This issue of TVET@Asia includes innovative approaches to vocational didactics in construction technology, wood technology, color technology, and interior design.

One significant contribution to this discourse comes from TAWANDA CHINENGUNDU (University of Pretoria), who conducts an in-depth analysis of the South African Construction and Technology Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement. This study assesses how well the curriculum’s vocational didactics components align with industry expectations, ultimately evaluating their effectiveness in preparing students for employment within the construction sector. Through a thorough document analysis that includes curriculum policy statements, relevant educational frameworks, and industrial standards, the findings reveal that while the curriculum is well structured with a logical progression from simple to complex subject matter—covering essential areas such as materials, equipment, safety protocols, and sustainable practices—it notably lacks practical training opportunities. The study emphasizes that enhancing practical components within the curriculum is crucial for better equipping students to face real-world challenges. Furthermore, it highlights the limited content on digital tools necessary for modern construction technologies. As a result, it recommends the continuous review and enhancement of curricula to ensure alignment with evolving industry needs.

In another compelling study conducted by JERALD HONDONGA (Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa), ABIA MUTUMBWA (Zimbabwe Open University, Zimbabwe), MABLE KELEBOGILE KGOSI (Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa), the focus shifts to Zimbabwean educators’ experiences in delivering construction technology subjects at school level. The paper explores various vocational didactic methods teachers employ to facilitate learners’ smooth transition into the labor market or into further training after graduation. By systematically reviewing curriculum documents spanning decades—from post-independence policies until today—the study identifies two distinct phases in vocational didactics, which initially emphasized craft skills acquisition post-independence but later pivoted towards inclusive vocational skills development aimed at addressing socio-economic challenges after 1990. Findings suggest that while early approaches nurtured positive attitudes toward manual work through skill development for production lines, contemporary strategies have shifted towards equipping students with higher-level technical skills suited for self-employment opportunities. The paper argues for continued evolution in vocational didactics tailored to meet sustainable skill set requirements necessary for green jobs—a critical aspect as industries increasingly seek environmentally responsible practices.

Lastly, an insightful exploration into community-based development (CBD) is presented by LAILA HANIFAH, ERNA KRISNANTO, AGARA GAPUTRA (Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia) through their examination of Indonesia‘s Bantuan Stimulan Perumahan Swadaya (BSPS) program aimed at improving housing quality among low-income communities using ferrocement technology solutions. This research underscores how active community engagement plays a pivotal role in empowering individuals through practical learning processes facilitated via localized programs tailored directly towards their specific needs—demonstrating not only potential benefits associated with enhanced living conditions but also fostering essential skill sets required for independently applying innovative building techniques like ferrocement layering amongst local populations.

The effectiveness of management within TVET colleges is critically examined by MOKABA MOKGATLE (University of South Africa), MPHO DICHABA (Department of ABET and Youth Development, University of South Africa), Matome Malale (Department of ABET and Youth Development, University of South Africa) through a study investigating how Post-School Education and Training (PSET) policy impacts institutional performance in Gauteng province, South Africa. Despite existing policies intended to enhance throughput rates among TVET colleges—aligning with national goals outlined in frameworks such as the National Development Plan 2030—the research reveals persistent low completion rates, raising questions about managerial success within these institutions. This investigation uncovers significant gaps related to guideline formulation by governing bodies like DHET (Department of Higher Education and Training) by employing qualitative methodologies that capture the principals’ perspectives on factors influencing management efficacy. The absence of clearly defined determinants for management success poses considerable challenges; thus, this paper advocates for developing comprehensive improvement models based on respondents’ insights while recommending avenues for future research to address these systemic issues.

Another innovative approach emerges from SAMAILA HAMZA, JAMILU MUSTAPHA CHEDI, and HARUNA ANGULU (Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Bauchi), who investigate how integrating green process skills into Nigeria‘s construction technology sector can foster economic growth and development while promoting sustainability initiatives. Utilizing an exploratory mixed-methods framework combining qualitative interviews with stakeholders across technical colleges and quantitative analyses via structural equation modeling techniques allows researchers to derive critical insights and validate a comprehensive model explicitly designed around green process competencies essential within today’s construction landscape. Key areas identified include information-sharing strategies alongside coordination skills necessary among various actors involved, from educators imparting knowledge through curricula adjustments aligned with emerging technologies to actual practitioners implementing these principles onsite effectively during project execution phases.

The Editors of Issue 24:

Alexandra Bach, Lai Chee Sern, Agus Setiawan, & Thomas Schröder

TVET@Asia Issue 23 offers participants of the Thai-German TVET Conference and other stakeholders involved in international TVET research cooperation a platform to publish their research outcomes. 

VINA DWIYANTI and DEDE RIDWAN (Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia) investigate the persistent mismatch between vocational schools and industry in Indonesia, where graduates of vocational high schools (Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan or SMK) face the highest unemployment rates compared to those from elementary schools, junior high schools, senior high schools, and universities. This issue persists despite national regulations designating SMK as institutions that prepare students for the workforce. Their article seeks to identify effective learning patterns that align school curricula with industry needs. Utilizing a systematic literature review (SLR) of sources from the past decade, including nationally and internationally indexed journals, the authors advocate industrial education through collaboration between SMKs and industries. This approach aims to produce a competitive and industry-relevant workforce by mapping industry requirements and implementing a realistic learning methodology that reflects current industrial practices and rapid sectoral changes.

In their paper, PATCHAREE CHAIYONG, TIN GANGERN, ARTITCHAI TANAPENG, NIWAT MOONPA (Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna, Thailand), and SIRIPHORN SCHLATTMANN (TU Dortmund University, Germany) explore the Tripartite Education System (TES) in Thailand and the ASEAN region. Their study examines public-private partnerships (PPP) involving government, industry, and educational institutions, mainly focusing on the Thai School-in-Factory (SiF) model at Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna. Three collaboration variants (A, B, and C) are analyzed through project documents, revealing similarities in structure and objectives but differences in curriculum and student selection processes. RMUTL acts as a key facilitator in these collaborations. The findings aim to bridge the gap between academia and industry, offering best practices for Thailand and the broader ASEAN region.

RAVY VOEUN and SONGHEANG AI from the SEAMEO Regional Center for Technical Education Development (SEAMEO TED) investigate effective hands-on activities among technical education students in Cambodia. Their study surveys 205 students using a quantitative method and factor analysis with principal component analysis (PCA). Descriptive statistics from SPSS version 25 reveal high proficiency in procedures, creativity, skill incorporation, and immediate application, with moderate proficiency in competition. The research identifies five key factors: procedural proficiency, creativity, skill incorporation, competition skills, and immediate application. The findings emphasize that national goals and quality education are essential in producing skilled employees. The researchers recommend these elements as critical motivators for TVET teachers to excel in their roles.

In their paper, TAWANDA CHINENGUNDU (University of Pretoria, South Africa) and JERALD HONDONGA (New Era College, Botswana) study inclusive education practices in TVET institutions in Botswana, South Africa, andThailand. The research uses a systematic review of international policies, government reports, and peer-reviewed journal articles to assess current practices, policies, and challenges in inclusive education. Despite existing policies, the TVET sector in these countries fails to meet the diverse needs of students, with facilities remaining segregated and excluding individuals with special needs. Effective inclusion relies more on institutional implementation than student abilities. The study identifies gaps in policy and practice, including a lack of teacher training in inclusive pedagogies and inadequate funding for infrastructure modernization and specialized equipment. The authors call for TVET leaders to address these barriers and develop inclusive solutions.

XUAN TIEN VO (Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Education, Vietnam) explores the role of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) companies in addressing skilled worker shortages in Vietnam through workplace training. This informal training model is especially prominent in the logistics and engineering sectors. Support from international agencies like JICA, KOICA, GIZ, and DIHK has also been crucial in enhancing TVET in Vietnam. These agencies offer policy advice and help bridge gaps between stakeholders by promoting dual training models and tripartite collaborations between vocational schools and enterprises. The paper provides insights from the author’s experiences in TVET Vietnam, highlighting how international practices influence local policy and training organizations. It discusses how Vietnam can adopt international methods for curriculum development and cooperative training, suggesting models such as dual training and cooperative clustering.

In his article, ANEKWONG YODDUMNERN (Chiang Rai Vocational College, Thailand) focuses on drafting the creation of an Internet of Things (IoT) technology learning center with three main objectives: establishing a prototype IoT learning center, designing IoT learning modules, and setting up a maintenance center. This initiative showcases how emerging technologies can transform learning methodologies and enhance educational effectiveness. The study utilizes the ADDIE instructional design model, covering both hardware and software aspects. Collaborating with students, education officials, and local farmers, the project uses agile methods to manage stakeholders. The IoT system, based on a private cloud server, includes a smart device for wireless agricultural control and cloud-based monitoring via a mobile app. User feedback highlights high satisfaction with the lab environment (4.65 mean score) and strong module compliance with technology standards (5.00 score). Senior community members benefit significantly (5.00 score) from the IoT system, simplifying daily tasks. Visual diagrams clarify hardware and software maintenance processes, enhancing usability.

The Editors of Issue 23: 

Birgit Thomann, Friedrich Huebler, Songheang Ai, & Thomas Schröder

TVET@Asia Issue 20: Governance of TVET in the Era of Digitalization and Sustainable Development

Governance of TVET is a major issue and precondition for the ongoing development of TVET systems, especially in the era of digitalization and sustainable development. In the 2010 Guidelines for TVET Policy Review, UNESCO defines TVET Governance as being “concerned with how the funding, provision, ownership and regulation of TVET systems are coordinated, which actors are involved, and what are their respective roles and responsibilities, and level of formal competence – at the local, regional, national and supranational level.” The new UNESCO TVET Strategy 2022-2029 further names governance as a priority area for cross-cutting interventions in TVET by underlining governance needs to take an inclusive approach in order to achieve skills development for inclusive and peaceful societies. TVET systems and structures are constantly challenged to adapt to new legal norms, megatrends, and new technologies in order to maximise the quality of TVET provision. It has become evident that TVET governance cannot be adequately examined without considering the impact of digitalization on the labour market and work processes, on the education sector and on governance itself. As a consequence, UNESCO states that “the ethical and effective use of data in the governance, management and delivery of education and skilling initiatives” needs to be strengthened. Research on TVET is therefore a prerequisite for development – through good governance, the sharing of knowledge and the promotion of promising approaches.

The papers in this issue share views on TVET governance at different administrative levels (regional, national and institutional). They also examine how TVET governance and digitalization can go hand in hand in order to achieve sustainable quality assurance in TVET. The authors contribute to highlighting best practice examples from different countries and regions. They furthermore confirm the relevance of research on TVET governance for the development of sustainable and labour-market-relevant TVET systems.

NADYA SUBRAMANIAM (The Asia Foundation) and FAUWAZ ABDUL AZIZ (Penang Institute, Malaysia) have addressed TVET governance in Malaysia, by examining recent literature focusing on governance, quality assurance, industry, perception, and funding. The paper identifies the main research gaps and concerns, and suggests areas and directions of research that can drive and inform policy decisions at the national level and improve TVET in Malaysia. The authors noted several positive developments in TVET such as an increase of fund allocation, recognition that TVET as a game changer that could contribute to socio and economic development, and the formulation of National TVET Council. The authors argue that the latter is a culmination of various efforts and offer some hope for the betterment of TVET in the country.

In their paper, SONGHEANG AI, VORN TIM and RAVY VOEUN (SEAMEO TED) shed light on ICT skills needs assessment for technical education teachers in SEAMEO Member Countries. The authors argue that the issue of capacities in ICT applications deserves more attention, especially in developing countries. With the help of a cross-sectional survey design, the authors assess ICT skills competency levels of technical education teachers in the region. According to the survey results, internet skills of technical education teachers are quite advanced, whereas Microsoft Excel is still a challenge for many teachers. In order to improve overall ICT skills of technical education teachers, the authors advise to rely on combined resources including ICT infrastructure as well as outsourcing and curriculum review.

ANNIKA BEHRENS (TU Dortmund University), THOMAS SCHRÖDER (TU Dortmund University) and KETEVAN NATRIASHVILI (Education expert and freelancer) have written a paper on governance of TVET teacher development and management based on the case study from TVET reforms in Georgia. The paper sheds light on the measures the country has taken in recent years to improve the quality of its TVET system through TVET teacher development and management by focusing on recent reform initiatives in the TVET system. The study also has a close look at the recently introduced TVET teacher standards, the recently defined concept of TVET teachers and the Code of Ethics for TVET teachers. The authors stress the importance of meeting preconditions, both working environment and working conditions for high-quality TVET teaching, especially through the development of TVET teacher development and management (TDM).

XUAN-TIEN VO (Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Education, Vietnam) wrote a paper on TVET governance in Vietnam by exploring effective models of school-industry collaboration. The author believes that this is timely to address the skills mismatch when industry turns rapidly to adopting high technology. The author explores various models of cooperation both formal and informal and focuses on a case study from one of the TVET institutions in Vietnam for good practice models of cooperation. Finally, the author suggests some possible solutions such as collaboration that is long lasting including in curriculum development, coordinating in training, etc.

MALAKA SAMARA (TU Dortmund University, Germany) focuses her practice-based research on local governance practices of TVET institutes in Palestine. She emphasizes the Palestinian government’s efforts to enhance, develop and increase the efficacy, responsiveness and inclusivity of national TVET institutes. As an example, she chooses the establishment of Local Employment and TVET councils (LET), whose aim is to support TVET and employment through strengthening cooperation between local TVET stakeholders and TVET providers. While pointing out the importance of the LETs, the author also highlights challenges with regard to the enhancement of quality TVET provision in Palestine. In order to ensure organised and committed institutional efforts in TVET, the author argues that LETs need their own independent legal and organisational structure, and their own financial status.

SYED ABDUL AZIZ (Research Secretary, Centre for Occupational Education and Research (CORE), Bangladesh) wrote a paper about TVET governance in Bangladesh to address various challenges particularly due to the expansion of student enrolment. The author identifies challenges in all dimensions of TVET governance and the impacts on the TVET quality, products, and services. He examines the effectiveness of the existing Acts, frameworks, and strategic plans, which he finds that the government has difficulties in implementing them. He also suggests that expanding enrolment should be accompanied by providing suitable resources, including teachers, facilities, and career and job opportunities.

THOMAS SCHRÖDER (TU Dortmund University) has written a paper on TVET governance at the regional (ASEAN) level by focusing on stages and instruments of a supranational approach particularly in response to the establishment of ASEAN Economic Community and increasing challenges in society and the world of work due to digitalisation and unsustainable practices. The paper presents important milestones along the way for organisations and actors, as well as new initiatives and instruments, including the establishment of ASEAN-wide regulatory framework of TVET -the ASEAN TVET Council- in 2020. The paper concludes by arguing for an expansion of regional TVET research and development, which can support the necessary expansion and design processes effectively.

In her paper, SYUHADA YUNOS (University Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia) analyses the necessary strategic planning steps to achieve future ready TVET professionals in Malaysia. In her literature review, the author summarizes TVET transformation programmes both in Malaysia and internationally. By drawing on the economic development of the country, the author emphasizes the outstanding role the TVET sector plays in providing the country’s growing economy with qualified employees. Additionally, the opportunity of equipping the country with talented self-employed individuals through TVET programmes is mentioned. The study proposes a strategic planning approach in order to address the challenges of training future-ready professionals.

In their article, GOUHAR PIRZADA and ISRA GULZAR stress the importance of TVET for a country’s social, economic and human capital growth. However, achieving TVET graduates with the necessary industry-relevant skills set is not possible without fruitful cooperation with industry. To demonstrate to readers what this cooperation can look like, the paper provides a best practice example of the STEP Institute of Art Design & Management in Pakistan, where a study has been conducted to identify the needs and demands of the market. Consequently, the authors identify several dimensions TVET institutes should focus on in order to provide graduates with employability skills.

ABDULLAH HELMY, BRIAN FAIRMAN and ADAM VOAKreflect on teaching and learning-implications for post-pandemic TVET practice across the Further Education and Training sector in Indonesia. In times of rapid technological innovations, the authors highlight the need for adult learners to take on a more active role in their own learning processes. More specifically, the paper examines the consequences of the rapid deployment of e-learning and the expansion of communities of practice in this context. The study sheds light on the role of institutions and identifies technical challenges faced by educators and learners when moving teaching and learning into the online context. Furthermore, the authors investigate the nature of the paradigm shift required, at an institutional level, to ensure appropriate future development of an agile and responsive Indonesian administrative management, and special technological support infrastructure requirements.

By drawing on an earlier article published by one of the authors in TVET@Asia, NUR ‘ADNIN SYAMIL HALIK BASSAH and MOHD ASRI MOHD NOOR provide an insight into industry experts’ perspectives on needed employability skills for TVET graduates in Malaysia. To identify relevant employability skills for TVET graduates, this qualitative study investigates the perspective of industry experts through semi-structured interviews. The paper further argues that it is the responsibility of TVET institutions, and the graduates themselves, to foster and prepare the employability requirements of industry in order to increase the likelihood of learners being employed once they graduate. The authors also highlight the importance of strategic planning between TVET institutions and industry when aiming to achieve the establishment of successful collaboration between both stakeholders.

ISRA GULZAR investigates the multi-layered benefits of research culture in the educational sector by conducting a qualitative study on the perspectives of educational institutes in Pakistan regarding the importance of a viable research culture. To gather her data, the author conducts interviews with both leaders and teaching staff of conventional, as well as technical and vocational educational institutes. Results of the research highlight the relevance of research for the continuous development of the educational sector as well as for the adoption of innovative teaching and learning practices. The author concludes that rea viable and well defined search culture is imperative for the growth and development of Pakistani students, industry and country as a whole.

The Editors of Issue 20

Thomas Schröder, Paryono Paryono, Sommai Pivsa-Art, & Rupert Maclean

The quality of TVET teaching has an immense impact on both the reputation and relevance of a TVET system and its programmes. However, in order to be able to provide high-quality teaching in the field of TVET, teachers must be guaranteed a working environment which allows them to achieve this aim. For example, TVET teacher standards should be put in place to guarantee clear job profiles, recruitment criteria and quality assessment, as well as relevant pre-service training. Ideally, TVET teachers should regularly undergo training to continue honing their practical skills and to stay connected to emerging state of the art trends in the labour market. Furthermore, they need secure working conditions, including career pathways and attractive remuneration. To be able to implement this (by no means complete) list of preconditions for high-quality TVET teaching, every TVET system needs to put effort into TVET teacher development and management (TDM). Therefore, TDM must become a priority in TVET governance. The following article will shed light on the measures taken by the country of Georgia in recent years to improve the quality of its TVET system through TVET teacher development and management. The information presented in this article is derived primarily from two sources: first, desk research, and second, the experiences two of the co-authors collected during their involvement in the preparation and implementation of the World Bank project “Strengthening Teacher Quality in Vocational Education”. The study will introduce recent reform initiatives in Georgia’s TVET system and take a close look at the recently introduced TVET teacher standards, the freshly defined concept of TVET teachers and the Code of Ethics for TVET teachers.

Keywords: TVET teacher development and management, TVET reforms, Georgia, governance.

1        IntrodKetevanuction

TVET teachers are an important prerequisite for improving and expanding the quality and reach of TVET systems worldwide. As TVET teachers act as agents of change within a TVET system, the quality of their own education, training and management has a direct impact on the quality of TVET. In contrast to general education systems, TVET systems are constantly faced with the conceptual challenge of linking societal goals and expectations of TVET with labour market demands for skilled professionals. For TVET teachers to be able to cope with this requirement, they must be aware of current labour market trends such as new technologies and work practices. Furthermore, they need to be skilled professionals themselves, which presupposes that they are motivated and well trained with regard to both theoretical and practical skills and knowledge in their respective field of expertise.

In order to create better links between TVET education and actual labour market needs, the government of Georgia has been developing and implementing important reforms in the field of Technical and Vocational Education and Training throughout the past decade. These reform initiatives had become necessary as the country’s TVET system faced a series of challenges including skills mismatches, difficulties in youth transition from education to the labour market system and the need for highly skilled jobs, especially in the fast-growing transport and tourism sectors (ETF 2019 -a). To overcome these challenges, recent reforms sought to identify skills more precisely and facilitate a smoother transition from education to the labour market. The TVET system became more demand-led, with a focus on current and future (international) labour market needs (ETF 2019 -b, 7; ETF 2020, 42).

This article will present recent reforms and approaches which have been introduced in the Georgian TVET system in order to better prepare TVET teachers for the aforementioned challenges.

2        Methodology

The methodology of this paper is primarily based on a desk research approach. Multiple documents have been evaluated, many of which were found online, especially on the website of the European Training Foundation (www.etf.com). As the European Commission’s Centre of Expertise for human resource development in partner countries outside the European Union, the ETF has been actively engaged in the EU-supported TVET reform process in Georgia. While accompanying the reform process, the organisation published several documents on planned reforms, as well as on recent developments in education, training, and employment. Further relevant documents were published in the context of the ETF Torino Process, which describes “a participatory process leading to an evidence-based analysis of the vocational education and training (VET) policies in a country” (ETF n.d.).

Other documents, especially those on TVET teacher standards, recruitment, professional development, career advancement, remuneration schemes, etc., were developed within the grant project “Strengthening Teacher Quality in Vocational Education”. The project was implemented by the World Bank Group in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia, with UK Government financial aid from June 2019 to February 2021. As reform is ongoing and the newly established Skills Agency of Georgia continues its efforts to update, finalise and digitalise the TDM system outline prior to official approval of regulatory framework by the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia, only two documents have been published so far on the World Bank Group’s portal: TVET teacher standards (World Bank 2021 -a) and code of ethics (World Bank 2021 -b). It should also be mentioned that two of the co-authors have been actively involved in preparing and implementing the TDM outline through the grant project. In addition, they continue to contribute to the development of the TVET sector in Georgia in different capacities, enabling them to conduct an up-to-date case study of the Georgian TVET reform process, particularly in relation to TVET teachers.

3        TVET teacher development and management (TDM)

Megatrends such as greening, industry 4.0 and digitalisation are affecting the world of work and the demands placed on the current and future workforce. Skilled workers are expected to cope with a constantly changing world of work. Modern TVET systems are challenged to take this expanded image of the skilled worker into account by preparing today’s employees for the challenges and transitions of tomorrow’s labour market. According to UNESCO, “investing in the future by building the capacities of TVET leaders and teaching staff is essential for the successful navigation of these transitions” (UNESCO-UNEVOC n.d.). This implies that TVET teachers themselves must be prepared to work and teach in an unpredictable future of rapid technological and societal change. Besides educating and training young people for the future labour market, TVET teachers are required to integrate current trends into their respective national TVET systems and to act as agents of change for the development of innovative and flexible TVET systems. TVET teachers themselves need to be aware of innovations in the labour market and educated in a way that allows them to cope with current and future challenges and developments.

3.1        TVET teacher development and management: scope and prerequisites for achieving high-quality TVET teaching 

When researching TVET teacher development and management (TDM), one is struck by the fact that there is neither an internationally binding definition of “TVET teacher” nor a clear conceptual distinction between the term “TVET teacher” and “TVET trainer” or “instructor”. Some institutions draw a clear line between the different terms, others use them as synonyms. However, one can state that the term “TVET teacher” usually refers to a more theory-focused educational profile, while “trainers” and “instructors” tend to focus on the development of practical skills and the quality of work (Ahmed 2010). No matter which term is used to describe TVET teaching personnel, it is essential for them to possess both pedagogical and didactic basics, as well as in-depth insights into the world of work, job-related tasks and processes. Especially with regard to the latter, it should be emphasised that practical competences are not acquired through a once-only learning process, but need to be expanded and updated throughout professional life in its entirety.

The concept of TVET TDM is based on two objectives: the development of TVET teachers and TVET systems, and the management of TVET teachers, including accountability. These partially contradictory objectives need to be aligned and coordinated in order to achieve qualitative excellence of TVET teachers and, by extension, the TVET system.

TVET teacher development refers to the training of TVET personnel at different learning sites and in different development phases. The learning sites can include university settings, industry placements and teacher training institutes, while the development phases can range from pre-service training to in-service training and also include Continuing Professional Development (CPD) of TVET teachers. Typically, TVET teacher development will be a component of national education standards as well as teacher training standards. It should be noted that the development of TVET teachers is a very complex issue. The job profile is diverse and TVET teachers can come from widely different economic sectors and educational pathways. In addition, according to the type of TVET teacher needed, teacher development may take different forms. Whereas theory teachers might need deeper competences and skills in theoretical and pedagogical topics, practice teachers should focus on up-to-date practical skills and current labour market trends. However, the persistent shortage of work-based learning opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic has further reinforced the need for a more complex approach to training for TVET teachers or trainers who have the occupational expertise and  experience to design and implement practical learning in schools, as well as the pedagogical skills to incorporate soft skills development in teaching. 

TVET teacher management, on the other hand, focuses on more organisational topics such as career guidance of TVET teachers, recruitment, deployment, remuneration and evaluation mechanisms for teacher performance. Here, recruitment strategies, institutional induction and mentoring, as well as competitive remuneration schemes and attractive career pathways, play an important role in guaranteeing a systematic approach towards TVET teacher management. In addition, industry cooperation is key in the context of TVET teacher management in order to ensure that TVET teachers are conversant with the latest practical and work-related skills. Without the cooperation of industry, TVET teaching will quickly become outdated and lack labour market relevance. TVET teacher management aims at providing a TVET system with a sufficient number of quality TVET teachers. To do so, relevant policy measures must be taken at a fairly high institutional and administrative level to guarantee the recruitment, deployment and retention of motivated and qualified TVET staff. TVET teacher management can thus play a key role in achieving a gender-balanced and socially recognised TVET teacher profession.

As can be seen, there are many aspects that should ideally be taken into account when establishing a high-quality scheme for TVET teacher development and management. Examining all of the aspects mentioned above would go beyond the scope of this article, so the authors have decided to limit their study to selected features of teacher development and management that have been the subject of recent reform approaches.

3.2        Challenges faced when tackling TVET teacher development and management

Most national TVET systems face a series of challenges when it comes to the implementation of TVET teacher development and management. The following list is not exhaustive, but it enumerates some specific challenges in the context of TVET TDM, most of which will be addressed in the context of Georgia.

• Overall poor reputation of the TVET teaching profession combined with low social status and insufficient job security. Working conditions for TVET teachers tend to be less attractive than those for teachers in general education. For instance, working contracts for TVET teachers are less secure than those awarded in general education (CEART 2018, 16-17). A similar imbalance can be found when looking at the overall reputation and esteem of TVET teaching as a profession in comparison to teaching jobs in general education (CEART 2018, 13). In a worst-case scenario, this creates a vicious circle, where the profession of TVET teaching will only be chosen in the absence of alternatives, which would further deteriorate the profession’s reputation.
• Lack of defined TVET standards and clear job profiles: As mentioned above, there is no clear and binding definition of the term “TVET teacher”. If TVET teachers work in a country without a defined TVET teacher standard, this has a negative impact on the overall image of the profession. With no precise quality standards laying out the qualifications needed to engage in the teaching profession, the quality of teaching may suffer.
• Lack of systematically implemented Continuous Professional Development (CPD) for TVET teachers: CPD is an essential element of TVET teacher management. Teachers need to keep track of the constant changes and developments in the labour market in order to provide learners with up-to-date skills and knowledge. For teachers to be motivated to engage in CPD measures, these need to be formally certified, which is seldom the case (UNESCO 2014). Furthermore, teachers should be incentivised to engage in CPD in order to enhance their teaching performance and potentially gain access to new career pathways. However, many TVET systems are dominated by hierarchical structures where career development is not necessarily linked to performance evaluation (CEART 2018).
• Need for TVET teachers to update their practical skills and labour market knowledge continuously: TVET teachers can only provide relevant and high-quality practical skills if they themselves stay up to date. To this end, TVET teachers need regular practical refreshers at industry workplaces to learn about new technologies, machinery, organisational structures etc. However, many TVET systems lack strong relationships with industry, which are so vital to TVET teachers’ structured learning experiences.
• Need to adapt to current labour market trends and disruptive changes: Current labour market trends such as digitalisation, greening, inclusion and Industry 4.0 require new competences. These must be taught by TVET teachers who themselves need to be trained accordingly so that they can cope with a rapidly changing labour market. However, many TVET teachers lack practical learning, which leaves them out of touch with labour market developments. Global crises such as the COVID 19 pandemic further underlined the education system’s exposure to disruptive change. TVET teachers need to be able to adapt quickly and flexibly to new situations. Digital literacy and teachers’ competences and skills play a crucial role, as innovative teaching methods become increasingly relevant in order to cope with rapidly changing circumstances.
• Need for competitive remuneration to be able to keep pace with jobs in the private sector: Many national governments only attribute a fraction of their education budget to the TVET sector. This results in TVET teachers being paid disproportionately low salaries compared to their counterparts in general education. This makes TVET teaching a rather unattractive option for many professionals in education (Axmann et al. 2015). In addition, TVET institutions also compete directly with the private sector when it comes to recruiting qualified personnel (CEART 2018). Consequently, TVET institutions face severe challenges when it comes to the recruitment and retention of qualified and motivated TVET teachers.

As seen above, the challenges TVET systems face in moving towards meaningful and substantive TVET teacher management and development are many and varied. They do not all need to be addressed at once, and some challenges are certainly more urgent than others. In the course of this article, we will shed light on the priorities the Georgian government has defined when looking at how to overcome the challenges in the field of TVET TDM. Before diving into the concrete steps undertaken by the Georgian government in cooperation with its partners, the following section will provide an overview of recent legal and institutional developments in Georgian TVET governance.

4        Legal and institutional developments in TVET governance in Georgia

Over the last decade, the Georgian TVET sector has undergone an ambitious process of reform which has led to significant changes in the governance of TVET systems. The process has been actively supported by the EU, donors, development agencies and banks, and other international institutions. A consistent and intensive TVET reform process was initiated in 2013, with the introduction of the first long-term TVET Reform Strategy of Georgia 2013-2020. As well as improving financial access to TVET, there was a shift in focus towards the introduction of competence-based and modular approaches, work-based learning (including dual education models), inclusive education, and public-private partnerships. Efforts were made to double the number of network providers in order to broaden geographical access. Greater emphasis was also placed on adult education and youth-oriented TVET.

A new Law on Vocational Education was adopted in 2018, designed to act as a framework for a new model of vocational education in Georgia (MoES n.d. -a). Furthermore, in accordance with strategic priorities and development needs, the new TVET law provides a legal basis for further changes to the TVET system. This includes a stronger focus on work-based learning, the integration of upper secondary education outcomes into TVET pathways and the establishment of a systematic approach to training, professional development and career advancements for TVET teachers (MoES n.d. -a). All in all, the new TVET law is intended to support the case for a lifelong learning perspective in the TVET system and to facilitate flexible adjustments to the needs of the labour market (ETF 2019 -b, 11). The consistent nature of state policies in TVET was further manifested in the first Unified Strategy for Education and Science 2017-2021 (ETF 2021, 7). Significant steps have been taken to develop an inclusive education system, to approve a national qualification framework similar to the European model, to introduce a mechanism for the recognition of non-formal learning outcomes, and to introduce standardised enrolment in educational institutions. Care has been taken to implement new parameters for authorisation, eliminating so-called deadlocks, establishing an adult education system, involving private TVET providers in the state funding system, and scaling up work-based learning, including dual education. These are some of the measures to have positively impacted TVET graduates’ rate of employment and self-employment (MoES 2022, 12-13).

As it works towards a flexible and demand-oriented TVET system which will provide the future labour market with competent employees, Georgia introduced a new institutional arrangement for TVET governance before the end of 2021. In this new model, key functions and responsibilities are delegated to the public and private sectors. Accordingly, to enhance the development of the country’s human capital through collaboration and shared duties among the public and private sectors, the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia established the Skills Agency (SA) as a non-commercial and non-profit legal entity, together with the Georgian Chamber of Commerce. As well as providing equal cooperation opportunities to public and private sectors, the new model also “facilitates the development of TVET policies and services that will raise the quality and relevance of the skills ecosystem and significantly decrease the labour market mismatch” (European Commission 2022, 3)..

A new institutional arrangement redistributed the functions in the TVET system management. Within the new setting, the Georgian Ministry of Education and Science (MoES) has the authority to approve all key policies within its competence, including TVET teacher-related regulations, etc. It is in charge of establishing new TVET institutions, as well as coordinating and funding existing ones. MoES also provides the Skills Agency with programme and administrative funding for delegated key functions related to, for example, the development of modern skills and qualifications, inclusive vocational education tailored to individual needs, and the internationalisation of TVET.

All TVET teacher-related functions, previously housed under the National Centre for Teachers’ Professional Development (TPDC, a legal entity of public law within the MoES system) have been transferred to the Skills Agency. Previously, TPDC concentrated on select priority areas in TVET, namely the development and implementation of professional standards, the provision of in-service training for the professional development of TVET teachers, and the organisation and implementation of other projects determined by the national TVET policy.

The TVET system of Georgia is further supported by several legal entities of public law under the MoES:

• The National Centre for Educational Quality Enhancement (NCEQE) is responsible for quality assurance procedures in the TVET system. It was responsible for the development of the Georgian National Qualifications Framework (NQF) and is now supervising its implementation (Tsiramua 2021). NCEQE is the only recognised national body authorised to implement external quality assurance mechanisms to ensure and improve the quality of general, vocational and higher education in Georgia.
• The National Assessment and Examination Centre (NAEC) concentrates on TVET assessment. It is Georgia’s largest professional organisation in this field. The NAEC organises entrance examinations prior to the enrolment of TVET students in TVET programmes or short cycle programmes and conducts Unified National Examinations, Professional Tests and State Assessments. The centre is also accredited to conduct a number of international examinations (MoES n.d. -b).
• The Education and Science Infrastructure Development Agency (ESIDA) is responsible for the construction and maintenance of TVET institutes in Georgia, including the recently introduced Centres of Excellence. The agency also focuses on providing TVET institutions with the necessary inventory and technology to conduct TVET classes and training (CEB 2016, 2).
• Education Management Information Systems (EMIS) – is responsible for collecting and disseminating education data and statistics, including TVET (EMIS n.d.). EMIS also ensures the collection, storage and administration of electronic data in the Georgian education system, including the creation, implementation and administration of information systems for the management of general education, vocational and higher education institutions. EMIS allows for the issuance of a duplicate of a vocational education diploma and vocational education certificate in accordance with the rules established by the Ministry. Lastly, EMIS ensures the registration of personal data of students’ parents, students/professional students, graduates and persons employed in the educational institutions, etc.

Despite the numerous reform approaches initiated throughout the last decade, TVET remains a second-choice option for Georgian youth (ETF 2019 -b, 18). One way to increase demand for TVET programmes among students lies in improving the quality and reputation of the TVET system. Here, the role of TVET teachers plays a crucial role. However, TVET teachers must be seen as part of a TVET governance system, as they are dependent on policy reforms regarding the aforementioned aspects of TDM, such as remuneration schemes, CPD plans, teachers’ standards and pre-service training. In 2021, in accordance with all of the above, the Ministry of Education and Science (MoES) developed a new long-term Unified National Strategy covering the period 2022-2030 for the entire education and training system, as well as for research and innovation topics, providing clear grounds and goals for further development.

5        Study on the Methods and Instruments for Teacher Performance Evaluation in the Georgian TVET System

One of the goals in the Unified National Strategy of Education and Science 2022-2030 is to develop an innovative and flexible vocational education system focused on the needs of society and the economy. The priorities include, but are not limited to, the promotion of lifelong competencies, the internationalisation of the vocational education system, the strengthening of entrepreneurship education and promotion among young people. All of the aforementioned priorities are closely linked with improved policies and practices for the teaching of key competencies, digital competencies, foreign languages, and the development of the ecosystem of green competencies in educational institutions. Internationalisation will also be supported through the Erasmus+ programme, providing opportunities for student and teacher exchange programmes as well as through the implementation of exchange and joint programmes with foreign educational institutions. Various mechanisms of international mobility will also be promoted.

None of these, of course, can be reached without a well-trained teaching force. The two related objectives aim at a) equipping vocational education students/trainees with the necessary skills and competencies for continuous employment in the local and international labour market, and b) the promotion of vocational education teachers’ continuous professional development. According to the Unified Strategy, “mechanisms will be created at all levels of the educational system to attract successful teachers, trainers, and education specialists to the profession and for their continuous professional development and career growth” (MoES 2022, 28).

For vocational education this will be reached through the elaboration and implementation of a solid TDM system, inclusive of continuous career development and evaluation. Moreover, there are plans to introduce a school-based approach for continuous professional development and career advancement and to enhance the role of TVET teachers and educational institutions in planning and delivering TVET. Collaborations with diverse groups of providers to ensure the TVET teacher training and continuous professional development programmes (MoES 2022, 29) are also envisaged.

Reaching this objective is crucial, given the documented scarcity of incentives for professionals to enter the TVET teaching profession, exacerbated by a lack of pedagogical skills, capacity building or continuous professional development of TVET educators, as noted in the 2013-2020 TVET Strategy (MoES 2013, 6) and the Unified National Strategy of Education and Science 2022-2030 (MoES 2022, 17-18). Nevertheless, a highly qualified and motivated TVET teaching force is a prerequisite in order to overcome the multiple challenges facing the Georgian TVET system. Most importantly, the TVET system must become capable of attracting more students. Today, even with significant progress made, TVET is still considered a second choice compared to higher education (ETF 2019 -b, 18). Only a small portion of the respective age cohort chooses a pathway in vocational education (ETF 2021, 7). As a result, many employees holding university diplomas are overqualified for their jobs, yet underskilled when it comes to the necessary practical skills needed in the workplace (ETF 2019 -b, 26). As a result, the TVET sector needs to increase its attractiveness, accessibility and the quality of teaching in order to be considered an attractive option by school leavers and adults with regard to career development.

In the following section, we will have a look at the concept of TVET teachers in the Georgian TVET system, before taking a deep dive into the recent reforms which have been put forward to improve the quality and image of TVET teaching in Georgia.

5.1        Introduction to the concept and image of TVET teachers in Georgia

As seen in chapter 3.2, TVET teacher development and management is hampered by multiple challenges. This is also the case in Georgia, where the ETF’s evaluation of Georgian TVET strategy states that TVET teachers in Georgia are confronted with an “ambiguous status”  (ETF 2021, 56). In the Georgian context, TVET teaching is not traditionally considered a full-time profession. In fact, the majority of TVET teachers (around 60%) are employed on a part-time basis, partly because TVET schools find full-time contracts too expensive (ETF 2021, 57; ETF 2020, 22). Furthermore, work contracts for TVET teachers tend to be less secure than those for teachers in general education (MoES 2013, 13). TVET teachers are usually employed by school principals who decide who to hire and how long teachers are employed for (ETF 2020, 22). There is, however, no obligatory pre-service education for new TVET teachers. Consequently, many teachers have no formal pedagogical qualifications and are employed solely on the basis of their practical skills. TVET teachers are often trained on the job by their respective TVET providers, leaving them without formal training regarding practical and professional skills.

All the above-mentioned points have resulted in rendering the TVET teaching profession unattractive for new entrants and highly skilled professionals, who often prefer to look for better jobs in the private sectors.

5.2        Recent reform initiatives in the field of TVET teacher TDM

According to the Unified Strategy of Education and Science 2022-2030 (MoES 2022, 29), one of the priorities to achieve set goals and objectives is the formation of a “flexible system of vocational education teacher commencement, professional development and career advancement”. This system will be based on the relevant model developed in cooperation with the World Bank project “Strengthening Teacher Quality in Vocational Education and Training” (2021). The basis for establishing an appropriate regulatory framework has been secured through a new law on TVET in Georgia, adopted in 2018. The latter formulated a list of sublegal acts to be approved and introduced for a new TVET system. Four of them directly concerned regulations for TVET teachers:

1. Vocational Education Teacher Professional Standards
2. Vocational Education Teacher Code of Ethics
3. Rules and Regulations of Commencement of Work, Professional Development, and career progression of Vocational Education Teachers
4. Remuneration Rules and Regulations for Vocational Education Teachers

Other sublegal acts regarding new TVET funding mechanisms, quality assurance mechanisms for secondary vocational education programmes, procedures and conditions for obtaining the status of an educational enterprise, may need to be taken into consideration when developing a TVET teacher-related regulatory framework.

In 2020 and 2021, TVET teacher development and management were the focus of the “Strengthening Teacher Quality in Vocational Education and Training” project, implemented by the World Bank Group in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia, with financial aid from the UK Government from June 2019 to February 2021. For more than a year and a half, national and international experts cooperated with Georgian TVET stakeholders on activities aimed at the development of TVET teacher standards, the new model of professional development, and a new remuneration scheme for TVET teachers (Vocational Education Development Department 2022, 15-16). The most important achievements of the project will be outlined below.

5.2.1       TVET teacher standards

The development of teacher standards for TVET teachers can be considered one of the main outcomes of the aforementioned World Bank Group project. Two sets of standards have been developed. The first set of standards describes the core functions to be carried out by TVET teachers (Professional Standards for TVET Teachers), the second set (Standards for Additional Functions) refers to additional functions teachers might take on, such as specialist roles in learning coordination or quality assessment (World Bank Group 2020, 6).

Both the Professional Standards for TVET Teachers and the Standards for Additional Functions are further divided into six key areas which concern the following aspects of TVET teachers’ core functions: (i) Analysis and Planning; (ii) Preparing the Learning Environment; (iii) Leading the Learning Process; (iv) Assessing the Achievements of TVET Students; (v) Establishing Ethical and Effective Working Relationships and (vi) Maintaining and Improving Quality and Continuing Professional Development. Under each key area, there are one to four specific standards setting out the different performance criteria required of competent TVET teachers. The criteria are to be used for the assessment and evaluation of TVET teachers. In addition to these criteria, each standard defines essential knowledge and understanding units, representing a basis for the teachers’ development and training in order to meet the standards’ requirements (ibid.).

One success of the elaboration of TVET teachers’ standards consisted in the participatory approach in which TVET institutions and their teachers were asked to review the draft standards and provide feedback. Additionally, government agencies, government representatives and employers were included in the development process across six phases: firstly, an occupational analysis of the entire Georgian TVET teaching sector was carried out. This was followed by a functional analysis of TVET teachers’ work according to government objectives. After comparing the results to existing standards and best practices from other countries, a first set of occupational standards was drafted. Based on feedback from the above-mentioned group of stakeholders, the draft was adjusted and turned into a final standard. The final step saw the development of knowledge and understanding units (World Bank Group 2020, 8). A detailed glossary provides clarification on key concepts and terms such as “assessment instrument” or “quality criteria” with explanations and examples (World Bank Group 2020, 65-67).

The standard is limited to pedagogical/andragogical competencies. When it comes to the assessment of a teacher’s vocational and occupational skills, classroom observations need to be carried out in addition to applying the set of teacher standards. In future, the evaluation of occupation-related skills might fall under the responsibility of the sectoral skills organisations which are currently under development.

5.2.2       Definition of the concept of TVET teachers

As mentioned, there are various definitions and concepts with regard to the profession of a TVET teacher. According to the TVET teacher standards developed in cooperation with the World Bank Group in 2020 and 2021, the Georgian TVET system differentiates between three different types of TVET teachers (World Bank Group 2020, 5):

• The Vocational Teacher is responsible for teaching theoretical and practical contents in vocational education programmes in TVET institutions.
• The Company Instructor is responsible for instructing learners in the workplace, where he/she ensures the development of practical skills and key competencies. Company Instructors are employed by the companies themselves on account of their expertise in their respective field of practice.
• Finally, there is the concept of the Invited Teacher. This refers to an expert from industry who occasionally works in the TVET system as a “guest teacher”. Invited Teachers are employed for a limited period, usually on a part-time basis. As practising specialists in their respective fields, they are responsible for ensuring that learners acquire vocational and key competencies, whilst also familiarising them with modern practices and technologies from the world of work.

This definition of the three different types of TVET teachers is essential in order to be able to implement TVET teacher standards sustainably. It also helps to define professional profiles and improve the quality of TVET teaching. Applicants for teaching roles are thus better positioned to choose a job profile according to their skills and their professional experience.

5.2.3       Code of Ethics for TVET Teachers in Georgia

Another positive outcome of the “Strengthening Teacher Quality in Vocational Education” project was the new Code of Ethics for Georgian TVET teachers. The code is based on Article 22 of the new TVET law, which refers to the conditions for beginning and continuing a career as a TVET teacher in Georgia, reflecting “the perceptions of stakeholders on the roles of TVET teachers and their responsibilities in the country” (World Bank 2021 -b, 3). The overall aim of the code of ethics is to define “positive ethical principles” to help new TVET teachers enter the profession and to encourage the established teaching force to act as role models, whilst maintaining high ethical standards in their professional relations with learners and their parents. Ultimately, the key ethical principles outlined are meant to foster public trust in the TVET teacher profession and to increase its prestige (World Bank 2021 -b, 3-4).

The main pillars on which the code of ethics is built are respect, integrity, care and trust. These are represented in the six key principles, which should be applied to all interactions between TVET teachers and other stakeholders such as learners, parents and other members of the school community. The key principles concern teachers’ responsibility to the profession, the need to keep professional knowledge and practice up to date and to maintain professional relationships with learners. With regard to teachers’ professional knowledge and development, the code requires TVET teachers to maintain and improve a high quality of professional practice. This shall be acquired by seeking support and guidance and by seizing opportunities of “career-long professional development” (World Bank 2021 -b, 5-6). Furthermore, teachers’ responsibilities towards their institution, the wider TVET community and other stakeholders such as parents are underlined by the code of ethics. Lastly, TVET teachers are required to apply effective, efficient and proper use of the institutional resources, for example, by paying attention to environmental protection and sustainable development issues (World Bank 2021 -b, 4-8). The code of ethics applies to all types of TVET teachers in all types of TVET institutions, including in-company instructors who teach practical skills in the workplace (World Bank 2021 -b, 3).

6        Summary and outlook

As evidenced, the TVET system of Georgia is steadily changing to align itself with labour market demands, individual needs of learners and European TVET standards in accordance with the country’s European aspirations. This alignment includes a shift from short-term efforts to long-term strategies and action plans, policy evaluations and informed decisions as well as public-private partnerships. The targeted efforts have positively impacted TVET outcomes. According to the Unified National Strategy of Education and Science, “the employment rate of graduates of vocational education programmes has increased by 20% compared to 2014 (2014 – 42%; 2019 – 62%)” (MoES 2022, 13). The TVET system is now ready to focus on priorities set forth in the strategy: quality and relevance; equality, inclusion and diversity; as well as governance, accountability and funding.

The operationalisation of a new, modern TVET system as per the new TVET law and the improvement of quality requires strong institutions, a qualified cadre and dedicated professionals. These need to be nurtured and supported through a diverse set of mechanisms, sublegal acts, policies and programmes. The Government of Georgia has experienced significant support, enabling the institutions responsible to take the lead in implementing reform with confidence. The draft documents and concepts developed within the framework of the grant project “Strengthening Teacher Quality in Vocational Education and Training” regarding the TVET teacher regulatory framework are meaningful contributions, offering a careful reflection of international benchmarks and local needs/challenges.

However, as reform is ongoing, the draft concepts require an update to capture the recent developments in the TVET management system, redistribution of functions, new institutional development vision, TVET funding mechanisms and the sublegal acts that have been developed or approved.  As the newly established Skills Agency of Georgia continues its efforts to update, finalise and digitalise the TDM system outline with donors’ support prior to official approval of the regulatory framework by the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia, it is essential that the final versions stay relevant to the development stage. This includes being user-oriented and functional as well as reflecting international standards and some of the best local practices. Most importantly, the timely finalisation of such measures and the implementation of a complete TVET teacher regulatory framework are absolutely necessary if the goals and priorities set forth by all strategic documents are to be achieved, thus contributing to continued progress in the TVET area.

References

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With the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015 and the simultaneously increasing challenges in society and the world of work (digital transformation, greening), a supranational regional approach to TVET governance in Southeast Asia has become a more pressing issue. This joint approach to governance of TVET allows actors and organisations to act flexibly and innovatively according to the principles of self-direction, oriented to the needs of a regional labour market in terms of effective, efficient, equitable, inclusive and sustainable vocational education. To date, this has been countered by the structural and historical weaknesses of the Southeast Asian Association of Nations. Nevertheless, in the past decade – notably after the creation of the AEC in 2015 – an ASEAN-wide regulatory framework of TVET has been established, culminating in the establishment of the ASEAN TVET Council in 2020 to provide a basis for the development of “good governance”. This essay presents important milestones along the way for organisations and actors, as well as new initiatives and instruments. It concludes by arguing for an expansion of regional TVET research and development, which can support the necessary expansion and design processes in earnest.

Keywords: TVET, good governance, TVET research, ASEAN, ASEAN TVET Council, ASEAN Economic community.

1        Governance as a task in the further development of regional vocational education and training

TVET systems must be flexible because they are constantly called upon to implement changes relating to legal regulations, for example, or to assess and assimilate new technologies which impact on the labour market and vocational education and training. The goal is to provide up-to-date vocational education and training at the highest level of quality. This requires structures and mechanisms that allow actors and organisations to offer vocational education and training in keeping with demand at all times.

Adequate governance is a prerequisite for market-relevant and sustainable development of technical and vocational education and training in the rapidly changing climate of digital transformation. UNESCO highlighted its importance more than a decade ago:

… TVET governance is “concerned with how the funding, provision, ownership and regulation of TVET systems are coordinated, which actors are involved, and what are their respective roles and responsibilities, and level of formal competence – at the local, regional, national and supranational level. Whilst in many countries government continues to play the most significant role in coordinating TVET, the distribution of these responsibilities has been changing in response to calls for greater efficiency and effectiveness, particularly to engage employers.” (UNESCO 2010, 6)

Today, however, governance goes beyond the distribution of competences and responsibilities in the sense of efficient and effective regulation of vocational education and training. According to UNESCO’s new TVET strategy 2022-2029 (UNESCO 2022), in addition to purposeful organisation and governance, it should also pursue the development of (vocational) skills and competencies under the guiding principle of an inclusive, peaceful and sustainable society. The UNESCO Agenda 2030 features 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the fourth of which highlights inclusive, equitable and high-quality education for all.

If we expand the concept of governance a bit further, it is essential to see how it differs from government. Both involve institutionalisations that enable actors to do or regulate things. Whereas government is predicated on authority, however, governance emphasises self-regulation:

“4. Governance is about autonomous self-governing networks of actors. 5. Governance recognises the capacity to get things done which does not rest on the power of government to command or use its authority.” (Stoker 2018, 16)

Cedefop (2016, 33ff; based on Rauner 2009 and own preliminary work) differentiates the governance of TVET systems on system-theoretical lines into four so-called “skill formation regimes”. Depending on how governance (structures, processes, organisations, actors) is distributed in terms of competencies (powers, responsibilities) between the state and the private sector, a distinction can be made: state-centralised, liberal, collective (the German dual model) and segmentary systems. The extent to which actors (subsystems) in this system actually have influence “to get things done” (Stoker) depends on feedback mechanisms, which can be characterised as:

“purposefully implemented institutional procedures that allow TVET (sub-)systems to continuously renew themselves and adapt to emerging labour market needs. … such feedback mechanisms … (are) governmental and administrative bodies, education and training providers, social partner organisations and the labour market.” (ibid., 36f)

Similarly, but with a more action-theoretical orientation, Büchter, Bohlinger, & Tramm (2013) argue that innovation also starts at an institutional level (laws and norms, state structures, cultural standards and traditions) and that innovation comes about when actors with different interests negotiate and establish new institutionalisations in more or less conflictual situations. However, this presupposes structures in which such processes can take place “without interference”, and this, by extension, requires – when processes threaten to become routines – institutionalised mechanisms for decision-making. In Büchter, Bohlinger, & Tramm (2013), this line of argument looks to the German dual vocational training system, where there is a significant commitment to modern design and equal opportunities, but traditional patterns persist in the face of appropriate decision-making paths (impermeability).

Hauschildt & Wittig (2018, 276f; similar in Cedefop 2016, 41) identify six main criteria to assess and describe the governance of a TVET system (a continuum with two poles is indicated in parentheses in each case):

1. coordinated legal regulations (coordinated – fragmented)
2. distribution of strategic and operational functions (local – central)
3. involvement of relevant stakeholders (exclusionary – inclusive).
4. quality assurance and development strategies (rigid – dynamic)
5. balance of outcome and input orientation (outcome – input).
6. partnership financing (state – cooperative)

Using the so-called governance equalizer developed in the example of university administration (Schimank 2007, 238) – an analogy between the regulation of an administrative system and the control of a sound recording in a studio – Hauschildt & Wittig (see above) demonstrate the analytical usefulness of their criteria in an exemplary account of the current German dual model.

TVET governance can also be analysed on meso, micro and macro-levels(UNESCO-UNEVOC 2021a; 2021b; 2021c). The first level refers to the places and institutions where TVET takes place directly (micro), the second to the aggregating organisations at local, regional, and national levels (meso), and the third to the institutions and organisations potentially affecting the entirety of a TVET system: the state, unions, employers (macro). This distinction is a valuably pragmatic one that helps to differentiate stakeholders according to their interests and potential opportunities for influence. They (the stakeholders at all three levels) act together, but with preferences in line with their own characteristics, to shape TVET and are collectively responsible for identifying relevant competencies, incorporating them into curricula and training programmes, and implementing them in learning environments (UNESCO-UNEVOC 2021a, 7). In this regard, “good governance” requires each of the three levels equally; it must allow macro-control in the sense of a justified common good as well as bottom-up strategies by actors – with equally justified interests – at the micro and meso levels. Lower levels need a certain degree of autonomy, as they know the conditions on the ground best, but at the same time they need a framework that opens up opportunities for them to shape things in the first place: “enabling” is the term used by UNESCO.

With regard to regional (supranational) governance, which is the subject of this essay in the form of the joint vocational training of the ASEAN states (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), this does not initially appear to be problematic, since governance by definition is not a government and is not conceptually bound to nation-state (or similarly fixed) borders. But its legal-institutional character (including the possibility of sanctioning) is consistently an important part in functioning governance structures. This implies an affinity to state organisation, or at least the definitions and categorical frameworks point to a nation-state aspect of governance. It is not easy to speak conceptually of common governance in the case of the European Union – especially in the field of (vocational) education and training – since the European Union applies the open method of coordination (OMC). This means that common regulations and initiatives are implemented outside the legal competences of the EU through an exchange of information and the search for best practices (Bauer & Knöll 2003). Joint governance is even more difficult in the case of ASEAN, which continues to follow the ASEAN Way of the association of sovereign nation states even after the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015.

A second point is just as true as the prevalence of nation states in structural institutional and legal terms and, above all, connected through their actors: regions are becoming increasingly important today for the prosperity and welfare of the individual, both socially and economically. Where this is the case, common, functioning governance is required. Work and prosperity are particularly significant variables for social harmony and economic development in regions- necessitating the need for regional TVET governance. For ASEAN, in line with increasing economic integration, there is a need for region-wide coordination or even “joint governance” of TVET. The current constitution of regional TVET governance is not yet at this level, but the way forward has become clearer – all the more so since the establishment of the AEC in 2015. Chapter 2provides an overview of efforts for a common regulatory framework for TVET in the ASEAN region (Schröder 2022; for national TVET systems see Bin Bai & Paryono 2019). Chapter 3 discusses whether regional “good TVET governance” (in an explicitly normative sense) is beginning to emerge – and to what extent.

2        TVET design in the ASEAN region: Actors, Initiatives, Problems

2.1        Basic structures and challenges

ASEAN is far larger than the EU and, since January 1, 2022, part of the world’s largest free trade area (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership). The critical situation in the world today does not seem to have shaken Southeast Asia’s pre-Corona reputation as one of the world’s fastest-growing and most dynamic regions (Flatten et al. 2019), nor – as the last summit in November 2022 showed – has it undermined the confidence of ASEAN leaders in the path they have chosen. None of this could have been foreseen in 1967, when a number of Southeast Asian states were seeking their way to independence after a long period of colonial dependence. Political, economic, social and cultural integration began almost 10 years later with Bali Concord I in 1976 followed by Bali Concord II in 2003, which established the three pillars of ASEAN’s organisational structure: security, economic and socio-cultural – the last of which includes vocational education and training. The economic and financial crises of 1997 and 1998 provided the impetus for further integration efforts. A panel of political figures formulated ASEAN Vision 2020, which became the basis for the ASEAN Charter in 2007. This underpinned the founding documents of the renewed association in 2015: ASEAN 2025: Forging Ahead Together (ASEAN Secretariat 2015).

For all its proclaimed and accomplished integration, ASEAN is still based on its founding principles of “national sovereignty” and non-interference in internal affairs. Joint resolutions are only possible by way of diplomatic consensus – requiring the good will of all to implement them. This “ASEAN Way” is partly responsible for the low level of visible representation, which is limited to meetings of heads of state and government, or at the level of ministers and state secretaries. The Secretariat, established in Jakarta in 1973, is considered weak because of its low level of human and financial resources, owing to the prevalence of national interests (Lay Hwee 2020, 9f; see also Mahbubani 2017).

This founding history of ASEAN should be prefaced by two characteristics that still apply to a (joint regional) design of vocational education and training in the ASEAN region, which intensified with steps toward economic integration and the founding of the AEC. Initial approaches had already taken place in the 1980s with Japan and Australia (Vitić 2020, 711-732):

• Supranational TVET initiatives are merely recommended to the respective institutions of the AMSs (ASEAN Member States) for implementation, such as in the case of the ASEAN Qualifications Framework:

“The ASEAN Qualifications Reference Framework is based on agreed understandings between member states and invites voluntary engagement from countries.” (ASEAN Secretariat 2020c)

• ASEAN vocational education and training initiatives are often coordinated by the Secretariat in Jakarta, but are not feasible without other organisations and actors (SEAMEO VOCTECH and others ) or external support (e.g., the GIZ RECOTVET programme).

The problems of ASEAN-wide TVET governance structures are evident here. If these are to be adequately addressed, Southeast Asian challenges which makeregional governance of TVET more difficult must be considered. First, there is the tension that arises from great economic dynamism on the one hand and the immense social and economic disparities between and within countries on the other. The showcase city-state Singapore, wealthy Brunei and the limited prosperity of Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam stand in contrast to the “poor” CLM countries (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar).

Furthermore, supranational action is hampered by cultural, religious, ethnic, linguistic and political differences – often even within a single country. Forms of government range from the sultanate in Brunei and a parliamentary democracy (Singapore) to de facto autocratic systems (Cambodia) and the current military regimes in Myanmar and Thailand. In addition, the region is more frequently affected by natural disasters (tsunami) than others. “Megacities” such as the 12-million-strong Manila region create environmental problems, and the often-cited advantage of a relatively young population seems to be on the wane. ASEAN is reacting to this with numerous initiatives – one of the most important, the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI),is currently working on its fourth Work Plan IV (2021-2025).

This identifies important structures and challenges underlying common TVET design in the ASEAN region and opportunities for improved governance. Before the latter can be discussed in Chapter 3, a detailed account of TVET in the ASEAN region must be provided. This encompasses organisations and actors, initiatives and instruments working towards a common regulatory framework, a project that has gathered momentum since 2015.

Three points are worth noting in this context:

• The main ASEAN bodies responsible for regional TVET cover the entire education sector (human resource development).This corresponds to the low level of structural and institutional separation between TVET and higher (university) education.
• Concrete initiatives and projects in vocational education and training are largely carried out by regional organisations and actors in the Asia-Pacific region who act alongside and with ASEAN structures. ASEAN’s institutional and financial weakness is only partly responsible for this; it is also a consequence of traditional patterns regarding vocational education rooted in colonial history.
• Support from external partners is essential for concrete projects to align TVET systems in ASEAN in the course of economic integration. The German RECOTVET programme currently occupies an exposed position, but has not replaced traditionally strong partners (China, Korea, Japan, Australia).

2.2        Organisations and programmes: ASED, SEAMEO, ATC

The most important ASEAN body in the education sector is the ASEAN Education Ministers’ Meeting (ASED), which is supported by a subordinate body at state secretary level, the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Education (SOM-ED), and the Education, Youth & Sports Division from the Human Development Directorate of the ASEAN Secretariat. These bodies are responsible for the entire education sector. TVET comprises only a smaller part of the tasks. There are comparable institutions in the labour ministry with responsibility for TVET.

The most important educational organisation in the Southeast Asian region, the Southeast Asia Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO Secretariat 2021), must also be counted among ASEAN’s own institutions. Although it is not officially an organ of ASEAN, in terms of personnel it is largely similar to ASED and functions de facto as its operational arm. Also responsible for the entire range of education, SEAMEO operates 26 centres of expertise spread across all ASEAN countries. The Regional Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (SEAMEO VOCTECH) in Brunei Darussalam has been in operation since 1990; the Regional Centre for Technical Education Development (SEAMEO TED) in Cambodia (Phnom Penh) was added in 2017.

Before 2015 (establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community), there was only one de facto state institution dedicated exclusively to regional TVET: the Brunei Technical Center. As integration efforts advanced and demands on the global labour market intensified (Industry 4.0), TVET initiatives in the region increased (see 2.3) and TVET gained programmatic weight in the joint declarations of ASEAN. Finally, in 2020, the ASEAN TVET Council (ATC) emerged as the first ASEAN-owned institution exclusively responsible for regional TVET, composed of its key stakeholders at the policy level: representatives of the Ministries of Economy, Labour and Education of all ASEAN countries, SEAMEO, the ASEAN Future Workforce Council (AFWC), the ASEAN Confederation of Employers (ACE) and the ASEAN Trade Union Council (ATUC). According to its statutes, the new body is to promote sustainable vocational education and training and to better coordinate and harmonise initiatives of the stakeholders active in the region (see 2.3):

“Currently, TVET and skills development in many AMS are handled by several ministries and, at the regional level, by several ASEAN sectoral bodies. Furthermore, many training institutions, private companies, international organisations and other stakeholders in the region have been collaborating to enhance TVET access, quality and relevance. Better coordination and sharing of information among stakeholders can help to address the aforementioned challenges.” (ASEAN TVET Council 2020)

In its first Work Plan for 2021 to 2030 (ASEAN TVET Council 2021), the Council articulated guiding objectives of a modern TVET programme, including:

• Strengthening labour market orientation through effective evaluation of labour market data and institutionalised cooperation with the business sector;
• Improving all capabilities (including digital) of the TVET system to accommodate and respond to emerging trends;
• Increasing the capacity of TVET personnel (policy makers, managers, teachers, trainers in schools, centres and enterprises);
• Raising the image and status of vocational education and training to boost interest in vocational education and training in AMSs and ASEAN as a whole;
• Harmonising an ASEAN-wide TVET system.

The ASEAN TVET council (ATC) thus follows on from specifications in two documents that express the increased relevance of TVET in the ASEAN region. One is the current guiding declaration for the entire education sector: the ASEAN Declaration on Human Resources Development for the Changing World of Work and its Roadmap (ASEAN Secretariat 2020a), which formulates a 15-point HRD policy geared to the requirements of today’s companies and labour markets (see also ASEAN Secretariat 2021a). Secondly, the ASEAN Work Plan on Education 2021-2025 (ASEAN Secretariat 2021b) goes into greater detail on vocational education and training. Here, a guiding objective (to increase the quality of TVET according to the changing demands of the labour market) is assigned sub-objectives that resemble those in the ATC Work Plan (stronger cooperation with the private corporate sector, further training of TVET personnel, for example); one explicitly addresses governance: “Strengthen regional cooperation and exchanges on TVET governance and TVET systems reform.” SEAMEO has a similar work plan (SEAMEO Secretariat 2020).

However good and ambitious the work plans of the ASEAN institutions may be, projects would hardly be feasible without partners or external (financial) support. This is a very important aspect of the ASEAN vocational training landscape.

2.3        ASEAN partners, initiatives and instruments in the development of regional vocational education and training

Regional TVET initiatives in the ASEAN region are largely borne by organisations and actors outside or alongside ASEAN structures. Although the Secretariat in Jakarta coordinates projects and the Ministers of Education (ASED) formulate guidelines, concrete regional TVET initiatives are mostly undertaken by other organisations, the majority of which (such as ASED and SEAMEO) are active in all education sectors, some predominantly in higher education. TVET features to a lesser degree in the Southeast Asian region in this context.

SEAMEO VOCTECH and SEAMEO TED are two specialist institutes that are exclusively active in vocational training (in the broad sense). Both offer various training measures (including online), issue publications and organise events to encourage dialogue in strategic orientation. The institute in Brunei is involved in many topics of modern vocational training, including the development of curricula, quality enhancement for teachers, information and communication technology, and research (SEAMEO VOCTECH 2021). The younger SEAMEO TED offers mainly International Training Courses (SEAMEO TED 2021).

In addition to these two institutes, there are three other organisations with their own profiles. The ASEAN University Network (AUN) – officially a subordinate ASEAN authority – promotes academic and professional resources in the region through exchange and cooperation, with TVET playing a rather subordinate role. The Colombo Plan Staff College of Technicians Education (CPSC) is explicitly dedicated to improving teaching in TVET institutions and publishes training manuals on various topics (curriculum development, greening TVET). The Regional Association for Vocational and Technical Education (RAVTE), founded in 2014, which comprises 26 universities is active in the education of TVET teachers, promotes TVET research and Vocational Education as a self-reliant academic discipline as a precondition for research-based development (Schröder 2017a; 2017b; 2019a; 2019b; RAVTE 2015).

The major international organisations with TVET-related activities are also present in the Asia-Pacific region: the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Of particular note is the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Regional Bureau of Education in Bangkok, which is the regional UNESCO representative responsible for the Education Agenda 2030 and the UNESCO TVET Strategy (UNESCO 2022), and a broad variety of UNESCO UNEVOC Centers.

The RECOTVET programme (Regional Cooperation Program to Improve the Quality and Labor Market Orientation of Technical and Vocational Education and Training) is currently one of the most important external pillars including cooperation with SEAMEO VOCTECH. It operates in four key areas: strengthening regional institutions (ATC!); quality assurance; cooperation of TVET with business and industry; and improving the qualifications of training personnel. The PRC and the Republic of Korea, which form the ASEAN+3 format with the ASEAN countries and further strengthened their cooperation in the RCEP Free Trade Agreement (2022), continue to be important partners in TVET. Australia, the first ASEAN dialogue partner to launch an education initiative back in the early 1980s, started the Education & Training to manage fast-growing cities project in 2018.

Among the TVET initiatives with a clear regional focus that are being pursued by these organisations and stakeholders alongside and with ASEAN are two information-sharing and networking projects led by SEAMEO VOCTECH: the Regional Knowledge Platform for TVET in Southeast Asia (SEA-VET.net), established in 2017, and the SEA TVET Consortium, launched back in 2015 by the SEAMEO Secretariat, an alliance of education providers, vocational schools, and companies that sees itself as an exchange forum for TVET leaders and institutions.

Under the maxim of an integrated economic area, however, instruments that raise the quality of vocational education and training, strive for comparability of certifications and promote professional mobility, played an even more central role. A number of Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) concluded between 2005 and 2014 are worth noting. Regional standards for vocational qualifications are set by the ASEAN Qualifications Reference Framework of 2014 (ASEAN Secretariat 2020c), comparable to the EQF (European Qualifications Framework). For quality assurance, an Australian-sponsored framework for TVET was developed, which later became the reference point for further measures: the EAST ASIA SUMMIT Vocational Education and Training Quality Assurance Framework (Bateman et al. 2012). An ASEAN Quality Assurance Framework including guidelines for external evaluations has been available since 2020 in a 2.0 version (ASEAN Quality Assurance Network 2020). The Asia Pacific Accreditation and Certification Commission (APACC), led by the Colombo Plan Staff College, certifies regional TVET institutions.

The training of teaching staff for vocational schools and companies remains a key objective. With the support of SEAMEO VOCTECH and RECOTVET, Matthias Becker and Georg Spöttl (Becker & Spöttl 2019a; 2019b; 2020) produced three papers that define regional standards for TVET teachers, determine guidelines for the elaboration of TVET disciplines, and establish principles for quality assessment in the work of TVET teachers. The Standards for In-Company Training in ASEAN countries, published in 2015, is a milestone developed by a group of experts with support from RECOTVET, formally adopted by ASEAN bodies (GIZ-RECOTVET 2019), and already tested in national implementation for Thailand by the Thailand Professional Qualification Institute (Seel & Komuthanon 2020). The third funding phase of the RECOTVET programme (which runs until 2023) follows on from this, with projects in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.

3        On the way to “good governance”? ATC, Regional TVET Research and the Development of TVET in ASEAN

“Work-based learning programmes will be ineffective in driving TVET reforms if they are not complemented by policy measures to change institutional arrangements, e.g., governance (bold type by author) and social partner roles and responsibilities.” (Chakroun 2019, 314)

Chakroun’s assertion once again seems to have reached the actors of the vocational training sector in ASEAN. Efforts to improve regional TVET can be read in this sense: economic integration requires better TVET, and this in turn implies changes in institutional arrangements, in the roles and responsibilities of all partners. Understood as a demand for better ASEAN-wide TVET governance, the establishment of the ASEAN TVET Council 2020 is an attempt to meet this:

“The ASEAN TVET Council (ATC) will serve as a multi-sectoral platform for coordination, research and development on innovations and monitoring of regional programs that support the advancement of TVET in the region.” (ASEAN Secretariat 2021a, 55)

It is hoped that the ATC, as a new actor at the supranational macro level – beyond the regulatory framework – will create conditions that make it easier for actors at the meso and micro levels (usually the national TVET systems) to pursue TVET with a degree of autonomy, oriented toward the needs of the labour market as well as the needs of individuals, with ambitious goals, including equity, inclusion and sustainability. The situation may be different in some nation states, but across ASEAN, TVET is still characterised by institutional and financial weaknesses. It remains relegated to partners, is conditional on support and cooperation, and has little profile of its own vis-à-vis higher education.

This often-voiced criticism can be countered, to some degree, by the progress achieved in the last decade – not only in some national TVET systems, but also in terms of a supranational regulatory framework. At the same time, caution is still advised. The newly created ATC is conducive to developing governance according to the maxims of UNESCO or the European Council and will continue to build on the framework already created. But many problems persist. There are still vast differences between and within countries. The ATC cannot take binding decisions beyond particular country interests (ASEAN Secretariat 2021c, 279) and external funding is still the rule. On a positive note, the Council confirms an awareness in ASEAN that vocational education and training need supraregional macro actors to take over what the ASEAN Secretariat can only fulfil to a limited extent.

The ATC offers considerable hope for better TVET governance in relation to transregional stakeholders, potentially leading to stronger cooperation with the private sector – beyond a diversity of perspectives and expressions of goodwill. Although their participation in shaping TVET has no legal basis (as it does in the German dual model), the Council commands respect and a reputation for assertiveness – social capital, as it is called in social science (Gessler & Siemer 2020). The ATC is the sum of its members and benefits from their “preliminary work” – at the same time, it is a new instrument that amounts to more than the sum of its parts on account of its institutional nature.

There are no grounds for pessimism. What the ASEAN education institutions have already created in terms of a regulatory framework, together with SEAMEO, external partners and other actors, suggests that there is every reason to expect that the same actors will now follow this up as an ATC in the sense of improved TVET governance. This would do much to enhance the attractiveness of vocational education and training in particular. Higher quality TVET and improved governance go hand in hand.

This will require the development of regional capacities in TVET research. Frommberger & Baumann (2020, 721) argue that governance itself must become the subject of research so that it can do justice to its increased relevance to the quality of TVET. Governance is, at the same time, dependent on the further development of TVET itself, for example with regard to curricula and quality standards. Expansion of regional research capacities promotes independent TVET; this benefits governance in the form of self-direction. Again, this is a matter of mutual reinforcement: regional research improves the quality of TVET, including governance, and the latter can contribute to good regional research. The following diagram distinguishes between macro, meso and micro levels, thus making the connections clearer:

The demands that the labour market places on TVET confront governance on a macro (strategic decisions), meso (policy transformation) and a micro level (TVET in schools, centres and companies). Research can provide support on all three levels: on the political level with innovative reform proposals, on the meso level by implementing reforms of aggregated actors with action research projects and model experiments, and finally on the micro level of TVET institutions by striving for excellence in TVET staff. Without autonomous regional research, the system lacks socio-cultural competence on a local level, which is an indispensable element of innovation. In other words (as shown in the diagram), relying solely on the innovating contributions of international organisations and the international scientific community, would leave TVET at the mercy of their interests, invariably compromising governance.

Independent TVET research in ASEAN is still in the process of being established, although some progress has been made. RAVTE’s journal TVET@Asia online (The Online Journal for TVET in Asia) provides a forum for the discussion of research into modern vocational education and training (digitisation, quality assurance, WBL, qualifications). Among the institutes in the region, the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training (KRIVET) deserves a mention, although the Republic of Korea only belongs to the ASEAN+3 formation, not to ASEAN itself. The Faculty of Technical and Vocational Education at the University of Tun Hussein Onn in Malaysia (UTHM) is also of interest, now cooperating with the University of Bremen and the TU Dortmund. A research institute established at UTHM, the Malaysian Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training (MyRIVET), has been in existence for four years. In spite of this generally positive state of affairs, the resources and know-how for independent and thorough regional TVET research are often still lacking. Recognising this fundamental problem of scarce research capacity in the region, the German Federal Ministry of Science and Research (BMBF) launched the “Progressing Work-Based Learning in the TVET system in Thailand” (ProWoThai, 2019-23) project, with scientific support from the UNESCO Chair for TVET and competence development for the future of work. As a result, the Research Center for Technical and Vocational Education and Training in Thailand was established at Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna in Chiang Mai and soon attracted strong partners from the private sector and policy backgrounds. This is an impressive example of the need for action and reform-oriented TVET research.

4        Conclusion

The ASEAN region has a range of organisations and actors dedicated to improving TVET in across national boundaries – from education and training to consulting services and research. Structural and instrumental foundations have been laid at the regional level to make TVET, including its governance (national and supranational), more efficient and effective. The ASEAN TVET Council is an effective instrument as a new macro-level actor. Further expansion of regional TVET research is critical for future development.

Looking at the ASEAN-TVET panorama in its entirety – regulatory frameworks, instruments, relevant stakeholders, the ATC as an official body of ASEAN, external partners, profound approaches of independent TVET research – it seems feasible to aim for ambitious goals through governance. Nevertheless, certain hurdles cannot be ignored:

• ASEAN structures dealing with vocational education and training are inadequately equipped and overly dependent on cooperation (donors).
• The ATC as a framing macro-level actor does not have direct access to TVET quality improvement in nation states (chronic underfunding of national TVET systems, compounded by a lack of influence).
• The distinction between vocational and higher education is poorly defined. When both institutions need to be served, there is a tendency to favour universities over “downstream” vocational education.
• The current forms of vocational education in ASEAN – at universities below the bachelor level, or skills development according to the interests of the economy – are essentially Western imports. Governance in the sense of a bottom-up or participatory strategy would need to recognise the cultural conditions of the region in terms of vocational training theory and philosophy.

Profound and sustainable improvements in TVET governance across the ASEAN region require more trust in the self-organising capacities of regional actors. There are “best practice examples” to guide regional initiatives (Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand). As long ago as 2013, the so-called “Thanyaburi Statement to Support International Collaborations in Vocational and Technological Education” (2013) advocated for the introduction of a regional, clearly delineated scientific discipline of vocational education with cross-cultural validation of its insights and solutions to ensure better integration into society.

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Digitisation in TVET must be actively shaped. Digitisation offers opportunities for work-based or work-oriented learning in different learning locations (Schröder & Dehnbostel 2019) and can combine experiential learning in virtual space with the reality of individual competence development (Schröder 2014). In Germany, inter-company vocational training centres (VTC are an important site of learning for dual vocational training. They complement and support in-company vocational training in small and medium-sized enterprises and are considered drivers of innovation for the introduction of new digital technologies. Against this background, digital assistance systems (DAS) should virtually accompany and support trainees’ practical vocational learning in VTC. This article describes the development and testing of DAS as part of the EvAMEI project at the Gemeinschafts-Lehrwerkstatt Arnsberg GmbH (GLW). The aim of DAS is the individual promotion of vocational competences – in this case in the field of mechanical metalworking. Across conceptual, technical and functional levels, the aim is to integrate digital support through DAS into trainees’ practical learning and working processes. The trainers have a dual role here. On the one hand, they function as innovators who actively participate in the development of DAS, contributing their experience and expertise to the design and ultimate implementation of the system in their training practices. On the other hand, they are learners themselves who need to be supported in finding and developing their new role as learning process facilitators and coaches.

Keywords: digital assistance systems, problem-based learning, work-based learning, work-oriented learning, inter-company training centre, digital devices

1        The in-company trainer in Dual TVET Systems and digitalisation

A central criterion of the dual system of vocational training is its functionally differentiated learning venues (Spöttl 2016; Schröder & Dehnbostel 2020). The learning venues are the company workplace, the training centre for practical vocational training, and the vocational school. Large companies operate their own in-company training centres, while SMEs operate training centres collectively, usually through the chambers.

70% of training time is spent inside the company or proportionally in the training centre. The training staff consists of highly proficient specialists who have successfully completed a trainer course and examination. In addition to occupational excellence, they are expected to organise competence development processes at the learning venue workplace or pure “skills development” at the training centre on their own responsibility and to lead the trainees to excellent work results in terms of quality and efficiency. Unlike vocational school teacher training, the course lasts only two to three weeks and is based on the Trainer Aptitude Ordinance (AEVO); qualification is certified by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

In Germany (population: 83 million), more than 640,000 company-appointed trainers (as of 2019), professionally and personally suitable according to the Vocational Training Law, bear responsibility for the success of in-company training (German Vocational Training Law, BBiG, § 28-30). In addition to working in companies, they also work at inter-company training centres, competence centres or with external training service providers. Their main focus is to ensure the quality of skilled work in an environment which is free from work or time pressures. They are responsible for approximately 1.5 million apprentices. Cross-referencing stipulations of the BBiG, the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) distinguishes between four roles for in-company training personnel working in the context of the dual system:

• Training managers manage the entire training of a (large) company for individual occupations or for occupational groups. This is an in-house job title, but not necessarily a responsibility in the sense of the Vocational Training Law (BBiG). Respective vocational qualifications can be very different.
• Full-time instructors work mainly in large companies with training workshops and at training service providers. They usually have an advanced training qualification (master craftsman, technician, specialist).
• Part-time instructors provide training directly at the workplace. They are instructors who match the characteristics as defined by the BBiG. Their (part-time) work in training includes providing workplace experience. In small companies, they may also act as training supervisors.
• Training specialists are employees who provide on-the-job training without themselves being trainers (as defined by the BBiG). They can, for example, also coordinate training in a company department without instructing apprentices themselves.

There is an urgent need for in-company trainers, both full-time and part-time. Without them, in-company or inter-company educational work cannot attain the desired level of quality. Professional career and advancement opportunities, such as the certified training and further education educator and the certified vocational educator, each with a chamber-certified qualification, point to the necessity of professional in-company training and further education (Schröder & Dehnbostel 2021, 12).

In vocational schools, apprentices spend 30% of their time being taught by vocational school teachers. Instruction is theoretically oriented, but is based on work processes which are typical of the respective occupation. In addition to teaching vocational knowledge and skills, the vocational school focusses on the learning individual and prepares students for lifelong learning. Learning at the vocational school follows a holistic concept of competence; the learner is to become an independent and responsible actor in civil society. Vocational school teachers require a one-year company internship, a bachelor’s and a master’s degree, and an 18-month trainee phase at a vocational school.

Digitalisation is fundamentally changing the job profile of company and inter-company trainers. Digital media is on the increase as a form of learning at the learning venues of companies (work-based learning) and inter-company training centres (work-oriented learning) (Dehnbostel & Schröder 2017; Schröder & Dehnbostel 2021). This paper presents a digital assistance system (DAS) for inter-company training that is currently being developed and tested at the Gemeinschafts-Lehrwerkstatt Arnsberg GmbH (GLW). The UNESCO Chair for TVET, Competence Development and the Future of Work at the TU Dortmund University is accompanying the project, which is first presented in terms of its intentions and goals (2). Then, the concept and structure of the design-oriented accompanying research will be discussed (3), followed by initial results (4). Finally, a conclusion is formulated, as far as this is already possible (5).

2        The EvAMEI project

The EvAMEI project (Use of virtual systems for the accompanying support of apprentices in the metal and electrical industry) is integrated in the national KomZet (Competence Centre) programme to promote the development of inter-company vocational training centres towards competence centres (BMBF & BMWi 2015, 1 f.).

The quality of training in the inter-company vocational training centres (VTC) is to be secured for the future in view of constantly changing technical, economic and social conditions. This requires considerable investment in furnishing training workshops with digital devices and equipment. The funding of technical upgrades is also intended to develop a technical-innovative focus of expertise from which other centres of excellence can benefit. In the case of GLW Arnsberg, the focus is on the development of DAS, although KomZet funding is tied to a further nine mandatory fields of action that the VTC must help to develop concurrently. These include the vocational-pedagogical modernisation of support concepts and appropriate further coaching of training staff with regard to contemporary teaching and learning concepts. Instructors are actively involved in project development and are supported in introducing new training methods into their everyday practice.

An inter-company vocational training centre for over 80 years, the joint apprentice workshop GLW Arnsberg offers basic and specialised courses for apprentices of small and medium-sized companies in metal and electrical industries across the region. Digitisation is associated with high expectations for improving quality and efficiency in training processes. The increasing relevance of digital media is thus apparent not only in (school) learning venues, but also in the (inter)company workplace. Tablet computers provide a constructive and learning-friendly form of communication between man and machine. Through the EvAMEI KomZet project, GLW is being developed into a competence centre for “human-machine interaction” and represents this focus for knowledge transfer in the network of competence centres on a national and international level[1]

2.1 Project and development goals

The EvAMEI project aims to develop GLW Arnsberg into a competence centre for DAS, based on work process and competence-oriented vocational pedagogy. The process is based on the development and employment of DAS as well as testing its sustainable implementation in practical training courses. Overarching goals of the project are:

1. Supporting individual competence development through holistic learning and work actions in work process-oriented learning.
2. Improving individual support by taking into account learning and performance prerequisites and through level-differentiated learning and work tasks.
3. Securing and increasing training efficiency by relieving instructors of rule-based routine activities (e.g. frequently asked questions) by means of automation within the framework of the DAS.
4. Increasing the attractiveness of training courses through modern, motivational human-machine interaction.

The goal of virtual guidance and support for apprentices in their learning and work processes on the part of the DAS is to promote the development of professional action competencies. Interactive and adaptive learning and work task systems are needed to provide apprentices with systematic, structured support. This begins with an individual degree of didacticisation, which ideally decreases as competence is developed. At the same time, this increases apprentices’ scope for decision-making and action. This systematically promotes independence, problem-solving skills and learning competence for informal learning, so that apprentices can master new types of action situations.

The DAS is therefore not to be understood as an instructional tool. Rather, it is intended to support apprentices in their work on machine tools …

… to analyse work orders independently and to research the necessary information from various sources.

… to organise orders and plan execution and quality assurance. This includes the appropriate selection of the tools, measuring and auxiliary equipment to be used, setting process parameters, deciding on processes and work steps, establishing relevant quality criteria.

… to inspect manufactured products on the basis of professional objective quality criteria and to evaluate the results; this includes error analysis and identification of suitable measures.

… to reflect on and document learning and work processes and their learning outcomes. These include linking decisions and processes back to their respective theoretical knowledge base, externalising experiences generated, assessing personal goal achievement, developing and assessing alternative solutions, formulating new goals.

2.2        Target groups and partners

The primary target groups are inter-company vocational training centres, but also external vocational training centres and in-house training centres of large industrial companies. Apprentices and instructors should benefit equally from media technology innovations. Apprentices are thus supported in all phases of learning and working activities by digital structuring aids and contents. At the same time, the DAS relieves instructors by taking over parts of the instruction that can be automated, such as clarifying frequently asked questions. Communication becomes more efficient as DAS helps to concretise problems and offers the possibility to access automatically generated process protocols. User-friendly software tools enable instructors to develop new learning and work tasks independently, and to integrate, adapt or expand associated media. Uniform and reusable structural templates help the process. In this way, small, flexible libraries of different teaching & learning arrangements are built, which can be tested, evaluated and exchanged. DAS is potentially part of a corporate knowledge management system. In all cases, apprentices should be the first to benefit, hence didactic, methodological, media and organisational aspects have all been developed from the perspective of the learners.

GLW Arnsberg is supported in the development and implementation of the DAS by two partners. The Department of Industrial Automation at the Fraunhofer Institute of Optronics, System Technologies and Image Exploitation (IOSB-INA) is in charge of technical and functional development of DAS system architecture, software development, and hardware configuration. The role of the TU Dortmund partner university has already been mentioned in part: vocational pedagogical support, especially in course development, scientific evaluation including quality assurance, implementation of competence assessment procedures as well as qualification of training personnel. The next chapter goes into more detail about the contours of the accompanying research.

3        Action and Design-Based Research Approach

The action and design-based research and development approach of the TU Dortmund is based on the principles of the action research method reaching back to Kurt Lewin (1951). According to this approach, research should work with practical hypotheses and always strive for meaningful changes in the social field. Put simply, research should be accompanied by practical action and lead to reforms and qualitative improvements in cooperation with practitioners. In line with Kurt Lewin, development and research activities in the EvAMEI project are interdependent via iteration loops. This results, on the one hand, in a cyclical-recursive design of the research process and, on the other hand, in a shift of emphasis over time in the fields of tasks and activities.

3.1        Variation in focus and cyclical-recursive research processes

At the beginning of the project, the focus tends to be on the development perspective; later, evaluation of measures’ effectiveness and efficiency gain importance (see Figure 1).

Lessons learned must be regularly reflected and fed back into the development process, where they must be taken into account. In principle, it must be ensured that the weighting of the conceptual-developmental part is not at the expense of the evaluative-research part.

It must be assumed that field-specific development and research design, on which the cooperation between TU Dortmund, GLW and IOSB-INA is based, must be further developed and adapted by the partners in the course of the project to modified goals and framework conditions. This requires intensive communicative exchange between all project actors in order to create transparent feedback from the results of ongoing evaluation. Objectives are changed, reweighted or corrected in open dialogue. Teaching concept developments are accompanied scientifically in an advisory capacity. Any resulting changes in action again become the object of investigation.

This recursiveness between action and accompanying research tends to blur the dividing line between researchers and practitioners, which can lead to undesirable consequences in terms of cooperation. As science and practice have different reference points, action systems and objectives, equality is not embedded in the EvAMEI project. A strict separation of consultation in practice and research evaluation is not always given by the interventions in the field and the close cooperation with the GLW, but is achieved and maintained through the distribution of roles within the scientific monitoring process.

In practice, advisory support and evaluation overlap. However, in order to avoid mixing, the different roles must be clearly distinguished: diagnosis, consultation, implementation in accompanying research and evaluation. This avoids unintended influence. The distribution of tasks and roles for scientific support varies over time. Development and research activities are interdependent via iteration loops; action research appears as a cyclical process:

The cyclical process begins with an initial diagnosis (stocktaking) based on work process analysis. This is followed by joint action planning, in this case the definition of elements in personnel and course development. A trial phase or (action implementation) is followed by the evaluation of the courses and personnel development using instruments of qualitative research. Reflection as a basis for new diagnosis completes the cycle. Various quantitative and qualitative methods are used at different stages. The focus is on the latter, because qualitative methods promote communicative validation as well as traceability. Table 1 shows the instruments used according to research topic:

Table1: Survey methods and research topics

3.2        Didactic concept

The development and implementation of DAS are associated with a didactic and methodological paradigm shift. Where instructional and sequential teaching dominated in  traditional training workshops, there should now be a shift to contemporary action and competence-oriented learning approaches[2]. The development of vocational action competence takes place here with work-oriented learning and work tasks, selected on the basis of their occupational type and criteria of competence promotion (holism, complexity, problem content) (Howe 2001, 126 ff.; Franke 1999; Schröder 2009). In the case of inter-company vocational training centres, didactic-methodical implementation is aligned with work-process-oriented approaches (Becker 2013, 7 ff.). Figure 4, based on the action-oriented learning concept of Jank & Mayer (2014, 314 ff.), shows how – a model of the complete action serves as a structure-forming element for the organisation and sequence of the learning and work processes:

The description of the task (A) acts as an initiating impulse for the apprentices, often in the form of a fictitious company order. They analyse the assignment and determine its goal (E): manufacturing a product, advising a customer, planning a production process. Work-related goals are related to competence goals: e.g. to initiate active planning (B), which enables independent processing of the task (A) and evaluation of the action product (E). Unpredictable problems (C) arising in the learning and working process are directly linked to the prescribed competence goals. Apprentices take the initiative (D) when they specifically adopt provided inputs, for example by using materials or tools. Linking experience gained to the content of learning and work tasks in the context of reflection (F) is particularly important. DAS can provide informational support with the data logged in the process, offering a guide to reflection with targeted questions. Subsequently, instructors can make their apprentices aware of implicit action knowledge, fix competence development and agree on further training steps in a reflective discussion.

3.3        Qualification of the instructors

With the introduction of DAS, apprentices and instructors take on a new role. Control is increasingly shifting from the instructors to the apprentices. Learning and work processes are becoming more open and more complex. “Synchronisation” of all apprentices is being abandoned in favour of individual competence development, creating new demands. Experience shows that instructors find it difficult to let their apprentices “run on their own”, especially where technical errors are likely. However, as long as no real damage is to be expected, wrong decisions do not necessarily have to be avoided from the outset. Mistakes are also learning opportunities in reflective conversations. But content and knowledge transfer, along with cognitive support for skills development, are now increasingly being handled by digital tools. For instructors, the accompanying and advising role thus becomes more relevant (Rohs & Käpplinger 2004), as does the tracking of processes on the machine by digital means. In addition, joint introduction at the beginning and individual reflection at the end of each learning and work task take on greater significance. Digital technologies function both as learning and working tools (Euler & Wilbers 2020, 428).

The methodological-didactic changes related to new media such as DAS necessitate further training for instructors, essentially as “learning in the process of work” (Dehnbostel 2007). The real work of the instructors is the constitutive element. Their experience-based competence development in the context of work-integrated learning is illustrated in Figure 4. One difference here is that learning does not take place in simulated work assignments, but within real work situations (A). Coaches and instructors can agree in advance on testing new training practices which can be reflected upon afterwards. In the course of work and learning processes, new challenges and unfamiliar situations inevitably arise (C). These represent crucial learning opportunities and provide scope for new inputs (D). In the EvAMEI project, the support and resources needed for personal development can be determined in individual reflection meetings with the coach.

4        Interim reports from the EvAMEI project

Now that the didactic-methodological and technical-functional parts have been combined, the EvAMEI project has entered the second phase of practical testing and implementation of the overall system in current training courses. Although the project is only in the second of three test phases, experiences and findings can be recorded in short interim reports.

4.1        Software development as an interdisciplinary task

DAS development places high demands on communication between experts from the disciplines of information technology, vocational pedagogy and mechanical or manufacturing engineering. Before software development began, the exchange of requirements, especially of a vocational pedagogical nature, was of fundamental importance. The system should support apprentices in their learning and working processes in such a way that competence is enhanced. The potential danger of instructionism inherent in technology had to be overcome; another risk lay in preferring what was technically possible to what made sense from a didactic point of view. A wealth of information-technological possibilities can lean towards automated decision-making processes to the detriment of situations conducive to learning. However, designing human-machine interaction to enhance competence requires the systematic transfer of control of learning and work processes to the apprentice. DAS can support these decision-making processes by providing information and reflection. Intensive communicative processes between the partners are needed to address all of these requirements in software development.

4.2        Instructors programme virtual learning and work tasks

The learning and work tasks of the DAS were to be freely designed and adapted in terms of content by the instructors themselves using simple means. The goal was to give apprentices assignments, information, and latitude in individual decision-making and action latitude individually, based on a desired level of requirements. Structural openness and freedom of design, however, make user-friendliness more difficult. Learning and work programmes had to be programmable even by non-IT specialists. IOSB-INA developed a so-called node editor which helps instructors to design, organise, monitor, evaluate and maintain their teaching and learning arrangements together with the apprentices. New learning and work tasks can be assembled clearly using “drag and drop” techniques. The user selects pre-programmed function modules (nodes) and fills them with media modules such as learning videos, information texts and input or selection fields. After further steps, a media programme sequence successively emerges that accompanies apprentices through their learning and working process on the machines. They receive work assignments, can inform themselves about facts, plan their processing with structural templates and process and evaluate them with the help of automated feedback. Learning and working processes on the part of the apprentices take place via the so-called player, the main user interface for apprentices.

4.3        Networked learning on machine tools

To enable networked learning, machine tool data is exchanged with the DAS. This enables logging of apprentices’ machine settings as a basis for the accompanying competence assessment. The logs support reflection discussions at the end of a learning unit, as well as the comparison of self-assessment and external assessment of learning progress. To facilitate the assessment of performed learning and work actions, target values for all defined operating states of the machines are stored in an internal database. In this way, the DAS can compare the set process parameters and machine control, then report this back to the apprentice, taking didactic criteria into account. Instructors can intervene if it seems didactically reasonable.

4.4        Course developments and organisational problems

Didactic-methodical innovations and the corresponding changes in course operations place organisational demands on companies. It may be necessary to make didactic adjustments to upstream or downstream training modules. This also affects the departments responsible for planning and coordinating training courses. This is one reason why transparent communication between project actors and acceptance of the project throughout the company is so important. An example of this is the cooperation between the turning and milling training courses. As an industry-oriented VTC, the courses offered by GLW are structured in basic modules. This is intended to enable the relatively large partner companies to take advantage of courses independently of one another and according to the individual needs of their apprentices. However, this form of organisation represents a subject-specific separation of courses and leads to isolated and sequenced forms of training in terms of content. Complex and (if possible) holistic learning and work tasks are now, however, transverse to the various subject areas, so that realistic and operationally relevant work processes presuppose a dissolution of boundaries between courses. This, in turn, may run counter to their marketing as independent modules. One possible solution was to develop a common learning and work task system for the turning and milling courses, among others, leading to a common action product. A parallel vice for the workbench with a span of approx. 60 mm was constructed (Figure 5), which can also be completed by apprentices who do not attend both courses. To this end, duplicate components can be exchanged across courses, whereby the majority of GLW apprentices attend both courses anyway.

While the milling course should be completed in terms of time and didactics by the production of the milled parts of the vice, three further learning and work task systems are planned for the turning course. The basis for the didactic decisions with regard to technical competence goals – learning prerequisites to be assumed, simplifications to be granted, systematisation of individual learning and work tasks – are detailed work process analyses and associated subject analyses of relevant learning content. Interdisciplinary competence objectives were defined by the instructors taking into account a survey of their partner companies. Respondents were particularly interested in promoting sub-competencies in the area of apprentice independence. Individual subject-specific and interdisciplinary competency goals were defined in grids and operationalised by determining compatible training methods and social forms. As a content-related basis for DAS, this phase seeks to describe the complete learning and work activity of each task currently being developed. Digital learning materials are provided to support this aim.

4.5        Personnel development and the role of instructors

Effecting a complete role change within a finite project period cannot be expected of instructors with many years of experience. It is more a matter of initiating incremental changes in their own practice that will lead to ongoing in-service professionalisation. Work-integrated continuing education for instructors can support this process through workshops, learning process support and reflection discussions by providing tools and methods for self-reflection. The introduction of DAS and, in particular, participative and active co-design on the part of the instructors contributes to the expansion of their vocational pedagogical fields of action. Their active involvement has led to a certain sense of appreciation and motivation with a positive, enduring effect on the quality and transfer of innovations. However, the instructors have to be released from their operational duties on a pro rata basis to participate in project work and may need to be replaced in operating courses.

5        Future potential of the Digital Assistance Systems

Developing and introducing DAS for virtual learning and work task systems for work process-oriented learning in inter-company training involves a considerable amount of work. This is especially true if action and work process-oriented teaching or learning arrangements have yet to be established or tested in the company. In view of current vocational and company requirements, postponing the paradigm shift from sequential to work-process-oriented learning is not an option. The didactic-methodical redesign of the courses during DAS development has proven to be a factor that encourages a rethink of traditional training practices in one’s own company[3], encouraging innovation. Connectivity of DAS could only be ensured through participatory development. The needs and requirements of apprentices and instructors are actively integrated into the design and decision-making processes and placed at the centre of development. Ways have to be found to integrate project-related activities effectively into instructors’ operational work in order to engage them fully in the project.

DAS makes it possible to network training workshops internally and externally, unlocking vast potential for future development. This could include the introduction of an operational knowledge management system that supports the internal transfer of innovations to other courses and departments. New teaching & learning arrangements and associated experiences can be exchanged, reflected upon and evaluated. Data can be shared with partner companies and vocational colleges via external networking. These are new perspectives for cooperation with regard to learning locations. GLW could take on a platform function in its chamber district if it succeeds in channelling data exchange via the DAS. The factual and temporal organisation of the entire training process could be standardised across the various learning venues. Sharing of schedules, deployment plans and learning materials can synchronise training across learning sites, and the establishment of a network of players in vocational training and continuing education can accelerate the transfer of innovations both nationally and internationally. Digital learning and work assignment systems could be exchanged, tested and developed for different training areas with the corresponding software solutions for the respective field of application. Part-time training personnel in small and medium-sized enterprises, would also reap the benefits.

[1] EvAMEI runs from 01.06.2019 to 30.09.2022 and has a total volume of approximately 1.3 million euros. The Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) is funding the project with funds from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The state of North Rhine-Westphalia is assuming part of the funding costs from the European Social Fund.

[2] For facets and dimensions of the vocational pedagogical concept of competence, see BMBF (2020) and KMK (2018).

[3] GLW sees great potential for innovation, especially in metal cutting courses, through networking new digital learning media with conventional machine tools.

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The relevance of work-based learning (WBL) as a central element of TVET for improving the quality of TVET programs is increasingly being taken up in international education policy. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Bank Group (WBG) as well as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) promote the strengthening of WBL in the context of the establishment or further development of TVET systems. WBL in that sense primarily addresses the requirement to increase the labour market relevance through phases of experiential learning at the workplace. In such context, the quality of work with regard to its conduciveness to learning i.e. competence development is decisive. Learning at the in-company workplace – in the meaning of this article – is not to be seen as a result of didactical intervention, but as a consequence of changing work organisation, the digitalization of work, and an increasing quality of work conducive to learning and competence development.

This article presents models of WBL that reflect the proximity to the workplace, the quality of work with regard to its conduciveness to learning, and in-company learning concepts The article concludes with remarks on the company’s training personnel, who play a key role in successfully designing WBL.

Keywords: TVET, work-based learning, work-related learning, in-company learning

1        Introduction

Work-based learning (WBL) is increasingly becoming a central requirement of TVET policy internationally (Schröder 2020). It is characterized by the fact that formal and institutional vocational education processes are conceptually enriched with labour market-relevant, informal hands-on learning at a company’s workplace or organized learning is combined with practical experience. For WBL as a model of learning based on the world of work, three forms can be identified: “apprenticeship training (dual vocational training)¸ school based vocational training with learning phases at the workplace”, and “WBL in school” (NA at BIBB 2017, 6).

The obvious and frequently cited advantages are a greater labour market relevance of vocational training and an improved transition of acquired competences on entering employment. In view of the enormous challenges facing vocational education and training systems worldwide in the coming decade (ILO 2017a), it is only logical that international organisations such as UNESCO, World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) as well as the OECD have included the conceptual integration of work-based learning in their agendas whilst strategically positioning their educational policy and promotion thereof accordingly (UNESCO 2016, ILO 2017b, & ILO/WBG 2013).

A further development of the more modern approach to work-based learning is to link it to formal vocational training processes and qualifications. In international discussions, the focus is often on legal requirements, incentives for stakeholders and governance structures (UNECO-UNEVOC 2013, IAG-TVET 2017, & Hoftijzer et al. 2018). Organisational and structural designs and conceptual approaches, relating to apprenticeship, for example, are extremely diverse. The number of countries with work-based learning approaches is surprisingly large, in the regional area of the European Training Foundation (ETF) alone (Sweet 2014). However, the lack of uniform definitions and concepts hinders the systematic development and implementation of work-based learning at the international level.

Work-based learning has a long tradition in the academic discussion of vocational and occupational education; over the years it has been conceptually sharpened, typologically differentiated, tested in practice and conceptually developed. In this form, WBL goes beyond state governance structures, stakeholder organisation and legal foundations. Rather, it addresses the preconditions for efficient competence acquisition at the learning base of the company in dealing with specific work tasks and processes from the point of view of the conduciveness of work to learning (Dehnbostel 2008a; Schröder & Dehnbostel 2019). Conduciveness of work to learning requires a quality that is appropriate to the learners’ level of competence development, as not just any work activity in the company can be guaranteed to contribute to competence development.

In addition to the organisation of work, central elements to support learning in work are the quality and level of qualification of in-company training personnel, i.e. the in-company trainers or instructors for initial or advanced TVET, or skilled workers providing initial and further training. In many English-language publications, in-company trainers or trainer for practice, who focus on skills development, are referred to as TVET teachers. In-company training staff must have the necessary expertise for in-company work, in terms of work organisation, processes and quality of work. It is up to them to decide which of the different forms of workplace learning can best be implemented at the work place. At the same time, digitalisation opens up a range of further perspectives for additional work-based forms of learning. TVET teachers – in contrast to TVET trainers – have to fulfil a different function, as they are primarily focused on technical education, permeability and lifelong learning. Both groups of TVET personnel are relevant for a high quality TVET system.

This paper discusses the potential of the workplace as a place of learning, especially from the point of view of digitalisation, models of work-based learning, work design that is conducive to competence development, and concepts for workplace learning. In-company training staff, TVET instructors and trainers as well as education and training professionals have a key role to play in workplace learning and in the implementation of the WBL concept on the company side.

2        The Workplace as a Learning Venue

The potential of the workplace as a place of learning for an individual’s competence development is unique in comparison with other places of learning. Learning at the workplace is the oldest and most widespread form of vocational learning. Located at the place of work, it relates to the respective object of work and occurs in the process of working. Work-based learning is accomplished when the place of learning and the place of work are identical. It therefore describes a local and task-specific area of learning that combines working and learning from a didactic-methodological point of view. However, this also shows the tension between economic or operational expediency and subject- and education-related objectives that underlie the dual function of the workplace as a place of work and learning.

Learning in the workplace already existed in the form of craft apprenticeships in the Europe of the Middle Ages. There was a clear structure of occupational levels, divided into master, journeyman and apprentice. In a master apprenticeship, learning was done by watching, imitating, participating, helping, trying and simulating. From the point of view of modern vocational education and training, learning in the workplace was first considered with the development of education in the 18th century and then more systematically in the course of industrialisation (Stratmann 1993; Greinert 1994). In industrial society with Taylorist work structures based on division of labour and monotonous, repetitive work activities, learning at the workplace became less important. The workplace could hardly serve as a place of learning in well-planned industrial work processes.

Since the emergence of new work and organisational concepts and the beginnings of digitization in the 1970s/1980s, learning in and at work has undergone a fundamental change that equally encompasses its goals, content, forms and methods. With increased learning potential and increased qualification and competence requirements, the workplace as a place of learning has gained in importance again, which is among other things in the formula of “learning in the process of work” and the introduction of work-integrated forms of learning organization such as learning islands and work and learning tasks (Schröder & Dehnbostel 2019, 7 ff.).

Increased learning opportunities in general and opportunities at the workplace as a place of learning in particular can make learning attractive to those who have developed inhibitions, or resistance to learning and refuse to learn in organized situations. The benefits for socially disadvantaged young people with poor school experience become particularly clear in parttime qualification for young adults and in further training measures for older employees. Ideally, the workplace as a place of learning creates motivation, brings meaning and insight, incorporates experience and subjective dispositions, enabling development and illuminating career paths.

In summary, the advantages and disadvantages of learning at the workplace can be listed in a tabular comparison as follows:

Table 1: Advantages and disadvantages of learning at the workplace (Dehnbostel 2010)

Learning at the workplace is intensifying as digitalisation progresses; informal learning in particular is contributing to an increase in learning, process and reflection in relation to work at the workplace. In the process, learning is becoming less restricted in terms of time, place and space; it is no longer limited to individual sequences, and certainly not to formal, institutionalised education. Employees are increasingly using interactive learning opportunities and e-learning forms such as blended learning, webinars, learning platforms, mobile learning and augmented learning. The focus is on the process of work, as digital technologies increasingly become digital media in human-machine interaction.

Digital learning thus becomes a constitutive component of digital work at the workplace as integrated learning. It mainly takes place as purely informal learning, subject to the logic of the work process. Informal learning at work involves experiences made in and through work actions. It produces a learning outcome that results from coping with situations and solving problems at work. Studies indicate that, 60-80 per cent of a skilled worker’s actions related to competence and professionalism in a company are based on informal learning processes. This percentage, which can be differentiated for specific sectors and companies, generally increases with the digitalisation of work processes.

The importance of informal learning also marks the serious difference between digital work and the division of labour and repetitive work of the traditional industrial age. This was – for technological and business reasons – removed from all claims to learning and innovation; it was planned and ordered to the exclusion of situations of uncertainty, self-control and learning. In principle, working and learning were separate in Taylorist work processes, whereas, with digital work, they are integrated in the workplace. Thus, digital learning as work-integrated learning is a milestone in the history of modern qualification. Establishing informal and non-formal learning on an equal footing with formal learning in the European Qualifications Framework (EQF), as confirmed in 2008, is a ground-breaking, unequivocal expression of this development.

The continuing pluralisation and dissolution of workplace learning boundaries is reflected in the expansion of workplace learning spaces and their extension to include physical and virtual learning architectures. The workplace as a place of learning is thus becoming a site of meta-learning. The learning concepts outlined in section 4 are increasingly finding their way into workplace learning and are adding purpose and direction.

3        Models of work-related and work-based learning

Neither in VET research nor in related disciplines has there been an analysis and inventory of models or types of learning at work and – more broadly – learning with reference to work. In contrast to the work-based learning described at the beginning, the relationship between learning and work is not considered from the perspective of institutionalised vocational education and training, but from the perspective of the workplace and work as a place of learning.

A uniform typology is also difficult to establish, as this is presented differently from the perspective of different academic disciplines. Across the board, the distinction between “learning on the job” and “learning off the job” is highly accepted and widespread; however, the rough differentiation of learning on or off the job has only limited analytical value. A number of studies are available on learning on the job. Eraut (2007) distinguishes three forms of learning on the job on an empirical basis. More precise classifications or models of learning on the job with reference to work are essential for practical and -conceptual development, in terms of justification as well as comparative evaluation of work-related learning.

Learning related to work can be subsumed under the collective term “work-related learning”; it refers to learning processes that relate to work and work processes in the broadest sense. The term is semantically broad and is often used synonymously with terms such as workplace learning, learning in and at work, workplace learning and decentralised learning. The most viable differentiation of work-based learning into the three models or variants of “work-based learning”, “work-linked learning” and “work-oriented learning”, carried out in the 1990s as part of the pilot research of the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB), has proved to be the most effective, whereby the fundamental distinguishing feature is the learning location and learning organisation-related criterion of the relationship between the place of work and the place of learning (Dehnbostel & Schröder 2017, 4 ff.):

• In work-integrated learning, the place of learning and the place of work are identical, learning takes place at the workplace or in the work process. Examples are: online communities in the workplace; traditional side-by-side apprenticeships; adaptive qualification in continuing vocational training; workplace learning, increasingly adopted from Anglo-Saxon.
• In work-connected learning, the place of learning and the real workplace are separate, but there is a direct spatial and organisational connection between the two, e.g. in quality circles, in the learning workshop and more recently in the context of learning factories and learning labs set up in digital working environments.
• In work-oriented learning, there is no direct connection between the place of learning to the place of work. In institutionalised learning places, however, subject content-oriented references to work are included in the curriculum. As special institutions in the education system, training firms, learning offices and production schools are also oriented in a holistic way to work content and environments. In addition, the simulation of work outside of work takes place in reality-oriented models at different locations.

The differentiation into three models of work-related learning has proven its worth. Nevertheless, the diversity of work-related qualification concepts and forms of learning organisation is not sufficiently differentiated. On a more developed level of differentiation, taking into account additional learning conceptual and organisational criteria, five basic forms of work-related learning can be distinguished to which different qualification concepts and learning organisation forms can be assigned. As the following table shows, individual concepts and forms can be assigned to several basic forms.

Table 2: Basic forms of work-related learning (Dehnbostel & Schröder 2017, p.4)

The spectrum of different basic forms of work-related learning will certainly remain in the future; digitalisation in particular speaks for its further pluralisation, as well as for associated concepts of qualification and learning organisation forms.

4        Work design conducive to learning and competence-development

Workplace design optimisation has been identified as a specific task through the awareness that work is to be distinguished spatially, temporally and organisationally from the living world. Work design measures and methods have existed for centuries, even if they were not perceived or designated as such.

Designing work in a way that is conducive to learning and competence development is both an opportunity and a necessity for companies: a necessity insofar as the digital transformation of the world of work demands learning at work and thus working environments that are conducive to learning; an opportunity because it can enable or improve innovations and developments in the sense of a learning company and in the interest of the employees.

For employees and companies alike, work design that promotes learning and competence offers advantageous opportunities for development. For the individual, work and employability as well as professional development and career paths depend essentially, and in many cases decisively, on the opportunity to learn in and at work and to expand one’s own professional competence. This requires a design of work that promotes learning and competence, linked to organised training and further education measures.

For companies, the digitalisation of the world of work, continuous improvement and innovation pro-cesses, learning and knowledge-based work tasks and work-related human resources development require work to be designed in such a way that promotes learning and skills. Such work design leads to increased efficiency and effectiveness in work processes and has thus become an economic factor for competitiveness in national and international markets. In this respect, the creation of working conditions conducive to learning and competence is already essential for operational-economic reasons.

Finally, work-based learning and its design are fundamental to lifelong learning in the digital world of work and life. By designing work in a way that promotes learning and skills and integrating it into a company’s learning concepts, as described in section 5, education and employment systems grow more strongly aligned. Individual, company and societal interests thus come into direct contact and complement each other. Work design that promotes learning and competence has a personal and societal dimension that goes beyond the world of work.

Concepts and criteria for work design that promotes learning and competence have been developed and applied since the 1980s (Dehnbostel 2008b; Schröder & Dehnbostel 2020). At the current state of the discussion and scientific knowledge, there are seven criteria underpinning work design that is conducive to learning and competence development. They can be summarised in table form as follows:

Table 3: Criteria of a work design conducive to learning

The criteria serve both the analysis and the construction of work design that promotes learning and competence. Practical and design-related application depends essentially on the extent to which they are compatible with company-related circumstances such as sector affiliation, company size, work and organisational concepts and company culture. They cannot be regarded as quality criteria per se, because whether they promote or hinder learning depends largely on individual characteristics such as the developmental stage, attitudes and the learning background of the individual. For example, a large scope of action may be conducive to learning for one person, but inhibit learning for another. The question of whether work is conducive to learning and competence is therefore not only subject to objective criteria such as learning potential and learning opportunities, but must also always be seen in relation to the individual subject.

5        In-company learning concepts

Learning concepts in the workplace have increasingly gained importance with restructured organisational concepts and the digital transformation of work. The underlying theoretical approaches, as shown below, have their origin in learning theory approaches of action- or project-oriented organized environments of teaching and learning, but in the company context they are given a work-related outset through their combination with company methods, basic forms of work-related learning or personnel development measures. They are situated in a work context that is determined by work organisation, technology, qualification and social factors and differ in their specific learning-aims. Whereas conventional learning in training workshops, courses and in further training for adaptation mainly followed the dominant teaching perspective of instruction, today’s approach-centres on user- and subject-related learning theory, with informal learning very much part of the process.

Following on from and updating the learning concepts presented by Dehnbostel & Schröder (2017, 8 ff.), the most important current learning concepts in work are e-learning (1), situated learning (2), organisational learning (3), experiential learning (4), self-directed learning (5) and reflective learning (6). In terms of learning theory and didactics, they focus on constructivism, action orientation and holism. Informal learning in particular plays a key role in learning theory.

 (1)      E-Learning

By definition, e-learning refers to all forms of learning and teaching in which electronic or digital media are used in the application of learning materials or serve interpersonal interaction. In short, e-learning is learning and teaching with electronic or digital media in formal or non-formal contexts. In addition to organised e-learning, informal learning in the course of work in digital work environments can also be counted as e-learning in the broadest sense. Organised e-learning is carried out in various forms, from web-based training (WBT) to blended learning to mobile learning. In terms of teaching and learning methods, e-teaching, e-tutoring and e-coaching have been introduced with e-learning.

(2)       Situated learning

The concept of situated learning is based on individual and collaborative learning processes that emerge through interactions in the social context of a community of practice (CoP) (Lave & Wenger, 1991). Situated learning takes place in the constant action and activity of a social group with its specific goals, competences, structures and rules. The process of growing into the group, becoming a full member and continuing to belong to the group includes not only the acquisition of competences mastered by the group, but also habits, attitudes, values and cultural practices. Situated learning is a form of enculturation, of integration into the learning and working culture of a community. This takes place through informal learning and is sometimes combined with formal and non-formal learning.

(3)       Organisational learning

Organisational learning applies the concept of learning to the supra-individual level of the organisation and is defined differently from the perspective of different disciplines and scientific theoretical orientations. It is organisational learning that takes place in the interaction between the individual and the organisation and focusses on the ability of organisations to develop in a targeted way (Senge 1990). While individual learning aims at the acquisition of individual knowledge, skills and the development of competences and education, the purpose of organisational learning is the acquisition of collective knowledge, collective values and norms as well as collective development of competences and culture. It is informal but needs to be extended to include formal and non-formal learning in order to promote holistic human resource and organisational development.

(4)       Experience-based learning

Experience-based learning – also referred to as experiential learning – is learning that takes place through perceiving, feeling and purposefully reflecting on experiences. Intensive experiential learning takes place in work when actions are associated with problems, challenges and uncertainties, then reflected upon. Experiential learning follows Dewey’s process of experience in the sequence of action – experience – reflection and its uninterrupted continuation, taking into account previous processes of experience and knowledge (Dewey 2010). A learning process takes place through experience, which can be classified as informal learning. In real work processes, informal learning merges with organised learning, for example in online communities or learning islands.

(5)       Self-directed learning

Self-directed learning refers to independent, self-determined control of learning processes. Learners determine the goals and content of learning largely independently, as well as the methods and tools to implement learning processes. Classification of the respective learning situation is, however, predetermined in educational pathways or work processes. This is not the case in self-organised learning. Self-directed learning involves independent design of learning opportunities and learning paths within a given framework. While self-directed learning in organised learning places and spaces is part of formal and non-formal learning, it is largely informal in the process of work.

(6)       Reflective learning

Reflective learning is particularly suited to the changed learning and working conditions in modern work processes and the digital transformation of in-company training, as the systems thinking and problem-solving skills associated with digitalisation require reflection. Reflective learning is learning that takes place through understanding and consciously reflecting on experiences. It is thus complementary to experiential learning. According to Lash (1996, 203 f.), reflective learning in work involves two types of reflexivity: structural and self-reflexivity. While structural reflexivity aims to make people aware of rules, resources and work structures and to help shape them, self-reflexivity aims to get people reflect on them-selves.

These learning concepts may not be clearly distinguishable from each other, but are complementary to varying degrees. In some cases they may overlap. Selection and application within the framework of qualification concepts and measures is usually carried out with direct reference to work requirements and the working environment as well as to criteria directly related to the place of learning.

6        Outlook: Key role of in-company training staff

In the international discussion on WBL, the key to high-quality qualification at the workplace is seen in company training personnel (UNESCO-UNEVOC, 185). In-company training personnel is a widely differentiated group of people that includes trainers, continuing education instructors, coaches, personnel developers, learning process facilitators, lecturers, teachers, coaches, mentors and training managers. Despite the relevance for WBL, an international comparative study on the functions and profiles of in-company training personnel remains a research desideratum.

For the day-to-day support of learning and competence development in the workplace, primarily so-called training and continuing education professionals are involved. These are skilled workers who accompany and support trainees and employees in their work without a formal qualification in vocational and further training. They acquire work and vocational pedagogical competences for this in informal or non-formal ways. For vocational training alone, the estimated number of skilled workers providing training in Germany is around five million, and the number of skilled workers providing further training is likely to exceed this figure considerably.

With the digitalisation of work, in-company training personnel are confronted with fundamentally changed tasks that result from the upheavals of digital transformation and thereby expand and enlarge their area of responsibility in vocational and further training as well as personnel development. Learning at work takes on the opposite meaning to industrial-Taylorist work processes in that it is no longer excluded in digital work but constitutively included. This repositions in-company training personnel with a focus on supporting, promoting, accompanying and assessing qualification processes in and at work.

Unlike school education staff (TVET teachers) in VET (Busian/Schröder 2015), there is no tradition-al or professionalised vocational qualification for company education staff. However, the need for this has been clearly recognised by the stakeholders involved in VET since the 1970s/1980s against the background of new work, organisational concepts and the onset of digitalisation. The measures taken have led to a three-tier formal qualification system in Germany.

This three-level formal qualification system for non-school-based VET staff consists of the “Trainer Aptitude Ordinance (AEVO)” from 1972, which has been amended twice, and two further training occupations: “Certified Initial and Continuing Training Educator” (2009) and “Certified Vocational Educator” (2009), which are assigned to levels 6 and 7 of the German Qualifications Framework (DQR) and the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) respectively. Below the level of the AE-VO, there is the level of training and further training specialists in companies themselves. This adds up to a four-tier qualification model in the companies, presented in the following overview.

Figure 1: Career pathways and qualification model of non-school-based TVET staff

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For in-company training personnel, this offers opportunities for professional development and promotion that begin at the skilled worker level with additional scope for informally or non-formally acquired training competences (initial and ongoing), leading to BA and MA degrees via the AEVO. This four-level model is currently being implemented; it has had little traction at upper level in companies so far. Moreover, qualification and needs analyses show that it needs to be expanded above the AEVO level and below the level of Certified Initial and Continuing Training Educator, especially at DQR/EQR level 5. Nevertheless, with the four-level in-company qualification system, there is a fundamental and indispensable basis for further professionalisation and vocationalisation of in-company and vocational training personnel.

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Stratmann, K.-W. (1993). Die gewerbliche Lehrlingserziehung in Deutschland. Modernisierungsgeschichte der betrieblichen Berufsausbildung. Bd. 1: Berufserziehung in der ständischen Gesellschaft. Frankfurt am Main: G.A.F.B.

Sweet, R. (2014). Work-based learning: A handbook for policy makers and social partners in ETF partner countries. Online: https://www.etf.europa.eu/sites/default/files/m/8EFD210012D6B04EC1257CE60042AB7E_Work-based%20learning_Handbook.pdf (retrieved 23.08.2021).

UNESCO. (2016). Strategy for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) (2016–2021). Paris. Online: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000245239 (retrieved 10.05.2018).

UNESCO-UNEVOC. (2013). Revisiting Global Trends in TVET. Chapter 5: Work-based learning: Why? How? (Sweet, R.), 2013. Online: http://bit.ly/2q4jPs3 (retrieved 23.08.2021).

TVET personnel – teachers and trainers in companies, vocational schools and other educational contexts – are crucial for enhancing and assuring the quality of vocational education and training. Yet vocational teacher education has been facing challenges over the past few decades. Whereas the need for qualified TVET personnel is indisputable, many countries face a severe shortage of qualified TVET personnel and have therefore implemented various pathways to enter this profession. However, these personnel need to be equipped with future-oriented competencies to provide action-oriented and work-based learning. They also need to be broadly diversified and multi-professional, and able to bridge the gap between vocational theory and practice (Lipsmeier 2013). They also need to develop the specific competences required to integrate learners from different educational, social and cultural backgrounds.

Nowadays, in light of manifold global disruptions, TVET personnel face the additional challenge of providing relevant, learner-centered training to strengthen TVET’s responsiveness to current and future skills needs amid groundbreaking changes in the world of work (UNESCO-UNEVOC 2019). Not only do they need to upgrade their teaching and learning approaches in light of new demands resulting from economic and technical transformations (e.g., digitalization, 4th industrial revolution, etc.), but they also need to strengthen students’ resilience and capacity to cope during mounting social, economic and ecological crises. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an unprecedented push towards e-learning, which will likely have a sustained impact on how learning is organized as well as the need to make learning material more accessible.

Authors contributing to this 16th issue of TVET@Asia have highlighted the impacts of a variety of global disruptions on current and future trends in the world of work and the world of learning in their countries. While the specific challenges mentioned by the authors differ by country and region, in all cases disruptive events have triggered a need to reconsider the roles of TVET teaching staff and, consequently, how teaching staff are trained and supported. A summary of the papers included in this issue of TVET@Asia is provided below, first focusing on the country context and then highlighting the authors’ contributions to the question of how to organize TVET teacher training to meet the needs of the future of work and learning.

In Vietnam, the main trigger for reform has been rapid economic development, which has driven higher demand for consumer goods (including multimedia design products) and thus an associated growth in the complexity of manufacturing processes. Workers, including in the multimedia design field, no longer assume responsibility for the entire production process, from taking client orders to delivering the final product, but are instead involved in one phase of the work process and must cooperate with other workers in other phases to produce final outputs.

XUAN TRA NGUYEN and PHUONG CHI DIEP (University of Technology and Education, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) argue that the world of learning needs to reflect these changes. The current product-oriented training model used in Vietnam to teach TVET programs (such as multimedia design) needs to be updated to incorporate features of the work-process-oriented training model, which developed countries such as Germany implement. Nguyen and Diep propose a new training model for the multimedia design field, which combines product-oriented and work-process-oriented training, and argue that effective implementation of the model will require parallel shifts in the competencies and training that TVET teachers receive. The authors outline six “essential” competencies that multimedia design teachers need to deliver future-oriented skills training and also outline how TVET policies and practices must change to ensure that TVET teachers gain the professional and pedagogical competencies needed for the future of their own work.

In Indonesia, rapid technological change and global competition in the era of Industry 4.0 have led the government to issue a Presidential Instruction concerning the revitalization of vocational high schools to improve the quality of human resources and enhance national competitiveness. One important aspect of the revitalization program involves improving TVET teacher quality.

AGUS SETIAWAN and R. AAM HAMDANI (Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia) analyze the current development process of professionalizing vocational teacher education in Indonesia to assess the effectiveness of the new professional vocational teacher education program in addressing the needs of Industry 4.0. Based on a literature review followed by two online focus group discussions on the topics of professional vocational teacher education and vocational teacher competencies in the era of Industry 4.0, their findings show that, while there is some evidence of innovation in the professional vocational teacher education program both in terms of pre-service as well as in-service training, further innovation is necessary, especially with regards to improving cooperation with industry.

 In Botswana, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many education and training institutions to switch from traditional face-to-face classes to e-learning methods. Transition to an online environment poses special challenges for the delivery of TVET courses, since TVET involves the development of hands-on skills as well as theoretical learning. Developing countries face further challenges in making the transition in terms of the preparedness of their training systems and the availability of digital technologies for online teaching.

JERALD HONDONGA (Gaborone University College of Law & Professional Studies), TAWANDA CHINENGUNDU (University of Pretoria), and PHYLLIS KUDZAI MAPHOSA (Gaborone University College of Law & Professional Studies) present the findings of their research concerning the readiness and propensities of Botswana Private Tertiary Education Providers (BAPTEP) for using online teaching platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on an analysis of questionnaire responses from 119 TVET lecturers and students from 4 BAPTEP colleges, they found that most BAPTEP institutions were not prepared in terms of having e-learning platforms in place, whilst most lecturers lacked preparation and training in using online platforms to deliver emergency remote teaching. Most TVET students also encountered challenges to participating in e-learning owing to lack of internet connectivity, lack of a computer or laptop, and/or lack of training in the use of their college’s online learning platform. Based on these findings, the authors make recommendations for how to support BAPTEP institutions’ transition to e-learning – a mode of TVET delivery that the authors believe is inevitable in the future.

Palestine is another country where the COVID-19 pandemic has precipitated a rapid transition to e-learning. Yet while Palestine’s Human Resources Development Strategy emphasizes the importance of integrating ICT in TVET to enhance TVET quality, the country’s TVET sector continues to face many challenges which have consequences for education and educational policies, including teachers’ lack of ICT skills and competencies, lack of an appropriate infrastructure, and the political conflict and Israeli occupation.

MALAKA SAMARA (Logica Consultancy Center) explores and analyzes the Palestinian government’s new plan and mechanism for integrating e-learning in TVET through equipping TVET teachers with e-learning knowledge, skills and competencies. She also examines TVET teachers’ practices, attitudes, and success stories in relation to e-learning. Her findings, based on interviews with 60 TVET teachers from 10 secondary vocational schools, indicate that most TVET teachers of technical subjects in Palestine have basic ICT knowledge and skills, but require training on how to implement didactical or methodological concepts in e-learning in TVET. Consequently, TVET authorities in Palestine must take into consideration the ICT competencies that TVET teachers already have, as well as the competencies that they must still acquire, before designing and providing training. Based on her findings, Samara proposes an E-Competence Framework (E-CF) and outlines eight key skills, competencies and attitudes that TVET teachers in Palestine require for delivering quality e-learning programs.

In Germany, demographic developments have resulted in an aging population and consequently a shortage of skilled workers, which in turn has prompted the German government to provide vocational training opportunities to disadvantaged youth with poor school-leaving qualifications or personal and social problems.

Yet, as KATHARINA PEINEMANN (University of Rostock) points out, TVET teachers in Germany’s transitional system, where these disadvantaged young people study, do not currently receive training to help them deal with the challenges of supporting this vulnerable target group. Based on findings from interviews held with 65 teachers from 11 vocational schools in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Peinemann outlines the key competencies that TVET teachers need to support them in their work with disadvantaged young learners. She also proposes reforms to TVET teacher training programs in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania to ensure that the competencies identified are integrated into each phase of teacher training.

These authors’ valuable contributions to this issue of TVET@Asia, offering insights from Southeast Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe, provide food for thought and promising practices on how to address the challenges of ensuring that TVET teaching staff have the skills and personal qualities to navigate learners through the fast changes and unexpected events that increasingly characterize the world of work, both now and in the future.

The Editors of Issue 16

Shyamal Majumdar, Gita Subrahmanyam, Thomas Schröder, Anne Busian

The development of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) systems in Asia and worldwide increasingly aims at strengthening the cooperation between the formal TVET system, which is often represented by state-run vocational schools and colleges, and employers, who provide work-based learning at the in-company workplace, which is sometimes enhanced through work-oriented learning in practical training centers. Hence, the Dual System acts as a kind of meta-concept for the practical implementation of a variety of practical and systemic related programs in the TVET sector such as the new apprenticeship program that gained attention in recent years. As a consequence many different kinds of dual systems were established across countries, which sometimes even differ within one country as it is the case in Germany for example.

The common ground is that dualized systems facilitate an improved transition from school to work from the learners´ perspective and an increased labor-market orientation from which the employers benefit. Learning and working are combined in one program, which includes more practice-oriented than traditional school-based learning settings and, therefore, provide a broader qualification than sole Skills Development programs that often mainly address the utilitarian interest of economy through short term trainings.  

Dualization of TVET systems is a trend that even has entered Higher Education where the number of offered dual study programs is steadily increasing. This variety of existing dualized approaches in TVET and in Higher Education is raising quality of work and, therefore, its attractiveness; despite the systemic obstacles that follow the decision to introduce and to enhance the dualization of TVET systems such as the involvement of multiple stakeholders. Stakeholder involvement on a broad basis creates broad societal acceptance and lays a basis for sustaining the development. Internationally, most TVET systems appear to be challenged by the question of how to enhance employer engagement. 

In order to contribute to the international discussion about Dual TVET, the dualization of TVET or programs in Higher Education and enhancement of employer engagement, based on research findings, best-praxis examples, educational philosophies and policies, Issue 13 of TVET@Asia is addressing arising challenges and sharing research results and best-practice examples in nine articles. 

LUI CHEN, ZHIQUN ZHAO from Beijing Normal University & YUCI CHEN SKILL from the Internet of Things Association of Guangdong Province discuss a Chinese model of modern apprenticeship to address skill shortage. This includes development and status of modern apprenticeship with Chinese characteristics as well as the presentation of a case study and suggestions for future developments. SRI SUBJEKTI, ANA A, MOKHAMAD SYAOM BARLIANA, INDAH KHOERUNNISA, VINA DWIYANTI & SARAPUDIN S from Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia deal with another way to increase employability skills by implementing a work-based learning-teaching factory. They focused on the development of employability skills in vocational high school students based on three types, namely communication, problem-solving and teamwork and how they can be obtained.

GEORG SPÖTTL & SVEN SCHULTE analyse whether the German dual TVET system and other European countries are prepared to face the challenges arising from Digitalization and Industry 4.0 in terms of a reorganization process of all industrial activities due to new options for communication, triggered by the Internet of Things, and b) a massive change of private living conditions influenced by an extensive use of Cyber-Physical-Systems (CPS).  

Furthermore, NURSHAIDAH MOHAMAD SARI, MOHD SAFIEE IDRIS & LATIFAH MD ARIFFIN from the University Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia reflect on the potential of dual TVET System Players in co-curricular activities – previously known as extracurriculum.  A survey was conducted to identify the potential of dual TVET system players and their perception towards the potential of co-curricular activity and focused on four aspects that include the attendance, position held, involvement, and achievement.

XUAN TIEN VO from University of Technology and Education Ho Chi Minh City presents examples of companies in Vietnam that have implemented In-house-training or training at work for a short period of time, conducted right after recruitment and directly at the workplace, which tend to focus on functionality. TVET institutions in Vietnam built their training courses based on their perceptions of necessary skills and knowledge (without conducting the employers’ skills demand). Therefore, his research findings reflect on actual state of the Vietnamese TVET and the concern about the development of curricula in Vietnam. FELINO JAVINES JR. & CRISTI ANN JACA from University of San Carlos, Philippines also conducted a study that aims to analyze the development and implementation of national standards for TVET personnel in the Philippine context towards the Development of Regional TVET Teacher Standard.  

CHANDRASEKAR B & R MURUGESAN study attempts to review TVET, training systems and skills development systems by analyzing the structure of TVET related institutions. This includes a review of policy issues, best practice models for an enabling a systemic approach for skills training and vocational and technical education relevant for a nation like India.

VLADIMIR BLINOV & EKATERINA ESENINA from the Federal Institute for Development of Education discuss a project of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI) and best-practice examples of dual VET in Russia after 2016 and also include recommendations for further development. Another dual VET system has developed in Peru since 1985 referred to as SENATI dual learning program which is industry led and includes two learning venues is presented by ENRIQUE ANGLES & HANS-JÜRGEN LINDEMANN. Moreover, they introduce their new research project “Peru Dual” which will examine the factors that have led to a sustainable successful cooperation. 

Thank you all for your contribution.

We hope Issue 13 will provide you with many relevant information and you enjoy reading it! 

The editors of Issue 13

Thomas Schröder, Zhao Zhiqun, Ramhari Lamichhane, Wahid Bin Razzaly

Citation

Schroeder, T., Zhiqun, Z., Lamichhane, R. & Bin Razzaly, W. (2019). Editorial Issue 13: Dual TVET systems, Employer Engagement and Modern Apprenticeship Schemes. In: TVET@Asia, issue 13, 1-2. Online: http://www.tvet-online.asia/issue013/editorial_tvet13.pdf (retrieved 30.07.2019).

The year 2015 marks the beginning of ASEAN Economic Community, which is affecting the lives of 622 Million people and creating the third largest economy in Asia. TVET is the educational sector that vastly contributes towards the quality of living and societal development. Regional TVET systems need to continuously develop and readjust to a changing environ­ment in globalized competition on national and regional level. Relevant issues such as emerging TVET programmes, readjustment of curriculum contents, quality assurance, labor market information, recognition of qualifications across country and region, and sustainability are some areas that need special attention. 

SEAMEO VOCTECH, which is located in Brunei Darussalam, is the Regional Centre for
Vocational and Technical Education and Training. As an entity of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation (SEAMEO), it is responsible for the development of Technical and Vocational Education in Asia. The present 8th Issue of TVET@Asia is based on the International TVET Conference “Ensuring Greater Impact of TVET for Sustainable Development”, which was conducted by SEAMEO VOCTECH in Brunei Darussalam on the 1st and 2nd of June 2016.  

The 8th Issue of TVET@Asia comprises eight papers that address some of most relevant topics with respect to the broad field of TVET as an educational sector relevant for economic and societal development. The papers are intended to contribute to the development of TVET in the region in response to ASEAN integration, especially in the area of TVET quality improve­ment initiatives, regionalization and harmonization of TVET, curriculum improvement that consider new content relevant to the widening geographical market demands of TVET, strengthening the roles of public and private sectors in TVET, and integrating sustaina­bility in TVET policy and practices.

CALEB CHIDOZIE CHINEDU and WAN AZLINDA WAN-MOHAMED from Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia contribute with an article, which is titled Realigning Sustainable Development (SD) Goals for Industry and TVET Training Programs: A Crucial Undertaking. The authors explore – within the Malaysian context – industry and TVET professionals’ perspectives in relation to Sustainable Development, and discuss strategies to realign SD goals for the mutual benefit of educating and training competent vocational professionals for the mutual benefit of educating and training competent vocational professionals for a future industry.

The second article titled Brunei TVET Transformation: The Development of the Institute of Brunei Technical Education´s two Key Surveys is authored by SYAZANA EBIL, NORAZ­LINA OTHMAN, HJH NORHAKIMAH HJ MOHD NOR,  MARLINAWATI HJ AHMAD, OMARALI MUJAH, & CHIN WEI KEH  from the Institute of Brunei Technical Education (Brunei Darussalam). The article focuses on developing Key Performance Indicators of TVET institutions, based on the measurement of graduates’ employment rate and employers’ satisfaction towards TVET graduates’ performances. The paper shares the experience of developing and conducting the surveys, identifying some of the challenges faced and finally offers several recommendations.

MARCELINO C. GAPULTOS Jr. from SEAMEO VOCTECH (Brunei Darussalam) examines in his paper: The Corporate Image Building Programme of TVET Institutions in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. In this paper he discusses several Corporate Image building (CIb) activities for TVET institutions of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam as perceived by its school administrators. He claims that TVET institutions are often perceived as second class and inferior to colleges and universities offering academic degrees, which underpins the relevance of his paper for the region.

ANA A, YEYET ROSTIKA, ADE JUWAEDAH, ASEP SETIADI, and INU HARDIKUSUMAH from Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (UPI) present their research work in an article titled The Effect of Personal Traits to Entrepreneurship Intention of Students at Tourism Vocational High Schools in Bandung. The group of researchers from Bandung investigates the effects of various personal traits on students’ entrepreneurship intentions in the field of tourism at vocational high schools. The findings may be used as an input for schools, government agencies and policy makers to stimulate and encourage youth entrepreneurial interest.

SYAZWANI NUR AFIDA PG MAHMUD and CHIN WEI KEH from Brunei Institute of Technology Education (Brunei Darussalam) contribute the fifth article, which they titled A Study on the Use of Feedback to Improve Assessment of Life Skills in Mechanical Engineering Courses. The authors examine a selection of teaching and assessment methods, i.e. feedback methods that can develop life skills more effectively.  The authors define Life Skills as a crucial aspect in engineering practice and as a precondition for a lifelong employability. 

PHOUNG CHI DIEP from Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology Education (Vietnam) contributed the sixth article, which she titled Solutions for the Improvement of Regional TVET Quality in the Wake of ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).  The paper offers a number of solutions in order to deal with various relevant TVET issues on a regional level. Issues under consideration include; assuring high levels of training quality, mutual recognition of qualifications at regional level, and the lack of quantity and quality of TVET teachers and instructors to prepare graduates not only for working in their country but in the entire region.

KIRAK RYU from KRIVET (South Korea) examines in his article, Localization of TVET Govern­ance in Korea, the process of decentralising skills development systems and explains the roles of major stakeholders, especially the central government’s role in the transition process. In addition, the paper also summarizes main challenges that the new TVET governance confronts, and puts forward policy suggestions. The Korean TVET system is widely acknowledged by the international community for its great achievements in terms of effectiveness and efficiency.

FARUQUE AHMET HAOLADER, DAVUT CICOGLU, and KALINAKI KASSIM (Bangla­­desh) contribute an interesting paper on A Model of Technical and Vocational Teacher Education at Bachelor’s Degree Level and its Relevance with Occupational Tasks of TVET Teachers in the OIC Member States. The Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) comprises 57 member states and 5 states with observer status, which demonstrates the enormous reach of this study program. The paper evaluates the TVET teacher education model offered by the Islamic University of Technology (IUT) at Bachelor’s Degree level in terms of its relevance for the occupational tasks of a TVET teacher. The paper discusses the model´s strengths and limitations, and it examines the effectiveness of the curriculum based on the perception of the teachers.

The above depicted papers, based on experiences from a number of countries from Southeast Asia (Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam), South Asia (Bangladesh) and East Asia (South Korea), offer insight in various perspectives on the journal´s theme of TVET Quality Improvement Initiatives in the wake of regional integration. The variety of perspec­tives demonstrates that different approaches are inevitably necessary to cover all aspects of TVET in such a divers region as Southeast Asia and it fully demonstrates that action-research projects in cooperation with training institutes incents a continuous development of quality in TVET. TVET systems and institutional research on TVET systems form a powerful unity that literally represents SEAMEO VOCTECH´s motto: “TOGETHER WE EXCEL!”

Thank you to the contributors and please enjoy reading!

The editors of Issue 8

Paryono Paryono, Georg Spöttl, Thomas Schröder, and Adeline Goh

Citation

Paryono, P., Spöttl, G., Schröder, T., & Goh, A. (2017). Editorial Issue 8. TVET Quality Improve-ment Initiatives in the Wake of ASEAN Economic Community 2015. In: TVET@Asia, issue 8, 1-3. Online: http://www.tvet-online.asia/issue8/editorial_paryono_etal_tvet8.pdf (retrieved 28.01.2017).