the global education policy agenda. The current bulge of young people requiring TVET learning opportunities is partly fuelled by the success of the EFA movement in opening access to basic education, particularly at the primary level. In 2009, 702 million children were enrolled worldwide in primary education, compared with 646 million in 1999.[8][3]

Continuing TVET

Like Continuing education, Continuing TVET involves ongoing training to upgrade existing skills and to develop new ones. It takes on a much higher profile in ageing societies and knowledge-based economies. Increased recognition of the importance of human capital for economic growth and social development made it necessary to increase learning opportunities for adults in workplaces within the wider context of policies and strategies for lifelong learning.[9][3]

In many countries policy-makers have considered ways to expand workplace learning opportunities for workers, and to assess and give credit for knowledge and skills acquired in workplaces. Efforts were geared towards training for workers in companies, encouraged by legislation, financial incentives and contractual agreements.[3]

Challenges

Following the global financial crisis in 2008, labour markets across the world experienced structural changes that have influenced the demand for skills and TVET. Unemployment worsened and the quality of jobs decreased, especially for youth. Gender differentials in labour force participation placed men ahead of women, and skill mismatches deepened. The crisis impacted labour markets adversely and led to deepening uncertainty, vulnerability of employment, and inequality.[10] Furthermore, measures to improve efficiency and profitability in the economic recovery have often led to jobless growth, as happened in Algeria, India and post-apartheid South Africa.[3]

In seeking to address the level of vulnerable employment, TVET systems have focused on increasing the employability of their graduates, but also on enhancing their capacity to function effectively within existing vulnerable labour markets and adjust to other labour market constraints. This has meant enhanced coordination among government departments responsible for TVET and employment policies. It has also created the need for TVET systems to develop mechanisms that identify skills needs early on and make better use of labour market information for matching skills demands and supply. Furthermore, TVET systems have focused more on developing immediate job skills and wider competencies. This has been accomplished by adopting competency-based approaches to instruction and workplace learning that enable learners to handle vulnerable employment, adjust to changing jobs and career contexts, and build their capacity to learn and agility to adapt.[3]

Migration flows

Increasing migration flows are significantly challenging the national character of TVET systems and qualifications. TVET qualifications are progressively expected not only to serve as proxies for an individual's competencies but to also act as a form of a currency that signals national and international value.[11] TVET systems have therefore been developing mechanisms to enable credible and fair cross-border recognition of skills. In 2007, the ILO identified three types of recognition that TVET system may use: unilateral (independent assessment by the receiving country), mutual (agreements between sending and receiving countries), and multilateral (mostly between a regional grouping of countries). Currently, the most prevalent of these is unilateral recognition, which is mostly under the control of national credential evaluation agencies. Countries have been slow to move from input-based skill evaluations to outcome-based methodologies that focus on competencies attained.[12][3]

TVET systems are responding to migration by progressively providing qualifications that can stand the rigour of these recognition systems and by creating frameworks for mutual recognition of qualifications. Regional Qualifications Frameworks such as those in Southern Africa, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean promise to significantly support the recognition of qualifications across borders.[13] These efforts are further supported through the introduction of outcome-based learning methodologies within the broader context of multilateral recognition agreements.[3][12]

Providing broader competencies alongside specialist skills 

Skills for economic development include a mix of technical and soft skills. Empirical evidence and TVET policy reviews conducted by UNESCO suggest that TVET systems may not as yet sufficiently support the development of the so-called soft competencies.[14][15][16] Many countries have, however, adopted competency-based approaches as measures for reforming TVET curricula. For example, the HEART Trust National Training Agency of Jamaica adopted this approach, with a particular emphasis on competency standards and balanced job-specific and generic skills. Competency standards aimed to ensure that the training was linked to industry and was up to date, and that competences were integrated into training programmes, along with the needed knowledge, skills and attitudes. The balancing of skill types was to ensure adequate attention was given to job-specific skills as well as the conceptual and experiential knowledge necessary to enable individuals to grow and develop in the workplace, and more generally in society.[17][3]

Globalization

Globalization of the economy and the consequent reorganization of the workplace require a more adaptable labour force, compelling all countries to rethink the nature and role of TVET. Globalization intensifies pressure on the TVET sector to supply the necessary skills to workers involved in globalized activity, and to adapt existing skills to rapidly changing needs. As a consequence, there is increasing demand for more demand-driven TVET systems with a greater focus on modular and competency-based programmes, as well as on cognitive and transferable skills, which are expected to help people adapt to unpredictable conditions.[3]

Promoting social equity and inclusive workplaces

Preparing marginalized groups of youths and adults with the right skills and helping them make the transition from school to work is part of the problem faced by TVET in promoting social equity. Ensuring that the workplace is inclusive poses numerous policy challenges, depending on the contextual dynamics of inclusion and exclusion, and the capabilities of individuals. For example, the experiences of exclusion by people with disabilities and disadvantaged women may be similar in some ways and different in others. Many individuals experience multiple forms of disadvantage in the workplace, to different degrees of severity, depending on social attitudes and traditions in a specific context or organization. Approaches to inclusiveness in the workplace will therefore vary according to population needs, social diversity and context. To give one example, the Netherlands set about the task of making workplaces more inclusive for low-skilled adults by offering programmes that combine language instruction with work, and in certain cases on-the-job training.[18][3]

A review of employer surveys in Australia, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, reported that employers valued people with disabilities for their high levels of motivation and their diverse perspectives, and found their attendance records to be the same or better than those of other employees.[19] Many employers mentioned that being seen as pro-inclusion was positive for the company or organization's image, an advantage that goes well beyond providing employment opportunities to disadvantaged groups. In many cases, however, social and cultural perceptions are an obstacle to making workplaces more inclusive, and this will require sensitive and concerted attention. Some low- and middle-income countries have sought to address this through legislation. In Tanzania the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act of 1982 established a quota system that stipulates that 2 per cent of the workforce in companies with over fifty employees must be persons with disabilities.[20][3]

The 2012 Education for All Global Monitoring Report concluded that 'all countries, regardless of income level, need to pay greater attention to the needs of young people who face disadvantage in education and skills development by virtue of their poverty, gender or other characteristics'.[21] The report found that several barriers and constraints reduced the success of TVET in meeting social equity demands. First, national TVET policies in most cases failed to address the skills needs of young people living in urban poverty and in deprived rural areas. Second, additional funds were needed to support TVET learning opportunities on a much larger scale. Third, the training needs of disadvantaged young women were particularly neglected. The 2012 EFA Global Monitoring Report also noted that skills training alone was not su cient for the most disadvantaged of the rural and urban poor.[21] Coherent policies that link social protection, micro- nance and TVET are considered critical for ensuring better outcomes for marginalized groups.[3]

Gender disparities

Recent years have seen rising numbers of young women enrolling in TVET programmes, especially in service sector subjects. At times the challenge is to bring more males into female-dominated streams. However, beyond number games, the real gender parity test that TVET systems are yet to pass is balancing the gender participation in programmes that lead to employability, as well as to decent and high-paying jobs. Gender disparities in learning opportunities, and earnings, are a cause for concern. The persistent gender-typing of TVET requires concerted attention if TVET is to really serve a key facilitative role in shared growth, social equity and inclusive development.[22]

The absence of work, poor quality of work, lack of voice at work, continued gender discrimination and unacceptably high youth unemployment are all major drivers of TVET system reforms from the perspective of social equity. This is an area where TVET systems continue to be challenged to contribute proactively to the shaping of more equitable societies.[22]

Gender equality has received significant international attention in recent years, and this has been reflected in a reduction in gender participation gaps in both primary and secondary schooling. Efforts to analyse and address gender equality in TVET are relevant to other aspects of equity and dimensions of inclusion/exclusion. In almost all parts of the world, the proportion of girls to total enrolment in secondary education defined as TVET is less than for 'general' secondary education.[23][22]

Responses

Bangladesh

Integrating women or men into areas of specialization in which they were previously under-represented is important to diversifying opportunities for TVET. The National Strategy for Promotion of Gender Equality in TVET in Bangladesh set clear priorities and targets for breaking gender stereotypes. The Strategy was developed by a Gender Working Group comprising fifteen representatives from government ministries and departments, employers, workers and civil society organizations. It provided an overview of the current status and nature of gender inequalities in TVET, highlighted the priority areas for action, explored a number of steps to promote equal participation of women in TVET, and outlined the way forward.[24][22]

Cambodia

In Cambodia, TVET programmes set out to empower young women in traditional trades by upgrading their skills and technology in silk weaving. This led to the revitalization and reappraisal of a traditional craft by learners and society.[25][22]

The Shanghai Consensus of the Third International Congress on TVET

The Shanghai Consensus of the Third International Congress on TVET made the following recommendations on expanding access and improving quality and equity, including to: 

"Improve gender equality by promoting equal access of females and males to TVET programmes, particularly in fields where there is strong labour market demand, and by ensuring that TVET curricula and materials avoid stereotyping by gender."[26][22]

Sources

This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0 Licence statement: Unleashing the Potential: Transforming Technical and Vocational Education and Training, 9-10, 20, 41, 43, 47-48, 53, 56-58, 80, 85, 95, 98-100, 163, Marope, P.T.M., Chakroun, B, Holmes, K.P., UNESCO. UNESCO.

To learn how to add open-license text to Wikipedia articles, please see Wikipedia:Adding open license text to Wikipedia.

References 

  1. 1 2 3 UNESCO-UNEVOC. "What is TVET?". www.unevoc.unesco.org. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  2. ↑ UNESCO. "Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET)". www.unesco.org. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Marope, P.T.M; Chakroun, B.; Holmes, K.P. (2015). Unleashing the Potential: Transforming Technical and Vocational Education and Training (PDF). UNESCO. pp. 9–10, 41, 43, 47–48, 56–58, 63, 80, 95, 98–103. ISBN 978-92-3-100091-1.
  4. ↑ Maclean, R. and Pavlova, M. 2011. Vocationalisation of secondary and higher education: pathways to the world of work. UNESCO-UNEVOC, Revisiting Global Trends in TVET: Reflections on Theory and Practice. Bonn, Germany, UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training, pp. 40–85. 
  5. ↑ Johanson, R. K. and Adams, A. V. 2004. Skills Development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Washington, DC, World Bank. 
  6. 1 2 ETF and World Bank. 2005. Reforming Technical Vocational Education and Training in the Middle East and North Africa: Experiences and Challenges. Luxembourg, Office for Official Publications of the European Communities. 
  7. ↑ World Conference on Education for All. 2000. The Dakar Framework for Action: Meeting our Collective Commitments to Education for All. Paris, UNESCO. 
  8. ↑ UNESCO Institute for Statistics. 2006. Participation in Formal Technical and Vocational Education and Training Programmes Worldwide: An Initial Statistical Study. Bonn. UNESCO-UNEVOC. 
  9. ↑ OECD. 2005. Promoting Adult Learning, Education and Training Policy. Paris, OECD Publishing. 
  10. ↑ Bacchetta, M. and Jansen, M. (eds). 2011. Making Globalisation Socially Sustainable. Geneva, ILO and WTO. 
  11. ↑ Leney, T. 2009a. Qualifications that Count: Strengthening the Recognition of Qualifications in the Mediterranean Region. Thematic Study. Turin, Italy, ETF. http://www.etf.europa.eu/web. nsf/(RSS)/C125782B0048D6F6C125768200396FB6?OpenDocument&LAN=EN 
  12. 1 2 Keevy, J. 2011. The recognition of qualifications across borders: the contribution of regional qualifications frameworks. Background paper commissioned by UNESCO. Pretoria, South African Qualifications Authority. 
  13. ↑ Keevy, J., Chakroun, B. and Deij, A. 2010. Transnational Qualifications Frameworks. Luxembourg, Publications Office of the European Union. 
  14. ↑ UNESCO. 2013b. Policy Review of TVET in Cambodia. Paris, UNESCO. http://unesdoc.unesco.org/ images/0022/002253/225360e.pdf#xml=http://www.unesco.org/ulis/cgi-bin/ulis.pl?database=&set=53761B39_2_350&hits_rec=2&hits_lng=eng 
  15. ↑ UNESCO. 2013c. Policy Review of TVET in Lao PDR. Paris, UNESCO. http://unesdoc.unesco.org/ images/0022/002211/221146e.pdf#xml=http://www.unesco.org/ulis/cgi-bin/ulis.pl?datab ase=&set=53761918_0_231&hits_rec=2&hits_lng=eng 
  16. ↑ UNESCO. 2013d. Revue de politiques de formation technique et professionnelle au Benin. Paris, UNESCO. http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0022/002213/221304f.pdf 
  17. ↑ HEART Trust NTA. 2009. Policy on competency-based education and training. Draft Concept Paper. Kingston, HEART Trust NTA. 
  18. ↑ OECD. 2012. Better Skills Better Jobs Better Lives – OECD: A Strategic Approach to Skills Policies. Paris, OECD Publishing. http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/better-skills-better-jobs- better-lives_9789264177338-en 
  19. ↑ Employers’ Forum on Disability. 2009. What does the research say are the commercial bene ts? http://www.realising-potential.org/six-building-blocks/commercial/what-researchers- say.html 
  20. ↑ SADC and UNESCO. 2011. Final Report: Status of TVET in the SADC Region. Gaborone, SADC, p. 10. 
  21. 1 2 UNESCO. 2012. Youth and Skills: Putting Education to Work. EFA Global Monitoring Report. Paris, UNESCO. http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002180/218003e.pdf 
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Marope, P.T.M; Chakroun, B.; Holmes, K.P. (2015). Unleashing the Potential: Transforming Technical and Vocational Education and Training (PDF). UNESCO. pp. 20, 53, 85, 163. ISBN 978-92-3-100091-1.
  23. ↑ UNESCO Institute for Statistics. 2012. Global Education Digest 2012. Opportunities Lost: The Impact of Grade Repetition and Early School Leaving. Montreal, UIS. 
  24. ↑ ILO. 2012b. Draft National Strategy for Promotion of Gender Equality in TVET. Dhaka, ILO. http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---ro-bangkok/---ilo-dhaka/ documents/publication/wcms_222688.pdf 
  25. ↑ Salzano, E. 2005. Technology-Based Training for Marginalised Girls. Paris, UNESCO. 
  26. ↑ UNESCO. 2012. Shanghai Consensus. Recommendations of the third international congress on TVET: Transforming TVET: Building Skills for Work and Life. Shanghai, 14–16 May 2012. http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002176/217683e.pdf 
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.