Creating interest in technical and vocational education
Friday, 5 November 2010
Mahmudur Rahman
One of the most looked-forward to aspects of education is the study tour albeit for the wrong reasons. Nine times out of ten these tours don't have a specific plan behind them or a follow up and are relegated to a sight-seeing tour more than anything else. And in most cases students fortunate enough to get a first hand view of sophisticated industries aren't given a proper perspective. Had this so been, maybe the interest in Technical and Vocational Education and Training would not have been as defused as it is today.
Students in business schools and universities have their courses planned out but are rarely given the real picture. For example, according to a study conducted by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) skilled workers make up nearly 60% of workforce in industries whereas only 10.72% are professional staff. That by itself should be an indicator as students plan for their futures because there's no doubt that educational institutions running these high-profile courses obviously haven't worked out the balance between white and blue collar job requirements for the future.
What youngsters and in fact most of the labour force are also not aware of is the fact that information technology (IT), agro-food processing, transport equipment and furniture sectors provide for the most skill intense areas and these are considered highly in terms of future prospects. Word of mouth and intense media hype have led to the ready-made garments sector being identified as the place of employment mainly because of the size and vastness. The same could probably shift the focus and attention to the new thrust sectors.
The opportunities in the IT sector relate to web developers, desk top publishers and software engineers. In ceramics the need is for mechanical engineers, technicians, and production operators, among others. The transport equipment sector urgently requires welders, pipe fitters, marine machinists and ship fabricators. And the furniture sector is constantly on the look-out for lacquer painters, carpenters, plastic furniture operators and upholsterers. How many organisations offer education and training in such professions is a matter to ponder over. The biggest potential comes from the agro-food processing sector since it can be rural based and provide significant value addition if properly addressed. This could also be a key sector in preventing migration to the cities as well as providing employment opportunities.
Then there's the issue of recognised training certification. How does the IT industry trust the qualifications presented? Can the ceramics sector depend on technicians who profess a local certification? Does the welder required by the transport equipment sector have a certification that relates to the modern use of technology? Questions to these were key in preparation of the National Skills Development Policy that the government is now mulling over .The policy was developed under the government's Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) reform project is supported by the European Union (EU). Importantly, the project also involves development of new competency based courses suited to specific industry demand and certification under a proposed qualification scheme the National Technical and Vocational Qualification Framework (NTVQF). The answers to the above questions will soon be yes.
The NTVQF is robust and flexible in that it provides for recognition of prior learning i.e. skills gained through work, allow for pre-vocational training as well and also have the provision of updation of skills for the workforce from time to time.
In developing this framework, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) also went deep into the training needs of the thrust sectors and some of the findings truly were surprising.
Productivity Improvement and Management Development featured high on the training requirement curve with Supervision Development a, close third. Not so surprising was that Strategic Planning and Workplace Safety didn't feature that highly, suggestive that the educational learnings are being implemented to some degree.
One of the features of the policy is establishing a NTVQF that would be acceptable certification not only locally but also overseas. So the day may not be that far off when a welder plying his trade in Bangladesh can ease in to a job in another country based on the certification and the knowledge that his competencies were up to date. [e-mail : mahmudrahman@gmail.com]
One of the most looked-forward to aspects of education is the study tour albeit for the wrong reasons. Nine times out of ten these tours don't have a specific plan behind them or a follow up and are relegated to a sight-seeing tour more than anything else. And in most cases students fortunate enough to get a first hand view of sophisticated industries aren't given a proper perspective. Had this so been, maybe the interest in Technical and Vocational Education and Training would not have been as defused as it is today.
Students in business schools and universities have their courses planned out but are rarely given the real picture. For example, according to a study conducted by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) skilled workers make up nearly 60% of workforce in industries whereas only 10.72% are professional staff. That by itself should be an indicator as students plan for their futures because there's no doubt that educational institutions running these high-profile courses obviously haven't worked out the balance between white and blue collar job requirements for the future.
What youngsters and in fact most of the labour force are also not aware of is the fact that information technology (IT), agro-food processing, transport equipment and furniture sectors provide for the most skill intense areas and these are considered highly in terms of future prospects. Word of mouth and intense media hype have led to the ready-made garments sector being identified as the place of employment mainly because of the size and vastness. The same could probably shift the focus and attention to the new thrust sectors.
The opportunities in the IT sector relate to web developers, desk top publishers and software engineers. In ceramics the need is for mechanical engineers, technicians, and production operators, among others. The transport equipment sector urgently requires welders, pipe fitters, marine machinists and ship fabricators. And the furniture sector is constantly on the look-out for lacquer painters, carpenters, plastic furniture operators and upholsterers. How many organisations offer education and training in such professions is a matter to ponder over. The biggest potential comes from the agro-food processing sector since it can be rural based and provide significant value addition if properly addressed. This could also be a key sector in preventing migration to the cities as well as providing employment opportunities.
Then there's the issue of recognised training certification. How does the IT industry trust the qualifications presented? Can the ceramics sector depend on technicians who profess a local certification? Does the welder required by the transport equipment sector have a certification that relates to the modern use of technology? Questions to these were key in preparation of the National Skills Development Policy that the government is now mulling over .The policy was developed under the government's Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) reform project is supported by the European Union (EU). Importantly, the project also involves development of new competency based courses suited to specific industry demand and certification under a proposed qualification scheme the National Technical and Vocational Qualification Framework (NTVQF). The answers to the above questions will soon be yes.
The NTVQF is robust and flexible in that it provides for recognition of prior learning i.e. skills gained through work, allow for pre-vocational training as well and also have the provision of updation of skills for the workforce from time to time.
In developing this framework, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) also went deep into the training needs of the thrust sectors and some of the findings truly were surprising.
Productivity Improvement and Management Development featured high on the training requirement curve with Supervision Development a, close third. Not so surprising was that Strategic Planning and Workplace Safety didn't feature that highly, suggestive that the educational learnings are being implemented to some degree.
One of the features of the policy is establishing a NTVQF that would be acceptable certification not only locally but also overseas. So the day may not be that far off when a welder plying his trade in Bangladesh can ease in to a job in another country based on the certification and the knowledge that his competencies were up to date. [e-mail : mahmudrahman@gmail.com]