Issue 6

The Greening of Technical and Vocational Education and Training

Editorial Issue 6: The Greening of Technical and Vocational Education and Training

by Thomas Schröder, Margarita Pavlova, Numyoot Songthanapitak, Zhiqun Zhao

Full issue 6
The importance of building ecologically sound economies (greening) in order to address climate change and other pressing environmental issues is widely acknowledged by governments around the world. A notable example is the recently held 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris/France where 195 countries adopted the first universal climate change agreement. Although the outcome of the conference, the Paris Agreement, requires ratification by national governments, it demonstrates the strong will of the attending nations to address the pressing issue of climate change, to adopt the outcomes to their own legal systems and to sign the agreement.

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About TVET@Asia

TVET@Asia is an open content online journal for scientists and practitioners in the field of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and Vocational Teacher Education (VTE) in the East and Southeast- Asian region.

Its main purpose is to provide access to peer reviewed papers and thus to enhance the dissemination of relevant content and the initiation of open discussions within the TVET community.

Learn more about TVET@Asia

Regional overview: What is the government’s role in greening TVET?

by Margarita Pavlova

The transition to low-carbon economies that address climate change and reduce the environmental impact of development is a pressing issue for governments in Asia. Ambitious targets set by many countries in the region require the implementation of specific measures to ensure environmentally sustainable economic growth. The greening of jobs and the development of necessary skills are essential requirements for successful green transitions. This article analyses various drivers that impact upon the greening of skills in the region. It refers to several studies conducted by the author that examine current practices. The article also identifies five enabling factors that should be systematically addressed for the greening of technical and vocational education and training(TVET).

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A survey report on Greening in Higher TVET in China

by Fan Dayue (David)

Sustainable development and greening are important developing trends highlighted as a global awareness among the member countries in the Shanghai Consensus of the 3rd International Congress on TVET—Transforming TVET: Building skills for work and life 2012. Together with the efforts of the international world, UNESCO UNEVOC International (Bonn) carried out a research project titled “Greening TVET & Skills in Asia Pacific Region”. As one of the UNEVOC Centres, Shenzhen Polytechnic (SZPT, one of the best higher TVET colleges in China) participated the research by carrying out a questionnaire survey and a preliminary analysis of the collected data and desk research results in 3 polytechnics in Guangdong Province.

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Green Skills in Vocational Teacher Education – a model of pedagogical competence for a world of sustainable development

by Phuong Chi Diep, Martin Hartmann | Issue 6

The reform of TVET systems all over the world as well as in Asia is an essential request in a time of fast-change and sustainable development. Securing quality in vocational teacher education plays an important role in achieving the supply of adequately skilled workers in this context. To make sure that vocational teachers have the necessary competencies to fulfil the requirement in the new era and to facilitate the process of vocational teacher education, the professional profile of vocational teaching profession needs to be reviewed and consolidated. On the basis of literature review and considering features of “the greening of technical and vocational education and training”, we propose a model of pedagogical competence of vocational teacher in the context of sustainable development.

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Generic Green Skills: Industry and perspectives on technical education and vocational training (TVET)

by Hamid Zolkifli, Yusri Kamin, Azlan Bin Abdul Latib, Yahya Buntat, Zubaida Awang | Issue 6

The development of green technology has intensified in the early 21st century as evident by the increasing attention given to it by governments and industries. This development requires more employees who possess generic green skills. Questions on what generic green skills are, is still unclear and needs further investigation. This qualitative study explored the perspective of employers and academicians about the meaning of generic green skills. Interviews with ten personnel (three from industries currently involved in green practices and seven academicians from the Department of Technical and Engineering Education, Faculty of Education, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia were conducted from January to May 2015. Results indicate that employers and academicians are fully aware of the importance of environmental sustainability. Although some were found to be ignorant about the term generic green skills, they showed an inclination towards referring to generic green skills as green practices.

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Re-thinking greening TVET for traditional industries in Asia – the integration of a less-skilled labour force into green supply chains

by Katharina Baumgarten, Stephan Kunz | Issue 6

This article proposes a change of perspective on TVET in Asia in the context of the current discourse on sustainable development and the greening of economies in the region. It picks up on the debate around the greening of TVET, taking a closer look at the challenges faced by two countries: the Philippines and Vietnam. A necessary repositioning of TVET, and especially the greening of TVET, is suggested through an exploration of agriculture and manufacturing–two industries that traditionally account for most of the labour force in Asia and which, at the same time, are among the biggest environmental polluters. We highlight the need for non-formal, on-the-job training in the plant and in the field and for the inclusion of traditional industries, the main polluters, in the discussion on the greening of industries. A case is made for a practical, non-academic approach to training that closely links the demands of the market with the non-formal learning needs of ordinary workers and farmers. Based on best-practices, this article introduces the concept of an integrated service called “WeTrace” that contributes to the greening of TVET through a hands-on, field-based approach.

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New approaches to engineering education in the wind power sector in northern Germany

by Joachim Dittrich, Sandra Peters-Erjawetz, Uta Kühne, Telsche Nielsen-Lange

Wind power is a dynamically developing sector in Germany, fuelled by the need to combat climate change and by the German government’s decision to shut down all nuclear power plants following the 2011 Fukushima disaster. The sector needs an appropriately educated and trained workforce, both at the skilled workers’ and the academic (engineering) levels. At the same time there is a shortage of well-educated engineers on the German labour market. Together with political initiatives for “advancement through education” and for enhancing the permeability between vocational and higher education this has encouraged the University of Applied Sciences in Bremerhaven in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology to embark on the development of a Bachelor program in wind power technology.

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The Greening of Canada’s College Curriculum. A Pan-Canadian Survey

by Helen Knibb, Chris Paci

Canada’s colleges are adept at developing new skills training and educational programs to meet changing labour market needs. The challenge of responding to a greening economy, environmental sustainability and climate change and mitigation is different. In this, colleges face the prospect of systemic transformation of education and training programs, with limited market intelligence, and an increasing sense of urgency. This paper explores how colleges are leading and responding; with examples of new programs and program modifications, curriculum innovation, new strategies for teaching and learning, new types of partnership and a vigorous applied research agenda. Advancing Knibb’s frameworks we identify three phases of development that characterize curriculum greening in Canada’s colleges and institutes; some strategies for curriculum adaptation; propose a typology approach that can be used to help manage the curriculum transformation process, and suggest some systems level changes that would facilitate curriculum greening.

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Empowering green education in TVET through international project-based online competitions

by Michael Zelin | Issue 6

Online competitions for the best projects related to Green is one way to spark students’ interest in ecologically friendly production and incorporate green TVET in curricula. This paper reviews foundation, implementation, and a pilot trial at the community college level of a free educational platform combining crowdsourcing, crowdfunding, and crowdgaming designed to conduct online student competitions. Students can showcase their projects online (crowdsourcing), collaborate, comment, offer improvements, and rate posted projects (peer rating). Such project based learning can be combined with service learning: links of non-profit organizations and their sponsors are added to student pages. The system enables students to create free galleries (e-portfolios) with sub-galleries on various topics, including Green. Various crowdfunding mechanisms including donations and sponsorship can provide support for the competitions. Elements of serious (educational) Reality Role Playing Game can be incorporated to enhance student involvement in learning. The system can be adapted to any language, level, and TVET topics. The competitions can be run on a level of one class, school, or multiple school partners. Competitions involving international partners have a great potential to engage students in learning the best environmentally safe and prudent processes.

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Embedding sustainability in the practice of trainee entrants to the Hairdressing industry

by Nic Robinson, Denise Baden | Issue 6

There is currently little consideration of the environmental impact of practices within the hair and beauty sector. However, Hairdressers have the ability to build sustainable practises into the commercial operation of salons and to introduce sustainable practise to their clients.

In this project, awareness of sustainable practise has been built into the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) opportunities for Hairdressing tutors provided by UK awarding organisations. The project was conducted by Southampton University and funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ERSC) and Vocational Training Charitable Trust (VTCT).

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