With the delegates from Bhutan, AFOS-CCCI, CITE and TESDA Cebu

The Colombo Plan Staff College (CPSC) facilitated the meetings of 11 officials from the Department of Technical Education (DTE), Ministry of Labour and Human Resources (MoLHR) Kingdom of Bhutan in 3 (three) CPSC member countries, namely, Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand from December 15 – 25, 2018. The delegation was led by Mr. Norbu Wangchuk, Director of Department of Technical Education under the Ministry of Labor and Human Resources, Bhutan.

The consultative meetings primarily aimed to understand the Dual Training Program (DTP) and to learn more about the Quality Assurance System for DTP practiced by the above-mentioned countries and to be able to apply those as appropriate for the Bhutan setting.

The first leg of the meeting commenced in Cebu, Philippines on December 16 – 17, 2018 with AFOS Foundation for Entrepreneurial Development Cooperation and invited presenters from Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) and TESDA Provincial Office. The meeting started with an opening speech from Mr. Lito Maderazo, CCCI Former President and Co-Chair of the K to 12 Plus Project wherein he stated that the meeting is a good learning opportunity between the Philippines and Bhutan to learn from one another. This was followed by a brief presentation from the head of the delegation in which he shared about Bhutan, the objectives of their visit and the situation of TVET in Bhutan.

Various presenters include Ms. Clarissa Geraldo, TESDA Supervising Officer, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Cebu Provincial Office; Mr. Marlon Valencia, CITE Scholarship Officer, Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE) and Ms. May Ibanez, Executive Director of Cebu of Chamber and Commerce and Industry. They were also present during the meeting to share about the Dual Training System in the Philippines. After the meeting, the delegation visited PSEFI-SKILLS, a TVET Institution managed by Primary Structure Corporation.

Visit to Primary Structures Educational Foundation, Inc.

The second leg of the meeting was conducted in Malaysia on December 20 – 21, 2018 in partnership with German – Malaysian Institute (GMI). A brief sharing about GMI was conducted and was followed by a tour of facilities around the various departments of the institution.

Visit to German – Malaysian Institute

After the tour of facilities, Mr.Kumaran Nair of Malaysian Chamber of Commerce and Industry presented a brief background about the German Dual Training Program which was followed by an overview of the Malaysia perspective on Dual Training Program which was conducted by Mr. Roslan Salim, Department of Skills Development, Ministry of Human Resources.

The meeting in Malaysia ended with a visit to FORMTECH Engineering, an international joint venture focused on producing medical gloves. Present during the visit were Mr. Valluvan Peramuthu, Chief Financial Officer and Ms. Gayathri AP Solan, HR Executive.

Visit to FORMTECH Engineering

The meetings concluded in Thailand on December 22 - 24, 2018 in which they visited Quick Coat Products, Don Muang Technical College and Pruksa Factory. Present during the meeting in Don Muang Technical College was Dr. Ramhari Lamichhane, CPSC Director General and Mr. Pongsatorn Pimpanit, Director, Quality Assurance Section, Bureau of Vocational Education Standards and Qualification, Office of the Vocational Education Commission (OVEC).

Overall, the meetings in the 3 countries ended in a positive note and involved institutions are looking forward for future collaborations.

Visit to Don Muang Technical College

The delegation from Bhutan with Dr. Ramhari Lamichhane, Mr. Pongsatorn Pimpanit and some officials from OVEC

Visit to PRUKSA Factory