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We are looking at the Skills Gap for Infrastructural Development. One huge question is how do we provide human resources for the industry? How can we bridge the skills gap?

We will look at this from the angle of a partnership of the industry, educational organizations, and the Government.

A partnership of the Industry, the Educational Organisations, and the Government to develop TVET

The article focus on three main topics: 

  • firstly, we will frame partnership development in the context of essential requirements for developing an effective TVET system.
  • Secondly, we will highlight the partnership of the industry, the educational organizations, and the Government.
  • After that, we will give an example of a way of building the partnership.

Essential requirements for developing an effective TVET system

Countries worldwide are looking to develop effective partnerships between the public and private sectors in different service and development sectors, such as construction, transportation, energy, and education. In TVET, partnerships between the public and private sectors aim mainly to align training programs according to the actual needs of the labor market by involving the private sector in identifying their needs and planning and implementing training programs. In addition, the partnership between the public and private sectors contributes to bearing the high costs of training. 

Before we look into this kind of partnership, we will frame it in the requirements for an effective TVET. We can point out some critical foundational requirements that a TVET system needs in order to achieve successful outcomes in the context of

We can call these requirements for essential building blocks of an effective TVET system. We want to lift some of these building blocks and show that partnership between the public and private sectors can be essential for an effective TVET system. 

The first building block we want to lift is about leadership. 

The Government’s aims and objectives for TVET and skills development should be understood both in the Government and among key stakeholders. All stakeholders must understand what they need to do to contribute to developing TVET. 

A second building block is about data and information.

Data and information on TVET will influence decision-making. It is crucial that the monitoring, reporting, and evaluation system is in place so that policy-makers, stakeholders, and public members can access accurate and timely information regarding progress against TVET and skills development activities, outputs, and outcomes. 

This information can include performance information on training providers, which should be available for the public, employers, and prospective learners. In addition, we need accurate and comprehensive Labour market information. Without that kind of information, developing a training supply system with labor market relevance and demand-driven is challenging.

Well-functioning institutions, incentives, and accountability mechanisms.

Institutions across the TVET system should work effectively to transmit national policy priorities into deliverable activities. Incentives and related accountability and transparency measures should also be in place for training providers – both public and private. In addition to institutions, incentives also need to be in place for individuals so that young people – including the poor- can invest time and scarce resources in acquiring skills.

High-performing, quality training institutions

Training institutions – public and private – should have the capacity, staffing, equipment, and facilities to deliver high-quality training that meets employers’ and learners’ expectations. Institutions should provide high-quality student support services, have strong connections to their local labor market, and use these linkages to offer work-based learning opportunities and improve training quality and relevance. Institutions should be gender-aware, and teams with strong leadership skills and an entrepreneurial approach should lead them

Labour market relevance and demand-driven provision

TVET provision is responsive to the needs of the labor market. The local labor market should be sufficiently developed to view skills as essential in improving productivity and competitiveness. The employers should be satisfied with the training and qualifications from TVET, and the institutions should produce workers with skills that will enhance their business.

Well-functioning partnerships and mechanisms for anticipating skills needs

TVET provision and learning opportunities should be available to all who want to access them regardless of ethnicity, gender, age, social status, or disability. Social partners – including civil society organizations – should be actively engaged in TVET delivery and ensure equality of access across the system. We need well-managed college/industry partnerships.

Engineer team in industry factory working setting machine with space for blue machine factory background.
Photo TMLsPhotoG

A partnership of the industry, the educational organizations, and the Government

The role of the Government is to stimulate economic growth, generate sufficient job opportunities, and produce the appropriate skilled and qualified workforce to meet the needs of the industries. For this reason, continuous sustainable development through training and employment must be at the forefront of the government͛s, and a TVET institution͛s agenda as the Government strives to improve competitiveness in the international marketplace and to prepare the people to work in higher value-added occupations. 

In TVET, Public-private partnerships are essential for developing high-quality vocational education and training because they foster regular communication between employers and TVET providers. Such communication is critical in TVET practice because:

  • on the one hand, it enables TVET providers to learn more about the skills demanded by employers, 
  • and on the other hand, it allows the employers to have an input in the curricula of TVET, 
  • in addition, it gives them a recruiting tool to employ skilled workers. 

Public-private partnerships in TVET can be identified as a formal relationship with shared responsibilities between public and private sector actors. It can be done in cooperation to achieve mutual goals that may take the form of a joint business venture, a joint education, and training agreement, or a social partnership structured around a social agenda.” [1]

In the advancement of skills and technology in the Twenty-First Century, the demand for producing high-quality human capital is the most critical agenda for most countries. Therefore, TVET plays a role in accommodating supply and future demand of economic development, labor, and human resource needs. However, TVET will not succeed without support and motivation from its leading key players, including Government, TVET institutions, and industry.

How to do it? I found a guidebook on how to develop a public-private partnership. That is a step-by step-guidebook.

The Guidebook: IMPLEMENTATION OF PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS IN TVET [2]

Instead of looking at the guide on how to implement public-private partnership, I will turn into a case where this kind of partnership has existed for decades. 

Building partnership Photo: Adobe Stock

An example of a way of building a partnership

Our example is TVET in Norway. There is a partnership between education and training authorities, social partners, and Educational Institutions. 

We will give an overview of the TVET structure of Norway. This will make it possible to understand the cooperation between the stakeholders. 

The authorities at the national level (The Ministry of Education and the Directorate for Education and Training) are responsible for the curriculum/ subject syllabus, the TVET structure, and the acts. The authorities at the county level are responsible for the school. They are responsible for the TVET dimensioning, and for dispensing the TVET financing.

Education and training are conducted both in schools and in enterprises. Public and private enterprises provide training for apprentices. 

TVET in Norway is on the Upper secondary level and lasts four years. The primary model is a two plus two model. That means two years in a training institution and two years apprenticeship in an enterprise.

Norway has a TVET system built upon the tripartite cooperation principle. A system of cooperation, mandated by the Education Act, is established both at the national and regional level, involving both employers’ and workers’ unions. We will show how they organize the partnership.

The National Council for Vocational Education and Training (SRY)

The National Council for Vocational Education and Training (Samarbeidsrådet for yrkesopplæring (SRY)) advises on an overarching level. 

SRY is a national advisory board. SRY shall provide the Ministry with advice and take initiatives to promote TVET and vocational training. The council has the overall responsibility and strategic perspective based on relevant working life competence. SRY is a forum for dialogue between the Ministry, the parties in working life, the student and teacher organizations, and the school owner. They meet six times a year.

The leading roles of SRY are: 

-work to promote vocational subjects and improve access to apprenticeships

– contribute to the development of TVET, including career guidance, so that it meets the needs of individuals, companies, and society for competence

– contribute to cooperation between relevant actors for vocational education and training nationally, regionally, and locally, as well as between industries and sectors

– provide advice on the role of TVET in the overall education and competence policy

– take the initiative for research and innovation in vocational education and training

– have an active role in international cooperation to develop TVET

Vocational Training Councils

Vocational Training Councils (Faglige råd) advise on training in specific trades groups, one for each VET program. There are ten Vocational Training Councils. 

There is a council for each of the ten programs for TVET.

The councils must:

-contribute to good knowledge about the education program

-be a link between the authorities and the parties and contribute to the mutual flow of information and competence transfer

-follow the search, implementation, and valuation in working life for the subjects and promote proposals that can contribute to the development of the educations

-identify changes in competence needs in working life and submit proposals for changes in the curricula and the structure

– provide advice to the education authorities in the development and management of the educations

– propose members to curriculum groups and national appeals boards and experts to the scheme

The County Vocational Training Board

The County Vocational Training Board (Yrkesopplæringsnemnda) advises on quality, career guidance, regional development, and the provision in the county to meet local labor market needs.

There is a County Vocational Training Board in each county. This is the link between the regional authorities and the industry locally.

The Vocational Training Board shall 

-Work for the best possible dimensioning of the upper secondary education and advise the county municipality.

-Work to ensure that the advice on TVET is as good as possible, and propose measures where it deems necessary.

-Provide advice on how TVET development and interaction between schools and companies can contribute to regional development, including new activities and workplaces.

The trade-specific Examination Boards

The trade-specific Examination Boards (Prøvenemnder) are situated in each county.

The last board of partnership between education, social partners, and Educational Institutions we shall look at, is the examination committee. That is a committee that is established for each end of the TVET study. The committee shall consist of at least two members with competence in the subject. 

-The examination boards carry out the final assessment in upper secondary education for pupils and apprentices who take a trade or journeyman’s examination.

-The vocational committees can give the county municipality advice on questions about the approval of apprenticeships, the content, and the organization of training. Upon request, give advice regarding test stations and projects for specialization and more.

This was a brief view into a case where the public and private sectors cooperate to develop TVET where the aim is to bridge the skills gap.  

Summing up

In this presentation, we have looked into the idea of a partnership to develop TVET. This partnership can reduce the skills gap in the construction, transportation, energy, and education sectors. 

  • First, we looked into some essential requirements for developing an effective TVET system.
  • Second, we highlighted the partnership of the industry, the educational organizations, and the Government for developing TVET to bridging the skills gap.
  • Third, we have presented a case of how it is possible to organize a partnership to develop TVET.

References

  [1] Kruss, Glenda “Synthetic analysis on the skills development and economic responsiveness role of education and training institutions in South Africa: TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP STRATEGY FOR SKILLS DEVELOPMENT IN THE TVET COLLEGE SYSTEM” LMIP PROJECT, September 2017.

[2] Guidebook: IMPLEMENTATION OF PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS IN TVET Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) And Bangladesh Skills for Employment and Productivity (B-SEP) Project, International Labour Organization (ILO) JUNE 2019


Lucubrate Magazine October 2021

The picture on the top of the article “A tourist man walking on the old and broken wood bridge by PiyawatNandeenoparit


TVET

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Karl Skaar
Mr. Karl Skaar

He is a highly successful professional with a high degree of entrepreneurial flair.

Roles:
- Responsible editor and publisher of the Lucubrate Magazine, Global
- Project Manager of the Lucubrate Project, Global
- Chairman of the Board of Directors of Norsk Kompetansebygging AS, Norway
- Chairman of the Board of Directors of Nobel Knowledge Building, Uganda

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1 Comment

  1. It’s good to trainer more youth but to think again about the capital for starting create his or her own work , they need machine and other tools for help

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