The quality of teachers determines the quality of education in general and occupational competence specifically. There is an urgent need to establish programmes that improve the professionalism of teachers. One such programme is the post-study pre-service training for prospective TVET teachers (PTP). This programme can be implemented for graduates of TVET teacher training programmes upon completion of their university course and constitutes a post-study education and training programme. It is implemented during the transition period, before prospective teachers go on to actually practice teaching as qualified teachers in vocational schools. This study will explore a variety of aspects related to vocational teacher training in Indonesia, Vietnam, China, and compared them to methods implemented already in Germany. Of these aspects to come under scrutiny are the basic conditions, the outcome of existing teacher training programmes, PTP concepts, and the PTP outcomes anticipated.  With regard to Indonesia PTP is still in the planning stage, however, in other countries it is already in the implementation stage. Collaboration by stakeholders of the pre-service training for prospective TVET teachers is also to be discussed in this paper. The empirical research in the field coupled with content analysis from a body of written document sources has resulted in various conclusions. This indicates the need for a variety of steps to be taken to improve some aspects of PTP implementation.

1 Introduction

1.1 Problem statement

The era of globalization, in which national boundaries within various sectors barely exist an longer, confronts all nations with a dichotomous phenomena in the labour market. On the one hand globalization generates a wider occupational spectrum providing individuals with broader opportunities for choosing employment. On the other hand, however, it boosts fierce competition in the very acquiring of those job opportunities. What this means for the job seeker, is that he or she must be equipped with far better qualifications to cope with this competition. Moreover, qualifications already obtained have to be updated, in a sense of its line with the demand of the labour market. In terms of educational politics, this poses a big challenge in establishing an education system that can meet the needs of the labour market, and cope with the rapid development of technology and work organization.

Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) is among the sectors of education that provides answers to the above mentioned challenges. In many developing countries TVET has become a prominent issue particularly for its importance in (1) preparing the young generation toenterworkinglifeand (2)responding to the indispensible demand of the development process, which must provide the economy with a quality work forcecommensurate with theneeds of the goodsandservices industries. As a result, the organization of vocational education – in a narrow sense – aims at developing the occupational capacity of its participants, comprising occupational, social and methodical competences. At the end of the day it is precisely those competences that constitute the employability of graduates.

One of the deciding factors in the development of occupational capacity in TVET is the availability of competent teachers. The TVET teacher plays an extremely crucial role in determining the quality of TVET outcomes. In this study, vocational education teachers are focused upon, with the emphasis on vocational education at upper secondary school level. Thus far according to reports by a number of formal bodies such as The World Bank and UNESCO-UNEVOC, we find VET teachers in developing countries, particularly those of the Southeast-Asian region, frequently do not meet the demands of the world of work. The teachers’ poor pedagogical skills make the process of know-how transfer to the student far less effective. Hence, student learning largely boils down to a passive learning process, which does little to help in the development of professional competence. This is compounded by the teacher’s lack of exposure to the latest developments industry thus the teacher’s industrial knowledge and skills remain a critical weakness as well.

In many developing countries, such as Indonesia for instance, the condition is inherent to the university-based structure and/or model of TVET teachers’ development. In the first instance the system does not require the student to have industrial experience either prior or upon entering the study programme or after graduation. During the study-process the amount of practical training in industry is more often than not quite negligible. The training is simply dominated by the intermediation of theories, of which many are long outdated due to the lack in research activities and poor programmes to continue and further the teacher-educators’ professional development within the institution. The teacher candidates knowledge and skill deficit in up-to-date developments in the world of industry seems to be nothing less than inevitable. The logical question this weakness asks is just “how TVET participants’ knowledge and skills can be updated if the capacity of their teachers is out of date?”

Given the key role of teacher quality in determining the quality of education in general and occupational competence specifically, there is an urgent need to establish programmes to improve the teacher’s professionalism. One of the programmes in question is pre-service training for prospective TVET teachers (PTP). This programme can be implemented for graduates of TVET teacher training programmes upon completion of their university studies . The programme is a post- study education and training programme, implemented during the transition period , before prospective teachers proceed to carry out their duties at vocational schools independently .

This study will explore a number of aspects of vocational teacher training, especially those related to PTP, in Indonesia, Vietnam, China, and then compared it the model of it that exists in Germany. What will be scrutinised are the concepts, basic conditions and outcome of the existing teacher training programmes.

1.2 Specific objective of the study

The study intends to map the schemes of post-study pre-service practical training programmes (PTP) for TVET teachers in the countries in question. It has been undertaken in order to contribute to the development of pre-service practical training programmes for TVET teachers. The schemes analysed in the respective countries may be existing ones or ones still in development or at the planning stage.

The study will give an overview of the existing or planned concepts in Indonesia, Vietnam and China, as well as Germany, and draw up recommendations for the development and implementation of models of post-study pre-service practical training programs for TVET teachers in Indonesia and in Vietnam. Addressees of the recommendations will not only be the institutions responsible for providing the training, but also policy-makers of the countries involved. The stakeholders are free to use the project findings for setting up the legal and/or administrative framework for such programmes.

2 Methodology

2.1 Research approach

This field research was undertaken based on a qualitative method. This methodwaschosen foritsexploratory character(seeFlick 2002, 28). Qualitative methods are particularly suited to research subjects, that have not yet been greatly investigated(ibid). Qualitativemethodscan be applied to pilotstudies and aim, among other things, to begin exploringthesubject with the intention of preparing it for further study(see Mayring2008, 21). In general, theyareusedforproblem areasnot yetadequately researchedor used in areas where mostly descriptive studies are available (Bock 1992, 90). 

The work was intendedprimarilytoprovide adescriptive representation onthe issuesand problems of the implementation of PTP in some of the partner countries involved in the Regional Cooperation Platform for Vocational Teacher Education in Asia (RCP). The objective of this workis to draw up a comparative description of strengths and weaknesses of the respective PTP concepts and their implementation based on defined analysis criteria (see 3.3.). According to the objective, the study does not try to measure the data’s quantitativesignificance, butemphasizes its relevance and usefulness.  

2.2 Data gathering method

Research is conducted based on a qualitative method. The method features three fundamental data collecting techniques: non-standard or semi-structured interviews, observations, and non-reactive method (Bortz & Döring 2002, 307). Two of the techniques are applied in the research, which are:

1. Content analysis . Content analysis was carried out by analysing existing documents and reports containing regulations, descriptions and research findings related to TVET teacher training programmes. 
2. Interview. This method was used to obtain descriptive information from PTP stake holders. The survey takes the form of semi-standardized, personal “face-to-face” and problem-centred interviews, organized both on an individual basis and in groups. For the individual interviews the guideline interview technique was used, whereas in group interviews, the group discussion technique was applied. Both interview methods were conducted according to developed guidelines.  

2.3 Data sources

The data for this study was gathered from two main sources. The first source was literature, documents, reports, handbooks, and articles, containing various information on PTP, including the regulation, concepts, curriculum, models, up to the implementation and development of PTP. The sources provided an abundance of information to be analysed and provided a deal of insight into PTP implementations. Narrative information from PTP stakeholders formed the second source. Stakeholders are representatives of governments, training institutions or universities, vocational schools and companies. By interviewing them, results from the document analyses were confronted and compared with the subjective opinions. The data collected provides a comparative view on to what extent real implementation of the concepts and regulations of PTP in the field has taken place.

2.4 Analysis framework

Field research was carried out by the partners in the respective partner countries; among which are Indonesia, China, and Vietnam. The implementation of PTP in Germany was also taken into account, but was exclusively based on document analysis. This is due to the fact that the RCP P3 project was carried out by RCP member institutions from Indonesia, China and Vietnam who did not have the resources for field research in Germany. The results of field research conducted by the partners in the respective partner countries were bundled into country reports. After which the collected reports were comparatively analysed. Based on the common discourse conducted in a workshop discussion with all country partners, the following variables were determined to be the analysis criteria:

1. TVET philosophy
2. Objective of PTP
3. Policy and Regulation (including the financing aspect)
4. Curriculum Structure
5. Parties Involved in PTP
6. Assessment and Evaluation
7. Problem and Difficulties

Furthermore, the state of the art of PTP implementation in the countries was compared. In the comparison section as well as the conclusion and recommendation section the German model and concepts were chosen as a contrast sample as the PTP system in Germany is much further developed than in Asian countries.

3 Resume of PTP schemes in Indonesia, China and Vietnam

This section resumes the various practical training programmes for vocational teachers in Indonesia, Vietnam, China and Germany respectively. The description will elaborate on the systems in the respective countries; include the TVET education system, PTP system, the basic conditions of PTP program, curriculum, financing and implementation of PTP. In the next section, the variables of PTP in each country are compared and analysed.

3.1 PTP schemes in Indonesia

There is a number of types of practical training programmes for vocational teachers in Indonesia. PTP-1 is the practical training for vocational teacher candidates and is conducted during the last semester of the university-based vocational teacher education programme. This type of a practical training programme is called Praktik Profesi Lapangan (PPL). PTP 1 already has existed for several years in Indonesian vocational teacher education. PTP-2 is actually a practical training programme conducted for in-service teachers, known as Program Pendidikan Guru Dalam Jabatan (PPG Dalam Jabatan). PTP-3 is a teacher training programme in the form of a post-study pre-service practical training programme. PTP-3 is to be introduced as PPG pra-jabatan for future vocational education teachers. This concept has beenimplementedaccording to the Decree of the Minister of Education (Permendiknas) No.8. Year2009 regarding Program PPG Pra-jabatan. PTP-3 for vocational school teachers aims at enhancing the pedagogical skills and occupational skills of the future vocational teachers to improve the quality of professional teachers (Permendiknas 8/2009). According to the legal regulation (Act No. 14/2005), the teacher must be equipped with defined competences and possess the certificate as a professional teacher (UU 14/2005). Upon completion of either the PTP-2 or the PTP-3 programme, the participants will then be awarded the professional teacher certificate. PTP-2 is already implemented, whereas the PTP-3 is still in the planning stage.

Both PTP-2 and PTP3 require theoretical training in a university that hosts vocational teacher education (Lembaga Pendidik Tenaga Kependidikan/LPTK) and internships in vocational secondary high-schools (Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan mitra). The deepening of pedagogic theory at universities is implemented by using the workshop method, requiring the active participation of the participants in the learning process. During the internship part, participants develop their practical skills by being directly involved in the learning and teaching processes. In terms of the curriculum content, in both PTP1 and PTP-2 there is a balance between theory- and practice-orientation. The curriculum structure of the programmes is clearly defined in the manuals for professional teacher trainings (Panduan Pendidikan Profesi Guru) published by the Directorate General of Higher Education (DIKTI 2010). However, implementation of the programmes in each LPTK can vary, depending on the availability of infrastructures, qualified lecturers, etc. Financing of the PTP-2 programme is provided by the government. Each year a certain budget is allocated for carrying out the programme. For the PTP-3 programme, however, there is no budget allocation as yet, forcing one to wonder if the participants are expected to bear the costs.  

3.2 PTP Schemes in China

In the China country report of the project Li (2012) informed us that there exist two sets of programmes in China, at both the provincial and school level to support TVET teacher candidates and novice teachers in their professional development. In the article the two programmes are referred to as PTP programmes. The first PTP programme targets future teachers during their university/college periods and includes a 10-week internship that takes place in the last year of the study programme. The internship is a prerequisite for graduation, and is therefore necessary to become a teacher. Later the programme is referred to as PTP1.The second set of programmes aims at those who have already gained their degrees and have just begun their service in the vocational schools. This set includes a variety of programmes taking place during the first two years of the teacher’s career, they include a probationary period of usually one year.

In terms of the curriculum content, both PTP1 and PTP-2 are strongly practice-oriented. There is no clearly defined structure of the curriculum of the programme and the participants learn mainly in an apprenticeship-style setting and on an observation-imitation basis. In terms of the participation rate, most teacher candidates and novice teachers take part in the PTP programmes. Aside from studying in the corresponding institution or being a school teacher, no special prerequisites exist for participating in the programmes. To finish the programme successfully one has to take part in the required programmes, write certain reports and accomplish a few other tasks, such as recorded a teaching session video, filling in forms, etc.

3.3 PTP Schemes in Viet Nam

Many different models of vocational teacher training curricula have been constructed and implemented with the common purpose aimed at creating occupational and pedagogical skills. Currently, there are five models of practical training programmes (2 programmes for occupational skill training, 2 programmes for pedagogical skill training, 1 programme for general practice). Aside from these 5 models that are compulsory and have already been implemented, three other models exist in the pilot phase. Compulsory programmes provide basic vocational or pedagogical skills, according to the national standard to ensure the teacher students, engineers or craftsmen are capable of implementing the tasks of a vocational teacher at a corresponding level. Pilot programmes focus on improving the occupational skills of some selected occupations to meet the national standard, the ASEAN regional standard or the international standard. In some international standard programmes, the capacity of vocational pedagogy is also taken into consideration.

The compulsory PTP models are the following:

• PTP1 occupational skill-training programme for students of universities and colleges of technical education.
• PTP-2 basic occupational skill-training programme for students of technology universities and colleges.
• PTP-3 vocational pedagogical training programme for students of technical education universities/colleges following the concurrent training scheme planning to become vocational teachers at vocational colleges and vocational secondary schools.
• PTP4 vocational pedagogical training programme aimed at skilled workers and artisans to become trainers.
• PTP5 probation programme for novice teachers at vocational colleges and vocational secondary schools.

Under the Scheme “Vocational training reform and development period 2011 – 2020”, the following PTP models are being piloted by the General Directorate for Vocational Training:

• PTP6 an occupational skill-training programme to standardize occupational practical skills at a national level for vocational teachers that graduated from technical education institutions, but have not yet met the national standards.
• PTP7 is an occupational skill-training programme to standardize occupational practical skills at national level for vocational teachers who graduated from other technology universities and colleges, but did not meet national standards.
• PTP8 is an occupational skill-training programme to standardize occupational skills at ASEAN regional or international levels for vocational teachers who teach key training occupations at regional and international levels.

Trainees participating in these programmes will be evaluated differently according to the different programmes. The popular way to assess compulsory programmes (except practical programmes) is for the trainees to be given scores after having taken a subject, and taking an exam at the end of the programme. Upon completion of the programme, trainees are then issued certificates that are valid nationwide. In pilot programmes, the evaluation will be based on occupational skill standards.

Aside from assessing the learning outcomes of trainees, assessment or evaluation of the implementation of the programmes has not been implemented. Hence, no official report on the advantages and disadvantages of the different programmes exists. Nonetheless, a few major problems are patently clear. Most significantly is the lack of qualified lecturers/trainers (in terms of both professional and pedagogical capacity) to implement these programmes. Furthermore, due to the large demand for these training programmes, the number of trainees is so enormous that facilities are not sufficient for practical training. The curricula are over-detailed and inflexible in terms of time and duration. Insufficient finance further adds to the difficulties encountered in putting the desired outcomes into effect.

4 Comparison

In accordance with the variables of the analysis framework, the following table represents parts of the comparison of PTP systems implemented in the countries taken from the analysis of the compiled reports of partner countries and the discussions in the workshop.

Table 1: Comparison of PTP systems in the respective countries

5 Results

This section interprets comparative analysis results of the country reports and complements the analytical part of the study. Several aspects outlining weaknesses of PTP implementation in the partner countries are highlighted to provide a general insight into issues that should be improved or re-oriented. What is referred to in the German implementation cannot be fully implemented, but will furnish references to these results and recommendation.

5.1 Basic (mis-)conception of TVET

Vocational education systems in developing countries such as Indonesia and Vietnam still indicate a wide philosophical gap between their basic objectives as skill developers and the demand of the world of work where skills have to be operational and productive. In view of the fact that, among other things, vocational education explicitly aims to ensure access to continuing education, this can be thought of as both positive and negative.

The positive view posits the TVET system offers its participants the choice between two options for their future carrier, that is to say either entering the world of work straight away and cashing in on their working skills or continuing on into higher education. The negative view emphasizes on the one hand, the system does not put enough emphasis on developing work-skills, and on the other provides no guarantee the graduates’ skills will be utilized in the economic sector. The second perspective appears more plausible than the first, given that the graduates of the particularly formal vocational schools in developing countries continue to be marginalized, in as much as their qualifications remain poorly recognized by society.

The integration of education continuation as the basic purpose of vocational education implies the curriculum must be so designed that vocational students are exposed to a broader range of learning content. The students have to be equipped with both working-skill and academic skills enabling them to compete with their peers from general schools, as they attempt to gain entry into higher education. Consequently, the learning capacity of the participants becomes overloaded. As witnessed by an example of vocational education in Indonesia, during 3 years education in vocational school, participants must accomplish a learning load of up to 5,800 hours. This is in excess of the work load required by a polytechnic student for the same 3 year period. At the end students tend to lose their learning focus in both domains and they neither master occupational competence nor the academic contents of the curriculum. Hence, many of them are becoming losers in this competition, both in the industry and higher education sector. TVET graduates have no significant participation rate in higher education. In the labour market, most experience no privileges, in the sense that they are employed in the same job position as their peers from general schools and despite the difference in working competences, earn the same payment.

5.2 General shortcomings of the current PTP concept

Implementing post study pre-service training programmes (PTP) for vocational teachers, to improve teacher professionalism, is one of the strategic steps to be taken to improve the situation of TVET outcome as the availability of qualified teachers is so decisive for the development of the competences of vocational education outcome. The content and mode of implementation and – it appears – the specific objective, however, differs from one country to the other.

There is a pronounced difference in PTP implementation when comparing China and Vietnam. Over the six months duration, the Vietnamese PTP seems to consider the importance of the practical part of the programme very poorly. The whole programme sets out to impart the theoretical knowledge of pedagogy to its participants, who obviously have no pedagogical background, as the programme’s target group is graduates from general universities or college. At the moment a PTP designed for educational university graduates is not envisioned.

By contrast with Vietnam, Chinese PTP is extremely practice-oriented. The two years of training seem to be quite adequate for developing the skills of its participants. However, PTP in China is less formal, in that it has no clear curricular structure and thus it is not clear, whether the focus lies on imparting teaching practice or practical occupational competence, or both.

Indonesia’s one year programme is under development, but current discussions are focusing on the provision of additional pedagogical (theoretical) knowledge and teaching practice, and there is concern the development of (practical) vocational knowledge, skills and experiences are neglected.

The well-structured 18 month programme in Germany focuses on generating practical experiences in applying (theoretical) pedagogical and didactical knowledge to vocational learning. The less acute emphasis on vocational knowledge and skills is not as problematic, for most future teachers in Germany have already garnered comprehensive work experiences before entering a TVET teacher study programme.

By the comparison of the models this section attempts to emphasize the necessity to develop practical teacher skills and the need for a clear structured teacher training programme curriculum. In the absence of any or with only poor practice the expediency and the effectiveness of a training programme would be highly questionable. Practice is the best inquiry method of learning. Along with cognitive competences the practical competences shape a vocational teacher’s professionalism as a whole. 

5.3 Lack of industry involvement in PTP

The PTP concept in most countries is solely designed to develop the pedagogical competences of the prospective teacher. The concepts given do not take into account the need for industrial skills. As vocational teachers work on evolving their students working skills that must meet the standards and demands of industry, insight into industrial development and industrial skills are imperative for teachers. This means that teachers should at least have good and up-to-date knowledge on the current technology and its applications as well as the work processes and work organization in companies. To this end there is a real need to include and use learning opportunities provided by companies in the PTP. However, no government regulation exists strong enough to compel the industry sector to participate in or contribute to education development,and in particular the development of vocational education.

Cooperation with this sector could be developed in various forms. China is the only country to involve industry so far. Selected companies have been involved in the programme by sending their experts to vocational schools where novice teachers are training and deliver lectures or seminars on distinctive topics regarding their industrial expertise. However, the PTP in China does not include companies as a venue of the training process. So far, mainly vocational schools and universities or colleges are the institutions involved in the training process.

5.4 Lack of regulation

The organization of teacher education including PTP is apparently complex, as several institutions, to ensure quality assurance, should be involved for synergy in the training process. Government, educational institutions, vocational schools and companies should work together and cooperate collaboratively to reach the goal. The ideal constellation among those parties is impossible to be set, if no ruling regulates the role, functions, responsibility, rights and obligations of the respective parties.

According to the analysis, the lack of holistic regulations as mentioned above is among the factors constraining implementation of PTP and attaining the goal of enhancing teacher professionalism. Save in Germany, all other partner countries tend to not enact such regulation. In the absence of standard regulation, many aspects of the PTP implementation, such as training duration, content, models and curriculum may differ from one training institution to another. As a result, the lack of standard is attached to the absence of a quality standard and thereupon the poor mobility of the trained teachers.

5.5 Training assessment and poor programme evaluation

There are a variety of schemes and methods used to assess the pre-service training programme. The methods cover the assessment in the initial phase up to the end of the programme. However, to what extent the applied methods are effective in improving output quality remains an unanswered question. Further research appears to be called for here.

One thing which appears common to all Asian countries is the fact, that there exist no external assessment procedures of the training output. In the case of Indonesia, according to the regulation, external assessors ought to be involved. However, in the actual implementation there is hardly any difference compared to the other countries. All training is undertaken internally or by the training institution itself, and also assessed internally. Theoretically, this setting suggests the subjectivity grade of the assessment could be high, caused by the emotional proximity between participant and assessor and even a culture of corruption and bribery in some countries thus totally compromising the quality of learning outcome.

Moreover it appears common in Asian countries that no provisions exist for the evaluation of programme implementation. The quality and effectiveness of design, duration, content and infrastructure of the programmes and the personnel in charge are not or have not yet been evaluated. In developing countries the lack of programme evaluation is not considered to be critical, as in these countries the educational programme development policies are usually stipulated in top-down management, that is to say – from the government to the implementing institution. Periodical evaluation procedures incur extra expenditure, which in many cases is not considered as investment in progress. This perception makes it extremely difficult to carry out evaluation. No evaluation results in no transparency of quality and effectiveness, and frequently no systematic quality development.

5.6 Conclusions

Based on the comparative analysis of the country reports and the results described in the previous section, conclusions can be drawn as follows:

• The existence of PTP programmes to improve the professionalism and competence of vocational teachers is crucial in preparing prospective teachers before they begin their teaching careers in vocational schools.
• The development of practical skills should be one of the main objectives of the PTP. Hence prospective teachers can put their pedagogical theory into practice and gain introduction to the world of work.
• PTP has been implemented in most of the partner countries in various modes regarding duration, addressees, model, curriculum structure and institutions. In terms of theory-practice ratio, the Vietnamese PTP demonstrates a practice deficiency, whereas in the Chinese model the practice aspect is far more emphasized. Nonetheless, the Chinese training is not clearly structured.
• In most countries save China, the industry sector is excluded from the implementation of PTP, even though this sector is of the most important stake-holders of TVET output.
• None of the Asian partner countries has specific laws at a national level governing this type of teacher training, especially for vocational teacher training. As a result the assurance of a quality standard becomes difficult to establish.
• There is a need for the implemented PTP to be regularly evaluated. As stated in all reports, none of the countries is applying a mechanism of programme evaluation, suitable for measuring the usefulness and appropriateness of the PTP.
• Due to differences in several factors, the implementation of PTP in the partner countries displays different characters and problems, in each country the problematic issues must be tackled individually.

6 Recommendations

The empirical research carried outin the field here, coupledwithcontent analysisfromvariouswrittendocumentsources has resulted invariousconclusionsindicating theneed fora variety of steps to improvesomeaspects of thePTP implementation.

1. Empirical research as a basis for programme development

The first aspect relates to policy measures regarding teachertrainingprovisionwhich in most developing countries is largely dominatedby the governmentin setting the rules for professionalteacher formationprogrammes. It is frequently the case, especiallyindeveloping countries, thatprofessional teacherdevelopmentprogrammes arecreated andimplemented “politically”. This means thatprogrammes orpolicies often are madeignoring thereal needsin the field and the applied strategiesas a result do not appropriately and/or sufficiently supporttheimprovement ofteacherprofessionalism.

Based on the findings the study recommends conducting empirical studies on the training demands of novice teachers. Field research should be able to identify various factors concerning the actual state of teachers’ professionalism, including its strengths and weaknesses, and highlight the issues that call for immediate improvement. Knowledge of professionalization needs enables the development of PTP to be better targeted, more effective and more efficient.

2. Emphasis on the complete job profile

The second pointhighlights the problem ofteacherprofessionalismregardingoccupationalskills. As teachers in vocational schools have distinctive and broad professional profiles, and bear the task of preparing youth to enter the world of work – they must work on developing their students working skills. As a consequence mastery of the occupational skills of their own teaching field cannotbeseparatedfrom theirprofessionalism. The skills mentioned hereare skills that suit the industries’ needs regarding production and technological development. Nevertheless the focus on the development of occupational skills should not be at the expense of developing pedagogicskills. Occupational competence that is not coupledwithpedagogical and didactical competence is insufficient for appropriately shaping processes ofknowledgetransfer. Hence, boththeseskillsshouldbe developedin tandem -in theoryand in practice.

To meet these kinds of demands it is imperative the implementation of PTP not only emphasizes the enhancement of pedagogicalskills, but alsointegratesaspects ofthe development of occupational skillsinto thecurriculum.

3. Emphasis on cooperation between stakeholders

Such demands usually cannot bemet by theinstitutionorganizingthe PTP alone as asingleplayer, butrequires thesynergyof cooperationwiththeindustry sector as user of the vocational education outcome. The industry should be included and actively engage in the development of some phases of the programme, in line with the capacity of the industry; an example here could be the development of a collaboration-model facilitating the development of occupational skill in the PTP framework .The partnershipwithindustryshould becarried outintensivelyandsimultaneously within the programme. This means, industry does notonlyplay a role in delivering working expertise during learning processes in class, buttheyprovide accesstotheirworldofwork as well. Hence, vocational teachers could always have the opportunity to continually update their technical know-how.

In many developing countries the development of partnerships with the industry sector in an active way faces a common obstacle . Most companies retain the view that cooperation with educational institutions constitutes a burden for companies due to the expectation, that the company partner should provide extra service for the know-how transfer process to the trainees . To overcome this situation, companies could be offered attractive incentives or the PTP concept could be designed in such a way that they receive good return from the partnership with their educational counterparts. For this purpose the institution implementing the PTP, such as universities should actively approach companies and lure them by e.g. proposing certain schemes of cooperation, beneficial to both parties. Exchange of expertise, joint research or specific services in human resource development provide feasible examples for this purpose.

Furthermore, as governments are the main actors and regulators of the implementation of PTP, it is recommended that they too actively move to facilitate the cooperation between the parties. This, for example, could be achieved by enacting certain regulations to boost the development of partnerships between enterprises and PTP Institutions. Tax deduction or/and financial support for industrial experts involved in the PTP (like implemented in China) could also be effective tools.

4. Independent institutions for the implementation of PTP

The next point to be highlighted in this section is the institutional aspect of PTP implementation. According to the results of the study presented in the previous section, it is clear that universities play a dominant role in the delivery of PTP in Asia. A large amount of prospective teachers see this domination as a repetition of their learning process. They attend both their academic study programme in the educational field and their teacher training as preparation prior to teaching in vocational schools at the same institution, often under the same lecturers. Hence a number of aspects, such as the organizational style, the training personnel, those in charge, including the learning content, tend to remain the same.

The centralized implementation of PTP by universities would not be problematic matter as long as certain mechanisms of quality assurance are in place. But therealityin the field seems to be different. Findings in Indonesia for instance show that suchdominance cannot yield significant improvementin thequality oftrainingoutput, as universitiestendtoapply the same learning modelandcontent, already imparted to the student during university studies.To repairthis, it is recommended that thePTP is undertakenbyindependentinstitutionsoutsidethe universityenvironment.

Compared to university entities, which must abide by university rules and regulations, independent teacher training institutions could be more flexible, as their independent management can provide more leeway for different innovations. In terms ofhuman resources they could be more open for expertswith differentinstitutionalbackgrounds, i.e. experts from higher education and industry and vocational schools to join and to run the programme. Nonetheless, it must be assured that these independent training institutions are authentically instrumenting innovation and change. The system should offer a mechanism, that canaccommodate newpotentials with the capacity and capability of providing more professional trainers withinthe framework ofcontinuing quality assurance procedures.

5. Implement practical elements already in the first phase of TVET teacher education

The following recommendation refers to the PTP curriculum. PTPshouldbe integratedinto thecurriculum ofteacher educationas early as possible. In the early stages of teacher education, for instance, at bachelor level in universities, some kind of PTP can be implemented in a complementary way, perhaps even in tandem. This is crucial, given the purpose of the PTP, which is to develop the students’ working competence in the field of teaching. Thus, the implementation of PTP with teaching practice emphasis permits students an introduction into the world of work far earlier. Hence, at the end of the study programme students would be better prepared and able to cope with the job tasks in the work place. With the implementation of PTP curriculum oriented towards practice, the development of participants’ teaching skills would be far better supported.

6. Quality development culture and formative programme evaluation

Given the importance ofPTPin developingparticipants’competence, PTPshould be designed to be dynamicandprogressive; dynamic in the sense of the programme’s openness to any constructive changes and progressive in the terms of continuous quality improvement of PTP and the ability to accommodate innovations. Programme monitoring and quality assurance procedures should be included permanently within the PTP development agenda. To this end a comprehensiveand continuing formative evaluationmechanism is required. The evaluation should not be undertaken solely whenneededto fulfil formal purposes, such as meeting accreditation requirement. But instead, such internal and external evaluation efforts should become an integral part of the institutional culture.

7. Holistic assessment procedures

There ought to be a holistic assessment to test the competence of PTP graduates. The assessment should not only focusonthe pedagogical skillsof the participants, butthe competenceprofile as awhole, in which occupationalexpertiseis alsoconsidered. The fields should be assessed in both a written and practical way, so the learner’s cognitive and motoric improvement can be documented.

8. Appropriate / sufficient resources

Last but not least, improving the PTP infrastructure is to be recommended. Theconceptsand modelsappliedin thePTPcan only produce the targeted resultsif properinfrastructures are available. For this recommendation thegoodwillof the stakeholdersof the programme, especiallythe government as a dominant actor, is imperative. The government should see that the improvement of basic conditions such as infrastructure rather than being a burden is, on the contrary, aninvestment in the future ofa better education.

Acknowledgement

This work was financially supported by GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) in the framework of the Regional Cooperation Platform for Vocational Teacher Education in Asia (RCP). The authors thank the research advisors (Dr.Eng. Agus Setiawan and Dr. Joachim Dittrich) and researchers who were involved in the project under the coordination of FPTK UPI. Among those are Dr. Jun Li, Dr. Ha Hung, Tuan Nguyen Dang, Kai-Uwe Steger, and researchers from FPTK UPI (Dr. Iwa Kuntadi, Dr. Siscka Elvyanti, Hasbullah, MT, Dr. Jaja Kustija, Dr. Ana Ismail).

References

Bock, M. (1992). Das halbstrukturierte-leitfadenorientierte Tiefeninterview. Theorie und Praxis der Methode am Beispiel von Paarinterviews. In Hoffmeyer-Zlotnik, J. H. (ed.). Analyse verbaler Daten: Über den Umgang mit qualitativen Daten. Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag, 90-109.

Bortz, J. & Döring, N. (2002). Forschungsmethoden und Evaluation für Human- und Sozialwissenschaftler. 3. Aufl. Berlin; Heidelberg; New York: Springer.

DIKTI (2010). Panduan Pendidikan Profesi Guru (Guide for professional teacher education). Jakarta: Directorate General of Higher Education, Indonesian Ministry of National Education.

Flick, U. (2002). Qualitative Forschung: Eine Einführung. München: Rowohlt.

Kurnia, D., Ilhamdaniah, Ha, X. H., Li, J., Nguyen, D. T. et al. (2012). Final report of RCP P3 project. Post-study pre-service practical training programs for TVET teacher students. Bandung: Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (unpublished).

Li, J. (2012). RCP P3 Country Report China. 2012, Shanghai: Tongji University (unpublished).

Mayring, P. (2008). Qualitative Inhaltsanalyse. Grundlagen und Techniken. Weinheim und Basel: Beltz.

Permendiknas 8/2009. Peraturan Menteri Pendidikan Nasional Republik Indonesia Nomor 8 Tahun 2009 tentang Program Pendidikan Profesi Guru Pra Jabatan (Decree of the Minister of Education of the Republic of Indonesia about Pre-Service Training of Teachers). Online: http://www.dikti.go.id/files/atur/Permen08-2009.pdf  (retrieved 23.5.2013).

UU 14-2005. Undang-Undang Nomor 14 Tahun 2005 tentang Guru dan Dosen (Act No. 14/2005 about Teachers and Lecturers). Online: http://www.dikti.go.id/files/atur/UU14-2005GuruDosen.pdf  (retrieved 23.5.2013).

Citation

Kurnia, D. & Ilhamdaniah (2013). Post study pre-service practical training programme for TVET teacher students. In: TVET@Asia, issue 1, 1-17. Online: http://www.tvet-online.asia/issue1/kurnia_ilhamdaniah_tvet1.pdf (retrieved 30.5.2013).

This paper analyses the contribution of vocational training in reducing the unemployment rate in Guam, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. All of these areas are located in the Pacific Ocean near South East Asia, with the exception of the U.S. Virgin Islands. The data in this study was pulled from the U.S. Census data in 2000 and 2010. This was a quantitative study using a logistic regression method to predict the likelihood of unemployment rate changes between 2000-2010, with the dependent variable being the change of the unemployment rate between 2000-2010 and the independent variable being the percentage of people completing vocational training. The findings show that the percentage of people in the age groups of 16-44 and 45-64 who completed vocational training correlate to declining unemployment rates. This paper illuminates the role of vocational training programs in reducing the unemployment rate in U.S. territories in the Pacific region and in the U.S. Virgin Islands. These results encourage further research that examines training in the workplace through work integrated learning, with work policies widening  access to quality vocational education and training programs.

Key words: vocational training program, unemployment rate, work-integrated learning, logistic regression

1 Introduction: Vocational Education in the U.S. Outlying States

1.1 Background

The unemployment rate soared due to declining economic conditions in the United States in 2008, with different levels of severity among regions and states. The U.S. economy entered a severe recession with eighty-two percent of the U.S. counties experiencing job losses (Hertz, Kusmin, Marré & Parker 2014). The unemployment rate is an important issue for the U.S. economy in general. After the economic recession in 2008, the U.S. economy continues to make great strides toward reducing unemployment caused by the recession.

After the global recession, the U.S. government made concerted efforts to eradicate the unemployment rate and resume growth. Improving the education sector, especially the vocational education and training, was one of the measures taken to contribute to U.S. workforce development. The U.S. government has provided various programs to create cooperation between the workforce and the training conducted by the Department of Labor, the Department of Education, and various stakeholders such as Association of Career and Technical Education. For example, the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Title I Adult provides training for dislocated worker and youth. There are six core programs under the act, namely the Adult Program, the Dislocated Worker Program, the Youth Program, the Adult Education and Literacy Program, the Wagner-Peyser Act Program and the Vocational Rehabilitation Program.

1.2 Problem Statement

1.2.1 Significance of the Problem

This study examined the relationship between the unemployment rate and education, particularly vocational (career and technical) education and training. The main purpose of this paper is to analyze the determinants of unemployment rate change by focusing on the role of education and training. 

1.2.2 Significance of the Study Area

When discussing the unemployment rate, the United State primarily focuses on the fifty states in the mainland, not on the outlying territories in the Pacific region. Only a handful of publications about this region were found pertinent; the region remains severely understudied. This study, however, focused on four outlying territories: Guam, Commonwealth Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands. Three of these territories are located the Pacific Ocean near  South East Asia except for the Virgin Islands.

This study focused on examining the contribution of vocational training in reducing the unemployment rate in outlying areas of the U.S., which are the only Census Designated Places (CDP) in the U.S. census that record the vocational training received by their population.

Because this study focused on these regions, this research contributes to the current gap in the literature about vocational education in the United States as well as the Asia Pacific Region. This study aims to shed some light on vocational training’s role in combating rising unemployment rates in these regions.

1.2.3 Research Question

The research question of this study was: “Is the unemployment rate between 2000-2010 in U.S. outlying regions affected by vocational training?” This study hypothesized that if there is a higher percentage of people of a certain population in the labor force who have completed vocational training then the unemployment rate of this population decreases. The study argues that the completion of vocational training equips participants with the occupational skills needed for employment and does, in fact, contribute to the unemployment rate.

1.3 Structure of the Paper

the method for data collection, and the data analysis method to address the relationship between dependent and independent variables. The “About Methods” section explains the logistic regression method. The “Results” section presents the statistical results of this study. The “Discussion” section summarizes and discusses the findings in relation to broader perspectives. The “Conclusion” presents the contributions, acknowledges the limitations, and proposes future avenues of research.

2  Vocational Training in the U.S. Outlying Territories in Pacific Region

2.1.1 Workforce in the U.S. Outlying States

The workforce in these U.S outlying territories is recovering from an increasing unemployment rate due to the global economic recession, all facing the downturn of the hospitality industry after 9/11. Civilian job sectors comprise of agriculture/fishing, construction, trade, manufacturing, transportation, finance, art/entertainment industry, education services, and public administration. The armed forces are a major employer since U.S. military bases are located in these islands in Pacific region. The case study areas are small islands which are relatively isolated from inland migration from other states. Except for the U.S. Virgin Islands, all of the case study areas are categorized as Pacific Islands.

2.1.2 Vocational Training in the U.S. Outlying Territories

Formal vocational education and training in the regions studied was administered by the Department of Education, the Department of Labor, and vocational training conducted by workplaces in cooperation with the Association of Career and Technical Education. For the youth preparing to enter the workforce, vocational education was offered by the secondary institutions and youth activity programs through the policies of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Title I Adult. (United States Department of Labor 2008). The core programs under the act aim at providing the population with the skills to participate in the workforce. For adult workers and those affected by the economic recession, there are adult programs, dislocated worker programs, adult education and literacy programs, and vocational rehabilitation programs.

Career networks in Guam, CNMI, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands have initiated efforts to combat unemployment through the provision of vocational training by eligible service providers (ESP). This service was provided under the WIA of 1998, which offered more ESP and a variety of vocational training in various occupational areas. Additionally, more vocational programs for adults and dislocated workers were initiated in in 2001. Other programs promote skills for youth in the form of comprehensive guidance and counselling, tutoring, and study skills training. These programs include supportive services such as leadership development opportunities. Those outlying areas, except the Virgin Islands, were aided by the Association of Career and Technical Education (ACTE). ACTE provides the labor force with professional development, leadership, and legislative advocacy. This region of ACTE serves career and technical education communities in Guam, Central North Mariana Islands, Palau, and American Samoa (Association for Career and Technical Education 2017).

2.1.3 Vocational Training and Its Impact on Employment

In the U.S., a handful of studies have examined the nexus between unemployment and vocational training.  For instance, an article published in Journal of Vocational Education Research titled “Work Experience in Adolescence” indicates that completing a secondary vocational education program can result in positive outcomes in school, including lowered dropout rates. In a working environment, such training can improve employee attitudes toward work, resulting in lower unemployment and higher pay (Mortimer 1994). Other research focuses on participation in secondary vocational education and how it positively affects the occupational experiences and work aspirations of adult workers in these programs (Stone 1988).

Previous studies show that changes in the educational attainment of the U.S. labor force affect aggregate labor market outcomes, such as the unemployment rate (Daly, Jackson & Valleta 2007). One study, published in the FRBSF Economic Review, concludes that workers with a college education face a sharper trade-off between labor market tightness and wage growth than do other educational attainment groups. Other studies point to socio-economic status as one of the factors affecting the likelihood of unemployment, indicating that lower-income adults are the least likely to be employed (Kablaoui & Paulter Jr. 1991).

Vocational education and training tailored to the needs of the labor market can affect economic productivity. Vocational education and training paths combine general skills with occupation skills to promote a smooth transition to the labor market and avoid youth unemployment (Biavaschi et al. 2012). In general, in OECD countries youth unemployment is two to four times higher than adult unemployment. Vocational training also benefits the unemployed  who are working age (Hirshleifer, McKenzie, Almeida, & Ridao-Cano 2014). However, impacts lasted only three years after training.

According to a study published in the Journal of Vocational Education Research, a workforce that receives vocational training has a higher likelihood of employment (Rojewski 1997). This study used data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988-1994, tracking individuals who have received a vocational education. Vocational track participants were more likely to be employed than those with limited or no vocational training. Adult workers who were enrolled in a vocational program were more likely to be employed full-time than other adult workers.

3 Data and Methods

This study used quantitative research using the binary regression model to examine the relationship between the unemployment rate and vocational training in various U.S. outlying territories in the Pacific and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

3.1.1 Data Sources

Data for this study was pulled from the U.S. Decennial Census data for the year of 2000 and 2010. (United States Census Bureau 2010). The year of 2000 provides the data before the U.S. economic recession (2007), while the data of 2010 demonstrates the recovery progress up until that year.

The data for calculating the unemployment rate change was collected by harnessing data on the labor force, employment rate, and unemployment rates for both years. The data gathered considered population changes and job opportunities in all industrial sectors in 2000 and 2010. Data about the number of people who completed vocational training per age group (16-24, 25-44, 45-64, >65 years old) was also gathered. Data about a population’s education attainment (high school diploma or less, associate degree or some college, and bachelor degree) was also a considered variable of education.

3.1.2 Sampling and Unit of Analysis

The geographic scope of this study was four outlying territories, which contain 98 samples (census tracts as the unit of analysis), using census data from 2000 and 2010—Guam: 38 census tracts, Virgin Islands: 26 census tracts, American Samoa: 17 census tracts, and Northern Mariana Islands: 17 census tracts. Those 98 census tracts were given a dummy code to indicate their respective region. 

3.1.3 Variables

This study defined its dependent variable as the unemployment rate change between 2000-2010. The unemployment rate was defined as the percentage of the labor force that was unemployed. To measure the unemployment rate change between 2000-2010, the unemployment rate in 2000 and 2010 was calculated for each census tract. The unemployment rate in 2010 was subtracted by the unemployment rate in 2000 to get the unemployment rate change between 2000 and 2010. For binary logistic regression, the unemployment rate was recoded to binary code (0, 1). Unemployment rate change was considered decreasing (y=1) if the unemployment rate change was a negative value.

Unemployment rate change was categorized as increasing (y=0) if the unemployment rate change was a positive value.

The independent variables were population change, job opportunity, vocational training, education attainment, the categorical variable of census tract location (urban=0 and rural=1), and the categorical dummy variables. Among the major factors affecting unemployment rate were population growth and labor force growth. All percentage job opportunities in all sectors were summed for each year (2000 and 2010), then the delta between those years was taken as a variable of job opportunity change. These factors were incorporated in this study as additional variables affecting unemployment rate change. Populations participating in vocational training were monitored in the case study areas, and their status of completion was recorded in census data. This data was also considered an independent variable.

Table 1:                  Description of variables

3.1.4 Logistics Regression Method: Binary Logit

The logistic regression method was used as a tool of analysis. The dependent variable was a binary choice; either unemployment rate change equals to 1 (URC decrease) or 0 (URC increase). The binary logit mathematical equation can be expressed as log of the odds (equation 2) or the ratio of the odds. The formula of log odds and odds ratio can also be converted to find the probability of unemployment rate decline, y=1 (equation 3).

Where xi is a vector of covariates and β is a vector of regression coefficients. This formula of log odds and odds ratio can also be converted to find the probability of unemployment rate decline (y=1).

Where xi is a vector of covariates, β is a vector of regression coefficients, and Y is the probability of unemployment rate change.

Binary logistic regression analysis was applied since the dependent variable had a binary value, either 1 or 0. The odds modelled were the odds of unemployment rate change decline (y=1). The odds ratio was between the odds of y=1 (unemployment rate decrease) and the odds of y=0 (unemployment rate increase). SAS statistical software was utilized to run the statistical analysis.

The stepwise model was performed by gradually incorporating covariates (independent variables) into the model. There were three models developed using binary logistic regression models: Model 1, Model 2, and Model 3. Model 1 was an intercept only model without any independent variables. Model 2 incorporated the variables of population change, job opportunity change, vocational training, and education attainment variables. As a full model, Model 3 was a model which incorporated all of the independent variables with additional dummy variables. The dummy variable regarding whether or not an area was urban or rural was also introduced in order to examine the differences between urban or rural areas. Meanwhile, the dummy variable regarding regions was entered in the model to examine the regional differences among the territories (Guam=reference, the Virgin Islands= dummy 1, Samoa= dummy 2, CNMI=dummy 3).

The interpretation of the binary logistic regression statistical results was conducted by examining the value coefficient of the log of the odds and odds ratio (Liao 1994). Changes in the model fit (as indicated by the values of -2 Log Likelihood, AIC, and SC) were observed as the covariates. The values of -2 Log Likelihood between Model 1, Model 2 and Model 3 were compared.  The Chi-square test was conducted to examine the statistical significance of model improvement by incorporating more covariates in the model.

4  Results

4.1 Descriptive Statistics

Table 2: Descriptive statistics of variables

4.2 Binary Logistics Regression Statistical Results

Caution must be taken when interpreting the logistic regression results, as the interpretation was different from the more commonly used ordinary least-square regression (OLS) model.

When interpreting the results, researchers paid attention to the odds ratio value of variables, the significance level of the log odds coefficient, and the model fit indicators (-2 Log Likelihood, AIC, and SC). The statistical results of binary logit regression models are depicted in Table 3.

Table 3: Binary logit model result

Model 1 was an intercept only model, which did not incorporate any covariates. This was the coefficient for the constant, when not all independent variables are entered into the equation or when all covariates are zeros. In this model, the intercept was not statistically significant.

Model 2 introduced independent variables pertinent to population change, job opportunity change, vocational training, and education attainment into the stepwise model. The result shows that for each one-unit increase in the percentage of people (aged 16-44) who completed vocational training, the odds ratio of unemployment rate change decline (y=1) compared to unemployment rate change increase (y=0) is increased by a multiplicative factor of 1.21 (exp 0.1912). It is statistically significant at the level of p<0.01. For each one-unit increase in the percentage of people (aged 45-64) who completed vocational training, the odds ratio of unemployment rate change decline (URC decline) is increased by a multiplicative factor of 1.27 (exp0.2452) and statistically significant. The value of -2 Log Likelihood declines when the covariate is entered into the model, from 134.835 to 109.848.

Model 3 was the full model, with the additional dummy variables entered into the stepwise model, indicating urban/rural category (one dummy variable) and region category (three dummy variables). Guam was the reference group since it had the highest number of samples. The value of –2 Log Likelihood declines when the covariate is entered into the model, from 134.835 to 38.458. For each one-unit increase in the percentage of people (aged 16-44) who completed vocational training, the odds ratio was increased by a multiplicative factor of 1.726 (exponent 0.5457). These results are statistically significant at 0.05 level with a standard error of 0.2194. For each one-unit increase in the percentage of people (aged 45-64) who completed vocational training, the odds ratio (URC decrease compared to URC increase) was increased by a multiplicative factor of 1.873. These results are also statistically significant. Furthermore, the categorical variable of urban or rural are also statistically significant. The odds ratio of URC decrease compared to URC increase is 0.004 times higher for the urban area than for rural area. Using the inverted ratio (1:0.004), it could be interpreted that the odds ratio of URC decrease compared to URC increase was 250 times higher for the rural area than for urban area.

By introducing dummy variables regarding regions, the regional difference of unemployment rate change was examined. Guam was the controlling reference group. The odds of unemployment rate change decline in the Virgin Islands were only 0.000048 times those of Guam. Using inverted ratio (1 / 0.000048), the odds of unemployment rate change decline in Guam was 20.83 times higher than that of the Virgin Islands. Guam had a higher likelihood of unemployment rate decline compared to Northern Mariana. Interpreted using an inverted ratio, the odds of unemployment rate change decline in Guam was 1 / 0.0006 = 1.66 times higher than that of Northern Mariana.

Pearson Chi-square analysis showed the statistically significant result when crosstab analysis was performed between the unemployment rate change and the four regions. 87% of census tracts in Guam experienced unemployment rate decline from 2000-2010, while in the Virgin Islands the percentage is 38% and 12% in the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana.

The independent variables of the percentage of people completing vocational training were statistically significant in both Model 2 and Model 3. The result presented in this section correspond to the research hypothesis. This study found that the percentage of people (age group of 16-44 and 45-64) completing vocational training correlates to unemployment rate decline.

5  Findings and Discussions

5.1  Summary of findings

Vocational training contributed to the likelihood of unemployment rate decline in the regions studied. The higher the percentage of people who completed vocational training, the lower the unemployment rate. Vocational training for people aged 45-64 proved to be a higher multiplicative factor in increasing the likelihood of unemployment rate change decline.

Vocational training for the working-age group of 45-64 contributed more to reducing the unemployment rate. Vocational training for this adult group workforce often takes place in the workplace. The training for the adult working-age group can also take place in the form of a vocational dual-programs at vocational training firms. Work integrated learning (WIL) in the workplace might be a major feature in vocational training for this adult age group. A WIL-concept will require concerted efforts among training providers (ETP), industries (workplaces), local Association of Career and Technology Education agencies (ACTE), government (Department of Labor) and related stakeholders in vocational training for the workforce.

Unemployment in urban areas is different from rural areas. The odds ratio of URC decrease compared to URC increase is 250 times higher for rural areas than for urban areas. This result conforms to the study conducted by Hertz et al. (2014) affiliated with the United States Department of Agriculture, which states that rural areas are less affected by employment losses and unemployment increases. The job opportunity sector in rural and urban areas is different. Rural areas provide fewer positions in the manufacturing industry sector that suffered most rapid job losses during the recession. Rural areas also had higher shares of farm/agricultural industry jobs and federal jobs, which were less affected by the recession.

There are enormous regional differences in the unemployment rate change decline in the Virgin Islands compared to Guam, as well as a between Northern Mariana and Guam. The different territories possess different characteristics of unemployment rate change compared to Guam. This result adheres to the research result of USDA (Hertz et al. 2014), which indicates that there is geographic variation in both the (un)employment effects of the recession and the pace of job growth during the recovery, with large differences between the regions. This geographic variation is affected by differences in the mix of industries in each territory’s local economy, population growth trends, and local workforce demographic.

5.2  Labor and Vocational Education Policy Implications in the Study Areas

The results of this study have policy implications for the continuation and improvement of vocational programs from the U.S. Department of Labor. Vocational training programs in the regions studied can equip the labor force with necessary vocational skills. The U.S. Department of Education, with the enactment of the Perkins Act, plays an important role. Vocational training in both working-age groups contributes to unemployment rate decline. The Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act (Perkins III) exemplifies federal efforts to improve the vocational program availability, as well as to improve the quality of vocational programs (Bottoms 2017).

5.3  Relation of This Study to Asia Pacific Region

Developing-countries in the Asia Pacific can relate to the findings of this study. Vocational training contributes to workforce readiness and increases the likelihood of employment. Thus, the unemployment rates in developing countries will decline as a consequence.

6  Conclusion

This study answers the research question regarding vocational training and unemployment rate decline between 2000 and 2010. Vocational training contributes to a decline in the unemployment rate in the regions studied. The higher the percentage of people who completed vocational training, the lower the unemployment rate.

The study also highlights the differences between unemployment rates in urban and rural areas. The regional difference of unemployment rate change between regions also indicates that each territory possesses a distinct local economy.

6.1  Limitations

This study indicates that the vocational training for the age group 16-44 significantly affects the decline of unemployment rate change. Therefore, this study also infers the importance of reducing youth unemployment. However, unemployment data in this study was not based on age group. Due to this data limitation, this research could not address specific types of youth unemployment. Another limitation is that the independent variable of job changes (2000-2010) was calculated cumulatively (total jobs in all job sectors). Based on the findings, there is a significant difference of unemployment rate change between urban and rural areas due to their specific job sectors.

Additionally, there was a caveat when the percentage of people who complete vocational training is interpreted as the independent variable in this study. Determining which types of vocational training contributes the most to unemployment rate reduction still needs to be further clarified. Student participation in vocational education varied, from taking a single-course to completing multiple programs (Grubb & McDonnell 1991). In the dataset used, all programs were given equal weight.

6.2 Recommendation for Further Research

Despite its limitations, this paper clarifies the role of vocational training programs in reducing the unemployment rate in understudied territories in the U.S. For further research, it would be interesting to examine unemployment based on age group. Another promising avenue of research is examining job changes in specific sectors (agricultural/fishing, hospitality/service, trade, etc).

Since vocational training for the age group 44-65 is more likely to be conducted in the workplace, further examination about the work integrated learning (WIL) and its contribution to the adult workforce would be another interesting avenue for further research.

Overall, the results and recommendations of this study can be beneficial for strengthening the labor force and for continuing the great strides the U.S. has already taken in reducing the unemployment rate and recovering the economy. Perkins III programs are an example of federal efforts to improve the availability of vocational programs, as well as to improve the quality of vocational programs in the regions studied and in the U.S.

Acknowledgement

The author would like to thank Dr. JiYoung Park and Harold Ha Hwang (SUNY Buffalo, Department of Urban and Regional Planning) for guidance and feedback during the research, design, and writing process.

References

Association for Career and Technical Education. (2017). Guam Association for Career and Technical Education. Retrieved 3 March 2016, 2017, from https://acteonline.org/guam/#.WTxypca1s2w

Biavaschi, C., Eichhorst, W., Giulietti, C., Kendzia, M. J., Muravyev, A., Pieters, J., & Zimmermann, K. F. (2012). Youth Unemployment and Vocational Training. Bonn, Germany: IZA (Institute for the Study of Labor).

Bottoms, G. (2017). Career Pathways: A Blueprint for the Future. Techniques, 92.

Daly, M. C., Jackson, O., & Valleta, R. G. (2007). Educational Attainment, Unemployment, and Wage Inflation FRBSF Economic Review 2007 (pp. 49-61): FRBSF.

Grubb, N. W., & McDonnell, L. M. (1991). Local Systems of Vocational Education and Job Training: Diversity, Independence, and Effectiveness. Berkeley, California: National Center for Research in Vocational Education.

Hertz, T., Kusmin, L., Marré, A., & Parker, T. (2014). Rural Employment Trends in Recession and Recovery Economic Research Service Economic Research (pp. 38): Economic Research Service, United Stated Department of Agriculture.

Hirshleifer, S., McKenzie, D., Almeida, R., & Ridao-Cano, C. (2014). The Impact of Vocational Training for the Unemployed: Experimental Evidence from Turkey Policy Research Working Paper: The World Bank Development Research Group: Finance and Private Sector Development Team.

Kablaoui, B. N., & Paulter Jr., A. J. (1991). The Effects of Part-time Work Experience on High School Students. Journal of Career Development, 17, 195-211.

Liao, T. F. (1994). Interpreting Probability Models: Logit, Probit, and Other Generalized Linear Models (Vol. 07-101). Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications Inc.

Mortimer, J. T. (1994). Work Experience in Adolescence. Journal of Vocational Education Research, 19(1), 39-70.

Rojewski. (1997). Effects of Economic Disadvantaged Status and Secondary Vocational Education on Adolescent Work Experience and Postsecondary Aspirations. Journal of Vocational Education Research, 14(1).

Stone, J. R. (1988). The Contributions of Vocational Education to Career Aspirations, Work Attitudes, and Academic Achievement in High School. Journal of Vocational Education Research, 13(1), 155-163.

United States Census Bureau. (2000). Decennial Census 2000.   Retrieved 3 March 2016, 2016, from http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/

United States Census Bureau. (2010). Decennial Census 2010.   Retrieved 3 March 2016, 2016, from http://www.census.gov/2010census/data/

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Citation

Saleh, I. (2017). The role of vocational training in reducing unemployment rate in the outlying states of the United States of America. In: TVET@Asia, issue 9, 1-14. Online: http://www.tvet-online.asia/issue9/saleh_tvet9.pdf (retrieved 30.06.2017).

Rapid changes occurring in the world of work persistently challenge the actors of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) to update vocational curricula maintaining its relevance to the world of work. TVET teachers are the very actors at the forefront facing the challenge. The ability of teachers to identify the current competences needed by the world of work is of the most important competencies a TVET teacher requires to enable them to make day-to-day improvements of their vocational curricula.

In line with this challenge, the research project entitled “Occupational Competence Need Analysis” attempts to pilot the application of methods to analyse the current situation in the world of work in terms of the core occupational tasks required to perform an occupation. The methods, employed in the research process were (1) occupational sector analysis, (2) expert worker workshop and (3) work process analysis. The most valuable output of the research is the teaching material gained through the documentation of the research and empirical experience the researcher gains while applying the method. The two outputs should be imparted to TVET teacher students in universities and provide a reference for teachers when they work on curriculum development.

In the framework of the RCP-Project, five partner institutions from Asian countries carried out a joint research process involving application of the method. Comparative analysis between the results is intended to deliver rich and wide-ranging information on the method’s application in different cultural settings. The results yielded from the research showed, among other things, the virtue of being well- prepared and the understanding of methods applied in the research. Shortcomings of the latter two aspects would result in some deviations from the expected research output. 

1 Introduction

1.1 Problem statement

The caveat “change is something constant” can be applied to every sector of human life especially that of education and the world of work. Changes in the world of work in technology and work organization have been extremely rapid over recent decades. The changes have clear implications for education sectors, in particular those of technical and vocational education and training (TVET). The implications reflect the coherent interrelation between technology, work and education.

For the TVET sector the changes require adjustments of learning and teaching material and organization. These adjustments set out to synchronize what is taught in vocational education institutions with what is actually performed at work places. For a broader perspective the competence needs of the labour market have to be matched by those developed within the vocational learning processes.

The TVET system cannot be separated from the world of work, as the main goal of TVET is to develop occupational competencies and enable its graduates to meet the requirements of their future work places. The fulfilment of these goals depends, for instance, on the availability of proper TVET curricula. Appropriateness of curricula in this regard means comply with the competence needs of the world of work as the user of the vocational education outcome.

Synchronizing (matching) training competencies and occupational competencies from the world of work has become a long-term agenda in the TVET systems of many developing countries, and hence do not enjoy highest priority. Often the endeavour to update TVET curricula barely takes into consideration the quality of its output. Instead it seems to be an agenda implemented by request of both internal and external decision-makers with either no or little emphasis on the real needs of employers and industries. This tendency can be traced back to the fact that the TVET curriculum in many developing countries is developed in a centralized system and is therefore overly inflexible (cf. Middleton et al, 1993, 200).

Indeed it is not easy to match curricula and the real occupational needs of industries and their changes. Most TVET stakeholders such as employers, auditors and industry representatives acknowledge the difficulties of keeping up with constantly emerging changes in technological innovations, regulation and the shifts in client demands (Clayton, 2012). However, keeping TVET curricula up-to-date requires continuous effort. If TVET actors cease their efforts, the gap between the two sectors will increase swiftly and curricula will lag behind drastically. Among the actors engaged in and responsible for developing TVET curricula, TVET teachers are at the cutting edge. They have the closest relation with given curricula and deal directly with them in their daily work. They are the forefront stakeholders of TVET responsible for the functioning of a curriculum. They are appointed to operationalize the curricula as a frame instrument to produce the occupational competences of their students.

The central function of TVET teachers in dealing with the curricula has made them the key actors in both the implementation and the development of curricula, which should be striving to continuously keep up-to-date. They should be the first to know what is best for the learners for them to be prepared to enter the world of work. They should also be the first to know what occupational competences are needed by employers and industries.

Consequently, to keep vocational curricula current and relevant to industrial needs vocational teachers and instructors need to be – at the very least – well informed on the methodology of analyzing occupational competence needs directly and empirically in the world of work. However the fact remains that, numerous, if not most vocational teachers – particularly in developing countries – are not in possession of the methodological competencies for undertaking such analysis.

In addition, TVET teacher educators tend to know little of the workplaces and competence requirements of graduates of technical and vocational education and training (TVET)[1]. Furthermore they do not have the methodologies at hand, for analysing such workplaces and competence requirements. The same is actually true at the national level regarding TVET curriculum development.

However, it is mandatory, that teacher educators have such methodologies at hand and master them:

1. to include the relevant knowledge on requirements at work places in TVET teacher education;

2. to include the teaching of the methodologies in TVET teacher education, so teachers are able to analyze workplaces and competence requirements in their future job;

3. to be able to run research on TVET curriculum development to inform on national TVET curriculum development.

4. to be able to analyse work places or work processes, for the purpose of comparing competence requirements in TVET at the regional and international level, and for the upcoming regional qualification frameworks.

1.2 Organisational background and goals of the research

In the framework of the Regional Cooperation Platform on TVET Teacher Education in Asia (RCP[2]), 5 Institutions from 4 countries teamed up to address the above-mentioned deficiencies via the implementation of a collaborative research and development project. The partner institutions were Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (UPI – Indonesia University of Education) acting as the lead institution, Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta (UNY – State University Yogjakarta), Indonesia, National University of Technology Education (NUTE), Vietnam, the Chinese-German Institute for Vocational Education (CDIBB) at Tongji University, Shanghai, (China), and Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM).

The collaborative project set out:

1. To collect and select instruments for workplace analysis and occupational competence needs analysis to be taught in teacher education programmes at the universities participating;

2. To be able to prepare relevant learning materials, apply the selected instruments in real-world situations conduct work place analysis and competence needs analysis. The experiences derived from the application of the instruments are expected to contribute to the quality of the learning material and help the project members (all are teacher educators) to impart the acquired knowledge to their student teachers.

3. To check, based on the application experiences, whether the selected instruments work satisfactorily in the different cultural and “production cultural” environments of the partners. In case a need for adaptation is detected, the instruments will be amended accordingly to make it possible to adapt.

4. The fourth, a fairly subordinate one, is to compare the results of the instruments’ application generated in the different regional and national environments, to demonstrate one of the possible applications of the instruments.

2 Research methodology

2.1 Approach and method of research

The first step was to undertake desktop research to identify existing methods of competence needs analysis. All partners studied the respective methodologies – paper based – before the first workshop was held to discuss, which of the methods should feature in the project. Main criteria for the discussion were whether the methods were compatible with the partners’ joint understanding of TVET, whether they gave insight into real-world work settings, and whether they could be implemented without too much organisational and financial effort and be applicable in a vocational school environment as well as suitable for TVET teacher education.

As a common point of reference for the collaborative work, the partners agreed on the concept of “core occupational tasks”[3] as the most appropriate for describing the competences needed by TVET graduates. This concept describing core occupational tasks with the following

• The object of the work

• Tools, methods and organizing of work; and

• Requirements posed on work.[4]

Desktop research showed that competence needs analysis in the majority of cases is performed in the framework of the development of occupational profiles or the related curricula. A small number of different approaches could be identified i.e. the widely applied “Developing a Curriculum” or DACUM (Norton 1997), “functional analysis”, for which Mansfeld and Schmidt (2001) provide an application handbook and the ILO Guidelines for the Development of Regional Model Competency Standards (RMCS) (Lewis 2006), and a set of instruments developed over the years by researchers of the University of Bremen and the University of Flensburg[5] in Germany.

The discussions during the first workshop yielded the joint impression, that the functional analysis approach is not very suitable for obtaining insight into the reality of occupational work, as functional analysis largely deals with structuring already available knowledge. The DACUM approach, if not modified, leads to detailed DACUM charts displaying a mosaic of numerous duties and tasks, which will certainly cover a whole occupation, but tends to fragment the holistic picture of an occupation. Thus it destroys the coherence between object of work, tools, methods and organisation, and demands posed on work.

The partners finally decided to use three instruments in the project: occupational sector analysis for providing background information on the occupational, economic and labour market sector, expert workers workshops for identifying the core occupational tasks of an occupation, and work process analysis for obtaining a deep insight into the requirements of occupational work in the workplaces and work-processes directly.

Each of the research partners prepared documentation of his/her field research. The project reports were analysed and discussed in a second project workshop in terms of the project goals.

2.2 Selected instruments

2.2.1 Occupational sector analysis

An occupational sector analysis should always be conducted as a first step of occupational research as its purpose is to provide the necessary background information. Depending on the overall goal of the research, it must be more or less detailed or comprehensive.

The purpose of an occupational sector analysis in our context was

• to get an overview of the occupational sector with its structures and developments, including the types and volume of the business, the number and type of companies, employees, one’s own account workers, the significance of the occupational profile in question, remuneration structures, regulations, major actors such as professional, employers, employees associations, etc.,

• to discover, which additional occupational profiles exist in the sector and what their relation is to the occupational profile in question,

• to acquire knowledge on the “state of the art” of work in the sector in terms of recent and future development trends in the organisation of work and business processes, technical developments, socio-economic developments, the legal framework settings and major actors (companies, associations, unions, …)

This implies that the sector and geographical coverage must be defined according to the study purpose. If we simply wish to look at a certain economic sector, it will be of little use to give detailed information on other sectors, where the occupational profile in question might also be used. Some information on these neighbouring sectors, however, should be given, as they could affect the developments in the sector to be researched. The same applies to geographical coverage. If we deal with just a province or a city, detailed data should be given related to this geographical unit. Information on the national situation does not need to be too detailed, especially as regions exist with distinctly different economic structures.

2.2.2 Expert worker workshop

The expert worker workshop is an instrument for identifying core occupational tasks and describing them comprehensively. The ‘expert worker workshops’ have the following two main objectives:

• To describe modern skilled labour in terms of core occupational tasks that can be classified according to occupational fields or a specific metier;

• To differentiate between different tasks according to the level of skills they involve.

If a metier/occupation can be described by means of core occupational tasks, then the competences it involves are automatically defined. This implies that workers are able to perform the described occupational task independently.

The documentation of the expert workers workshop is made up of 4 elements, namely a description of the organizational framework of the expert workers workshop, an ordered list of occupational tasks, a more detailed documentation for each occupational task according to a determined scheme, and a documentation of important aspects which have occurred during the workshop.

2.2.3 Work process analysis

The tool of expert workers workshops provides valuable information on the core occupational tasks, which make up an occupation. This information, however, is passed verbally, during the real work processes. The tool enables the TVET researcher, lecturer and teacher to verify the data obtained during the worker workshop directly in the work process performed by the workers, who were previously interviewed.

Occupational task analysis presents an easily approachable means of analysing work for those in the field of technical and vocational education and training. It enables a better understanding of occupational tasks in work and business processes via analysis. Curriculum developers, teachers and lecturers can obtain an impression of the characteristics and requirements of skilled work.

The results of occupational task analysis is help to define and further differentiate the description of the occupational field of activity, the learning and qualification goals and the subject matters for work and study in each occupational task.

The analysis of occupational tasks is also frequently termed “work process analysis”, and occurs in the following three phases:

• Preparing for the research

• Carrying out the research

• Evaluating and documenting the research (so the results may be used in the framework of a research project, for teaching or even for curriculum development).

2.3 Occupational profiles selected

As the application of the last two of the three identified instruments requires the researchers have a certain a-priori knowledge of the respective occupational field and as it should be possible to compare the results of the pilot application of the instrument, the partners agreed, to analyse two occupational profiles, based on the professional experiences of the researchers:

• Cabinet making targeted by the researchers from UPI and CDIBB;

• Domestic electrical installation targeted by UNY, NUTE, and UTHM.

3 Findings of the pilot applications

First and foremost, the research project is not intended to develop vocational curricula, but to get the researchers involved in the implementation of the methods of occupational competence need analysis and evaluate the usefulness of the methods. Thus, the result discussed in this chapter does not deal with the outputs of the analysis, which are job profiles of wood construction and domestic electrical installation[6]. Instead, the findings and experiences obtained from the research process itself are focused upon.

The application of the selected methods for the analysis of occupational competence required a set of methodological instruments to be developed as a working aid (these will be made publicly available in the above mentioned comprehensive study report). The tools provide detailed and clear guidelines for the execution of the research but also allow adaptation to the given circumstances and cultural settings of the respective partner countries.

The submitted country reports indicate that some partner institutions made use of this possibility and applied modified approaches. Analysing the resulting differences allows the subject to learn how a modification of the instrument can affect the research results. Due to space limitations only selected findings of the comparative analysis can be explained in this article. Again, the complete analysis results will be made available in the above mentioned comprehensive report. Selected findings are highlighted below, grouped into categories such modifications of the method, organisational issues, differences in results, and miscellaneous observations.

The findings are based on discussions conducted during a second workshop attended by all partners after implementing pilot applications of the instruments, and on an analysis of the country reports delivered after applying the instruments. Facts and findings explained in this chapter do not set out to criticize the way the different research teams applied the methods and what the result looked like. Instead its purpose is to describe experiences of the pilot applications, from which readers can get some insight into the process of competence needs analysis as well as the researchers’ learning processes.

3.1 Modifications of methods and approaches

One of the obvious cases has been revealed by the research team of Tongji University. has, Due to the worker’s limited time the team organized the expert workers workshop in the workers’ place of work instead of assembling them in a place outside the workshop required by the default of instruments. The researchers interviewed the workers directly in a work situation. Such research organization has some disadvantages. Workers cannot concentrate on discussing the core occupational tasks as they are engaged in normal work activities simultaneously. Furthermore the interview might be undertaken in the presence of their employer or supervisor, which can inhibit the interviewee.

Another critical practice is demonstrated by the research report from Yogyakarta (UNY). The report reads

“Before the workshop activities were undertaken, the research team as facilitator, prepared the documents needed in the workshop activities, these included: invitation to expert workers, designing workshop activities, preparing the occupational analysis draft of residential electrical installation, and other administrative activities.”(Project Report of UNY,  3)and “…Each group discussed the occupational sector that had been guided using professional task instruments the facilitator prepared. The participants gave marks using the symbols (+) or (-) for the different occupational tasks on the prepared instruments. Participants selected teh symbol (+) when the occupational tasks were appropriate for application and the symbol (-) when it cannot be applied.” (ibid, 4)

The two statements indicate that before running the discussion, the invited workers were provided with a draft of occupational analysis by the facilitator. This draft contained a number of work tasks, to be discussed between the workers and the facilitator. In this way the researchers had already provided a fixed framework of thinking and confined the workers ‘contribution to accepting or rejecting the researchers’ ideas.

Just how hazardous such an approach can be, was shown by the Malaysian researchers’ completely independent experience. By providing freedom of expression to the expert workers, the researchers learnt, that the occupational profile of a “wireman”, anticipated by the researchers as a proxy for the work area of domestic electrical installation, defined as one of the Malaysian National Occupational Skill Standards (NOSS), barely exists in the everyday reality of the Malaysian world of work. Domestic electrical installation is carried out by small companies, who have much bigger business fields in which each of the workers has to cover a far broader range of occupational tasks.

Another valuable finding was that it is apparently necessary to invest a degree of effort in discussing the concept of core occupational tasks. Even though the instrument gives explanations and examples, there are differing interpretations among the researchers resulting in different qualities of identified core occupational tasks. One research team, for instance, identified abstract categories of tasks instead of real work activities:

 “….Each of those occupational tasks is categorized into three tasks, namely: (1) electrical installation for small houses, (2) electrical installation for mid-size houses, and (3) electrical installation for luxury houses. And, each group is divided into five tasks, i.e.

• Lighting installation.

• Cooling installation.

• Heating installation.

• Motoring installation.

• Protecting and security system installation.”

Another research team defined site exploration, planning, installing, checking, calibrating, operating, repairing, and maintaining each as a separate core occupational tasks, while making distinctions regarding different types of appliances.

Both schemes suggest that the structuring was heavily influenced by the researchers, as practitioners tend to structure their field of work in a different way.

3.2 Modifications in the organization of methods application

The success of the work on occupational needs analysis obviously depends a good deal on the way researchers organize the application of the different methods. Hence, it is extremely advisable that researchers do their best to understand and follow the instructions given in the research instruments, to avoid certain pitfalls. In so doing the results will have a high grade of reliability and validity. Nevertheless every research design is limited by various influencing factors and resources, such as time, money, working environment, cultural setting, etc.

The UPI research team was able to bring together a number of expert workers from four different small furniture companies in an expert workers workshop. The number of companies played a role in the richness, depth, and reliability of the information and data collected. However, all the companies were small-sized or home-industry companies from Bandung, which does not really represent the whole picture of the furniture industry in Indonesia in all its complexity. It can, however, represent the situation of the industry in the city of Bandung which is definitely not a furniture production hot spot. During the expert worker workshop and work process analysis the workers were very cooperative and actively engaged and the researchers were satisfied that they had collected all the information required.

The Chinese research team was only able to get access to one single furniture company as most furniture companies were reluctant to be involved in research.

“It has been very difficult finding the expert workers in the wood furniture industry. Initial attempts were unsuccessful. We tried to get in touch with factories/bosses of some small workshops through the furniture shops near university. However, as the owner of the shop does not know us very well (despite the fact that I have bought furniture for over 1000 Yuan at the shop), he could not offer me very strong support.”

The very limited number of researched workplaces limits the representativeness of the collected data.

3.3 Active participation of expert workers

In selecting expert workers for invitation, researchers assumed that some aspects needed to be taken into consideration. Among these were the workers’ educational background, which could be a modality for them to communicate actively and properly and express their ideas during the workshop. For this reason, before inviting the expert workers, the UPI research team discussed whether it would be advantageous to invite company owners and supervisors to the expert workshops, as they feared communication with the workers would be difficult due to their typically low level of formal education.

Following the guidelines they refrained from this. The workshop experience showed the workers were more than capable of reflecting on their work practice and explaining to the academics, what the essential elements of their work actually are. Obviously, the ability of workshop facilitator to activate the communication ability and willingness of the workers was key in getting the workers to express themselves.   

3.4 Differences in research results

3.4.1 Differences in manufacturing culture

Table 1 shows the comparison of core tasks of the occupation “cabinet making”, identified by UPI for Bandung, Indonesia and CDIBB Tongji for Shanghai, China:

1. Comparison of core occupational task in cabinet making

There was quite a high grade of similarity in the results. Even though the number of the tasks appeared to be different, the underlying structure is similar. Task 5, 6 and 7 in the Chinese version are actually included in task 5 of the Indonesian version, and the Chinese task 9 is included in the Indonesian task 6.

The detailed descriptions of the occupational tasks, however, display some remarkable differences. In the Chinese case, minimizing material waste and considering production and product health and environmental hazards is emphasised, but in the Indonesian case such issues are hardly mentioned. Differences can also be found regarding legal procedures and requirements, the purchasing power of the clients influencing product quality requirements, the size of the enterprise that influences division of labour settings, and the type of material used which affects core work procedures.

3.4.2 Differences in TVET culture

Comparing the results documented for the occupational profile in domestic electrical installation it is clear the Vietnamese researchers applied the concept of core occupational tasks in the main. The Malaysian researchers, however, possibly due to the restrictions regarding the occupational skills of a “wireman” (see above) delivered a documentation resembling a piecemeal collection of tasks with the appearance of a DACUM chart. Consequently the Malaysian result provides little helpful information on tools, methods and organisation of work or on the demands posed on skilled work by the different stakeholders. In addition, both reports from Indonesia and Malaysia contain little information on the economic and labour market framework conditions and the technological development perspective for this occupational profile. Whether this deficit is down to too little time invested in the occupational sector analysis or to researchers’ lacking interest in these important issues is not quite clear.

4 Conclusions and recommendations

The research project was aimed, among other things, at gathering empirical experiences of the application of competence needs analysis instruments. Together with the teaching material, which was developed simultaneously, the experiences are expected to be significant enough for the researchers involved to be able to contribute to the improvement of TVET teacher education. With the material and experiences used to teach teacher student about competence needs analysis approaches, future teachers should be capable to link their curriculum with the current competence needs at related workplaces methodologically.

The analyses of the country reports and experiences and the exchange between researchers during the second project workshop showed that application of the instruments is complex and various aspects must be taken into consideration. One of the key aspects indicates researchers must have a good knowledge and deep understanding of the methodological concept. Deficiencies and deviations from the ideal-typical method will automatically lead to sub-optimal knowledge generation as was clear in the previous chapters.

Given the fact that initially most of the researchers are not familiar with the research instruments, it is necessary to invest more effort and time than was available in the project to develop the researchers’ capacities in applying the instruments. We recommend the researchers remain in touch in the future and continue exchanging experiences when applying the instruments in the framework of TVET teacher education.

Regarding the application of the instruments for scientific research on curriculum development there are additional aspects that have not been discussed in this article, that must be considered. This applies directly to the reliability of research data. Expert workers and their companies must cover the whole spectrum of the businesses for which the occupational profile in question is of interest. Companies of differing size active in all relevant business fields and in a defined geographical region have to be represented, and special attention paid to innovative, future-oriented practices. Only in this way can the research data represent the picture of a prospective occupation which can be generalized in terms of a regional or national scope. The respective selection criteria will vary from case to case according to varying research goals and has to be made transparent and documented in each research report to permit assessment of the research outcome reliability.

References

Clayton, B. (2012). Keeping Current: The Industry Knowledge and Skills of Australian TVET Teacher. In Collaboration in TVET. Proceedings of the 2nd UPI Internal Conference on TVET. Bandung: Faculty of Technology and Vocational Education of Indonesia University of Education, 28-35.

Dittrich, J. (ed.) (2008). Curriculum Design. From professional tasks to the education and training plan. Institut Technik und Bildung, Universität Bremen.

Lewis, A. (2006). Guidelines for Development of Regional Model Competency Standards (RMCS), Regional Skills and Employability Programme in Asia and the Pacific. International Labour Office, Bangkok.

Mansfield, B. & Schmidt, H. (2001). Linking Vocational Education and Training Standards and Employment Requirements – an international handbook. European Training Foundation.

Middleton et al. (1993). Skills for Productivity. Vocational Education and Training in Developing Countries. New York: Oxford University Press.

Norton, R. E. (1997). DACUM Handbook. Second Edition, Leadership Training Series No. 67, Ohio State University, Columbus, Center on Education and Training for Employment.

Pätzold, G. & Rauner, F. (2006). Die empirische Fundierung der Curriculumentwicklung – Annäherung an einen vernachlässigten Forschungszusammenhang. In Qualifikationsfoschung und Curriculumentwicklung. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 7-28.

Citation

Kurnia, D., Dittrich, J., & Ilhamdaniah. (2013). Occupational competence needs analysis as a basis for TVET curriculum development. In: TVET@Asia, issue 2, 1-13. Online: http://www.tvet-online.asia/issue2/kurnia_etal_tvet2.pdf (retrieved 30.12.2013).