Massive workforce mobility, eroding quality of TVET call for qualifications framework & quality movements in Asia Pacific region
29 countries join deliberations in Manila organized by CPSC, InWEnt and UNESCO-UNEVOC
Highly interactive deliberations on harnessing Qualifications Framework towards Quality Assurance in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) was hosted in Manila, Philippines from December 1 to 2, 2009 through an international conference jointly organized by Colombo Plan Staff College for Technician Education (CPSC), InWEnt (Capacity Building Internationale) and UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre in TVET.
Over 200 delegates from 29 countries joined the conference to learn and examine issues and challenges, tested models, comparative analyses and exchange of experiences and innovative practices on QF and QA within the Asia Pacific region and beyond.
The two-day conference featured 31 keynote and thematic papers presented by highly acclaimed experts, policy makers and implementers of qualifications framework and quality assurance systems from various countries; international and regional organizations. Countries represented in the conference were Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Canada, China, Fiji, Germany, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Rep. of Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. International , regional and national organizations which actively provided input to the conference, include the ILO, European Training Foundation, InWEnt, CPSC, UNEVOC, UNESCO-APNIEVE, SEAMEO-VOCTECH, Colombo Plan Secretariat, Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority of Australia, South Pacific Board for Educational Assessment, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Singapore Workforce Development Agency, Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange, among others. Private sector was also represented through the Toyota Motor Foundation, Inc. and the Construction Industry Development Board of Malaysia.
The conference was formally opened by the Chairperson of the CPSC Governing Board HE Joong-Kyung Choi, Ambassador of Korea to the Philippines, and Dr. Mona Valisno, Presidential Education Adviser, representing the host country, along with the lead organizers of the conference.
The conference kicked off with an inaugural presentation made by Prof. Shyamal Majumdar, Director General of CPSC on the TVET Response to Global Trends in the Colombo Plan Region. He set out the tone of the deliberations for two days, based on key challenges and TVET agenda in the global education, training and employment landscape and how they relate with the significant pursuit of qualifications framework development for cross-border mobility of the workforce, enhancing career development pathways, establishing acceptable frameworks for recognition of skills, knowledge and competencies and improving quality assurance systems with focus on TVET sector.
The European Qualifications Framework (EQF), one of the most acclaimed regional qualifications framework (RQF) ever established, was featured in the keynote address made by the European Training Foundation, represented by Dr. Jean-Marc Castejon. He stressed that the EQF has been a valuable piece of the European education landscape. It sets out common reference point among European countries and beyond in relating their respective qualifications systems and improving interaction of the European region with the rest of the world.
In a comparative framework presented by Mr. Jan Ebben, TVET Consultant, UNESCO-UNEVOC, three initiatives were reported to have been launched complementing the EQF. These are the European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET), European Quality Assurance Reference Framework for Vocational Education and Training (EQARF) and the EUROPASS, a transnational document on educational achievement widely used across Europe.
The creation, and strengthening of National Qualifications Framework as a means to put in place quality assurance systems, figured as one of the most interesting point of discussion since many countries within and outside the Asia Pacific region are still without such framework in place. The NQF facilitates the development of workers’ skills, support educational and labour mobility within/between countries and improve lifelong access to education and training, according to Mr. Robert Fearnside of Australia, key member of the team that prepared the report Mapping Qualifications Frameworks across APEC Economies completed by the Monash University-ACER Centre for the Economics of Education and Training (CEET) in Melbourne for the APEC Human Resources Development Working Group in April 2009. Some countries, he emphasized, use the NQFs as a basis for credit systems for transfer across education and training levels and institutions.
The joint report found out that only seven economies within the region have established NQFs, which include, Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, the Philippines, and Thailand, while the Republic of Korea is in the process of implementing NQF. High level of political support was cited to be the point of commonality of countries with NQF.
TESDA, Philippines’ main authority in TVET, shared the strengths of the Philippine National Qualifications Framework which largely supports building up Filipino workforce’s technical and vocational competitiveness, while providing TVET graduates with flexible access ramps and pathways for career development. Hailed to have one of the most well-established qualifications frameworks in the region, TESDA Executive Director Irene Isaac said that TESDA continues to gear up by setting future directions such as expanding TVET opportunities in available jobs, address labor demand and supply gaps, institutionalizing the system of skills, qualifications progression and career shifts, benchmarking and aligning competencies towards international standards and continuing quality improvement in TVET provisions, among the few.
The conference proved to be a rich platform for exchange of views and opinions through facilitated discussions. SEAMEO-VOCTECH’s Dr. Paryono emphasized positive and negative views on establishing regional qualifications framework in Southeast Asia, another hot topic during the conference. He stated that RQF is perceived to only benefit ‘exporting’ counties in terms of human resources since such region-based framework affects labor mobility within and outside the region. However, reciprocal benefits to both exporting and importing countries are lacking in the context of the transparency advocated for creating such frameworks.
On greater end, qualifications frameworks, explained Mr. Lemalu Lafi Sanerivi of Fiji, provides transparency on to the various qualifications in an education system and how they relate to each other. He stressed that for Learners, it provides flexible pathways for stair casing future training and job opportunities, for Employers, it provides transparency on learning outcomes and what graduates can do and for the Economy, it helps identify skill gaps and how to address them.
Various country presentations were also featured on track sessions to cross-share experiences and raise opportunities for benchmarking country-level efforts and initiatives.
At the end of the conference, a 10-point set of conclusions were formulated which urge upon policy makers from government, private sectors, non-government organizations, multilateral and bilateral development partners and organizations operating at global, regional and national levels, to work together to pursue stronger functional qualifications framework and quality assurance system in TVET.
CPSC, in collaboration with InWEnt and UNESCO-UNEVOC, initiated the discussion in an effort to address foregoing issues on student and workforce mobility and eroding quality in TVET provisions.
The conference was organized concluding CPSC's commemoration of its 35th year-end anniversary and in celebration of the vibrant linkages and cooperation CPSC maintains with stakeholders and partner organizations in the field of TVET.