In collaboration with Labtech Academy and the Directorate of Technical Education (DTE), Ministry of Education, Bangladesh, the Colombo Plan Staff College successfully organized an online in-country program on virtual TVET for electrical basics from April 25-28, 2022. The program involved a total of 30 electrical technology instructors, lecturers and officers from different TVET institutes nationwide.

Supervising the program were Prof. G.L.D. Wickramasinghe, CPSC Director General and Dr. Steven McKee, President of Labtech International Ltd; Program coordination and resources were provided by Mr. Brad Ker, General Manager of Labtech Academy.

Meanwhile, local supervision of the program was arranged by Dr. Md. Omar Faruque, Director General of the Directorate of Technical Education (DTE), Bangladesh. Local logistics were facilitated by Engr. Md. Aktaruzzaman, Director (Planning & Development) of DTE, Bangladesh.

The opening ceremony was held on April 25, 2022 and was attended by the officers from CPSC, Labtech and DTE. The chief guest of the program was Ms. Sayma Razzaki, Chargé d'affaires, a.i. of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in the Philippines. During her opening speech, she underscored the importance of this program in further building the confidence of TVET trainers in the country, as well as the urgent need for skilled workers to continue pushing for the country’s continued economic development. She also relayed the message of support on behalf of the Ambassador, H.E. F.M. Borhan Uddin and the Bangladeshi community in Manila,

Ms. Sayma Razzaki, the Chargé d'affaires, a.i. of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in the Philippines, speaking to the participants during the opening ceremony

This 4-day course provided an introduction for teachers/ instructors to a TVET learning management system (LMS) and the Virtual TVET digital learning content. The learning materials or topics were designed to cover the introduction to electrical fundamentals, instruments and meters, electrical components, power supplies, etc. It also goes into developing the students’ knowledge and skills leading to more advanced or practical studies such as residential and commercial wiring systems, electrical machines and their controls, electrical protection systems, etc.

In addition, a lecture on the best practices & safety in electrical training, and the use of instructional videos to deliver 21st century training were delivered by Mr. Antonis Siamas, Head Trainer & SME Superior Training Center Australia and Mr. Ian Andrew, Consultant and TVET Specialist of Labtech International, respectively.

The program ended on a high note on Apri 28, 2022 as the participants expressed their satisfaction to the program’s organization and appreciation to the organizers for a brief but meaningful training.

Dr. Md. Omar Faruque, Director General of the Directorate of Technical Education, Bangladesh (left/top) and Prof. G.L.D. Wickramasinghe, CPSC Director General (right/bottom) during the closing ceremony of the program.

Some of the program participants during the group picture