21 October 2013
The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) is lending a hand to Vietnam in reforming its Vocational Education and Training (VET) law to make it more responsive to the changing needs in the world market.
Secretary Joel Villanueva, TESDA director general, announced the visit of top-level Cabinet officials for a study tour in the country in coordination with the International Labor Organization.
"We are honored to extend support to the government of Vietnam in reforming their VET law to make it more market-oriented, flexible, and demand-driven," he said.
"As ASEAN countries brace for a single economic community by 2015, what we can do is to strengthen cooperation by sharing knowledge and expertise on building a highly skilled workforce to increase our competitiveness in the global arena," Villanueva added.
The study tour, slated from October 20 to 25, will involve lectures, discussions, visit to TESDA central headquarters and training institutes, meeting with congressional leaders and officials of various labor organizations. It will focus on learning from the experiences of the Philippines in developing its own TVET policies and programs.
At the end of the tour, the delegates are expected to draw a list of recommendations on the possible modification on the VET law of Vietnam.
Vietnam's goal of reforming its 2006 VET law is in line with the government's target of being an industrialized nation by 2020. Seeing technical vocational education and training as central to this objective, it becomes imperative for the government to revisit policies and see to it that they will bring about graduates who are not only technically competent, but possess the skills that companies look for.
Villanueva will personally welcome the delegates on their arrival in Manila. For the formal lecture sessions, they will be given an orientation on the Philippine Qualifications Framework and Philippine Quality Assured TVET Framework. There will also be discussions on the various programs being implemented in TESDA Training Institutions and on the financial governance structure of the agency.
The participants will also go to the House of Representatives for a meeting with Representative Roman Romulo, chairperson of the committee on higher education, and will visit the offices of the Federation of Free Workers and the Employers Confederation of the Philippines. They will also get a glimpse of the actual training with a visit to a private training institution.
The delegation is composed of Vu Xuan Hung , Deputy Director - Department of Policy and Legislature, Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA)/GDVT; Nguyen Thanh Mai, Officer-Department of Policy an Legislature, MoLISA/GDVT; Nguyen Xuan Vinh , Officer –Department of Policy and Legislature, Vietnam General Confederation of Labor (VGCL); Dang Thu Hang, Officer – Department of Culture Education, Youth and Teenagers, National Assembly, Committee of Culture, Education, Youth and Teenagers; Tran Thuy Ngoc, Deputy Head-Office of Employers, Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI); Ngo Quang Vinh, ILO Hanoi National Officer (will also be the interpreter for the Vietnamese delegates); and, Carmela Torres, ILO DWT Bangkok, Senior Skills and Employability Specialist.
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