THE Philippines has led the creation of the blueprint for technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in Southeast Asia with the development of the Asean TVET Council (ATC) Work Plan.
Through the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda), the country hosted the virtual meeting of Asean member-states and their respective ministries of education, labor, and trade/industry, together with the Asean Confederation of Employers, Asean Future Workforce Council, Asean Trade Union Council, and the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Secretariat.
Tesda Secretary Isidro S. Lapeña, who also serves as the inaugural ATC chair, welcomed the ATC focal points from the region and opened the workshop.
“Let us provide one another with insights on how we, the Asean TVET Council, can help our labor force recover from the pandemic and ultimately, ensure their resilience in this continuously changing world of work,” Lapeña said.
The two-day workshop centered on revisiting and agreeing on the structure and components of the draft work plan via comprehensive talks among all the ATC focal points and stakeholders.
The council concluded the online session as it came up with a more concrete plan in terms of the priority programs it will pursue in the ATC. It also identified areas of strategic links and cooperation with external partners and sectoral bodies.
The Tesda secretary is positive the council has attained the main objective of the workshop, which is to come up with a work plan. According to him, it will serve as a guide on ways to implement strategies and other innovations empowering the labor force, while further enhancing TVET in the region.
“This workshop is a testament of our strong commitment and partnership in achieving our shared goal of advancing the Asean TVET systems that will contribute to the competitiveness, productivity and resilience of the Asean work force,” the Tesda chief said.
The Asean delegates were joined by dialogue partners from Australia, Germany, Republic of Korea, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, as well as development partners from the International Labour Organization, International Organization for Migration, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization or UNESCO, Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization-Regional Centre for Vocational and Technical Education and Training or SEAMEO-VOCTECH, and Regional Cooperation in Technical and Vocational Education and Training for ASEAN or RECOTVET.
Backed by Asean secretariat and experts, intersession discussions will continue to finalize the work plan at the ATC level. It will then be endorsed to relevant Asean sectoral bodies for approval, and finally noted at the upcoming Asean Summit in October.
Being a multisectoral/cross-sectoral body, the ATC provides a platform for coordination, research and development on innovations, and monitoring of regional programs supporting the advancement of TVET in the region.
On March 10, Lapeña convened members of the ATC for the first time. Their meeting focused on the selection of the council’s vice chair, discussion of the rules of procedure, and the presentation of the zero-draft ATC work plan. The two-day workshop, on the other hand, has realized the development and detailing of initiatives and collaboration areas as part of the work plan development process.
The creation of the ATC was initiated by Tesda’s Policies and Planning Cluster in 2017, and was approved at the 36th Asean Summit in June 2020. The Philippines is the chair of the ATC until 2022, with Singapore as vice chair.