This study aims to further develop research on the Tripartite Education System (TES) for Thailand and the ASEAN region. The collaboration between governmental agencies, industries and education institutions (universities, technical colleges) in a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) has proven to be of benefit in achieving a workforce able to cope with the challenges of the labour market in an Industry 4.0 environment. However, there is still debate on how to organize the PPP specifically. This essay gives some insights into three variants of the Thai School-in-Factory (SiF) model implemented at the Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna, which will be called Collaboration A, Collaboration B and Collaboration C. The analyses are done by reviewing existing documents on the projects (such as Memorandums of Understanding), and the review will show similarities and differences in collaboration structure, elements and concepts, objectives, roles of educational institutes and industries, curriculum, and finally, criteria and processes for student selection.
Developing the Tripartite Education System for the ASEAN Region: A comparative analysis of three variants of the School-in-Factory program at the Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna
Tripartite Education: a collaborative structure of learning venues conducive to the improvement of TVET system in Thailand
Thailand Industry 4.0 aims to develop an economy that is driven by innovation to advance to the level of high-income countries. One factor that would help drive such growth is continuous labour development. The Thai government recognized the significant role of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in developing a competitive workforce and encouraged its improvement through various strategic policies. This paper discusses a TVET model that seeks to enhance the implementation of a Dual TVET system that involves work-based learning in Thailand through a collaborative structure and the application of action research. The study employed two research methods: relevant document analysis and a semi-structured questionnaire.
Editorial Issue 15: TVET research as a central factor for the development of TVET systems
Full issue 15
VET research is an essential factor in the development of TVET systems. Research provides information and advice on TVET policy depending on the needs, focusses and research areas. In addition, TVET research contributes to innovation and the transfer of knowledge in cooperation with TVET practitioners. TVET research always has to take the changes in work and the analysis and design of vocational education and training as well as qualification and learning processes into consideration. Thus, TVET research aims to contribute to the further development of the vocational education and training system.
Despite the relevance of TVET for social and economic development worldwide, the international TVET research community is at the beginning and still has much potential for development. International TVET research also presents itself to be an interdisciplinary approach and addresses a wide range of issues and development tasks at various levels.
School in Factory (SIF): an approach of Work-integrated Learning in Thailand
In the fast-growing economic world, Thailand is faced with the problem of producing qualified vocational human resources. In general, educational institutions are unable to educate students to meet the demand of the labour market. The government realized this issue by promoting Work-integrated Learning (WIL) as one of the strategies to cope with the challenges of producing job-ready graduates. As a result, various forms of Work-integrated Learning have been implemented and many of the industries are involved in this educational program. The document analysis method has been used in this article to describe the educational system, national plans and policies, theoretical and didactical concepts of Work-integrated Learning and current approaches of WIL programs in Thailand.
Approaches and Structures of Work-related Learning in TVET in Thailand
Work-related Learning (WRL) is a learning form that is discussed in many countries around the world as a means to improve the quality of TVET-systems and thus learners’ competencies development. If WBL is included in an informal learning setting and is labor market oriented, the main principle of WBL is the interrelation between the two or even three learning venues, which are vocational schools, companies, and training centers. As a consequence of the relevance of WBL, there are different systematics and typologies such as work-geared learning and work-oriented learning attempting to classify learning forms according to the proximity to real work.