DATE:
August 22-26, 2022
COLLABORATING ORGANIZATIONS:
British Council and Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT), Nepal
PARTICIPANTS' PROFILE:
Senior-Level Managers; Policy makers; Administrators of Strengthening Employer Engagement in CTEVT Schools (SEECS) Project

Rationale

Today, organizations’ landscape is rapidly changing. In the 21st century, different organizations including TVET are under pressure due to international demands and the changing mode of clients as a result of development and technology advancements. The role of learning organizations to generate knowledge, skills and values for the new era and to equip individuals and the workforce for the changing environment has become increasingly arduous and challenging. The stage of development and technology in Nepal is so diverse that it may require different strategies and approaches in preparing the workforce towards requirements of industry. Knowing the current status of industry and TVET institutions in the country, their readiness is very important so that the government, educators and policy makers can make necessary policies and strategies to respond to the industry requirements necessary for the present and in preparation for the future of TVET to thrive in this transforming world. Such conditions call for change.

However, how would a TVET institution manager know if the initiatives chosen are the right ones? Are they selected based on what is the trend or craze? Are these the right strategies? Will these strategies improve quality?

For at least two decades, educators, employers and policymakers have been confronted with an increasingly urgent global hunger for talent—a demand for workers who are better-educated, skillful and equipped with desirable work attitudes and values and are more enlightened citizens. TVET institutions, higher education institutions and various oversight entities at various levels have attempted to respond to this rising demand for education by focusing on policies and practices that support increased graduation and employability rates and improved efficiency.

These considerable efforts notwithstanding, however, current criticism of education in general has continued and, most recently, has been directed particularly at the issue of student employability: "whether educational institutions including the TVET system are graduating students with the skills they need to get jobs and get the return on investments."

This program is designed to explore how TVET systems should respond in the era of Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR 4.0) amidst the global pandemic and to offer a platform to produce a strategic framework for key players in TVET. Due to the changing landscape of technologies and employment trends, the need to adapt TVET has become imperative more than any time before. To deal with challenges, TVET needs to initiate innovative strategies; adapt curriculum development, teacher preparation and student development to name a few to cope with the changing time. The objective of this program is to provide a roadmap for the formulation, development and review of current processes, and practices for new implementation in TVET to meet the challenges of industry. In the end, recommendations, and guidelines, however, should be viewed as providing general direction, rather than specific prescriptions for action.

This program explores the phenomenon of institutional development and recognizes the necessary capabilities of a TVET institution to survive in the changing environment. There is a felt need for TVET institutions to change and it is important to launch new ways to adapt to it. A systematic approach to adjusting and transitioning technologies from their existing state to one that is considered superior is the call of the times.

Studies show that two-thirds of large-scale transformation efforts fail. But that’s not a terribly helpful piece of information―unless we’re looking for confirmation that this is difficult, really difficult. What is useful is to understand what we can do to substantially increase the odds that TVET organizations in the country won’t be among the two-thirds of those that fail.

It is in light of the foregoing discussion that the program on institution-industry collaboration within a quality assured TVET culture as a response to the challenges of the times has been conceived.


Objectives

Generally, at the end of the training program, the participants are expected to apply new knowledge gained and be able to initiate new or modified techniques of leadership and governance of TVET Institutes as a response to the challenge/s of the times thus provide a clear, manageable and quality assured structure for the effective delivery of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programs.

Specifically, the participants will be able to:

  • Demonstrate a deep understanding, and awareness of the need for modifications in TVET management and governance to develop a quality assured culture
  • Identify the components of TVET for improvement to address and meet the requirements of industry
  • Identify the employability skills that today’s world of work need
  • Promote the implementation of institution-industry collaboration to build a solid platform for change in the TVET system
  • Prepare an action plan for system development to ensure employability of graduates through industry linkages in TVET


Program Contents

    Special Lecture: 21st Century Skills: Skills and Enablers for TVET 4.0

Topics:

  1. Institution-Industry Linkage
  2. Benefits from Institution-Industry Collaboration
  3. Models of Effective Institution-Industry Collaboration
  4. Quality Assurance and Accreditation in TVET
  5. Tracer Study in TVET
  6. Action Planning

Theme Papers

  • Theme Paper 1: Institution-Industry Linkage: A Real Need of the Time and Benefits Derived
  • Theme Paper 2: Models of Effective Institution-Industry Collaboration
  • Theme Paper 3: Quality Assurance and Accreditation in TVET for Continuous Improvement and Attaining Status of Excellence
  • Theme Paper 4: Research in TVET
  • Theme Paper 5: System Development through Action Planning

Workshop

    Individual Work: Self-Assessment for Leadership Competence

Group Work

  • Group Work 1: Gap Analysis/ SWOT Analysis: Overview of the Current TVET Landscape
  • Group Work 2: Developing a Draft Tracer Study Instrument
  • Group Work 3: System Development Planning: Action Plan the Way Forward


Instructional Strategies

Program delivery follows a spiral learning approach, beginning with an overview of core concepts, followed by progressively deeper application of the concepts and finally a self-directed approach through action planning.

The program involves different learning methods such as:

  • Theme paper presentations
  • Brainstorming and experience sharing
  • Study visits
  • Individual and group workshops
  • System development planning


Program Management and Resource Persons

Program Supervisor Prof. G. L. D. Wickramasinghe ([email protected]) is the first Sri Lankan and the 12th Director General of CPSC. He is also the concurrent President of Asia Pacific Accreditation and Certification Commission (APACC).

Prior to his appointment as the Director General, he was a professor at the Department of Textile and Clothing Technology, University of Moratuwa, Moratuwa, Sri Lanka since 2015. Here also held key administrative posts during his career: as a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Vocational Technology (2016-2019), former Chairman of the Centre for Open and Distance Learning (CODL) of the University of Moratuwa (2015-2016), and former head of the Department of Textile and Clothing Technology (2009-2012).

He also served as the Chairman of Alethea International School (2017-2021), an independent non-executive Director of Orit Apparels Lanka Ltd. (2014-2016), and Sri Lanka Institute of Textile and Apparel (2010-2015). He also served as the Director of Technical and Quality Assurance of Brandix Textiles Ltd (2013-2014). He also served as chairman and member of various public sector strategic and technical committees.

He also published over 60 research publications on topics related to textile engineering and educational management, of which over 30 are international refereed journal publications.

He was honored with 18 national and international awards including Emerald Literary Award (2018), President's Award for Scientific Publications (2017), and NRC Merit Award for Scientific Publication (2016, 2011). The World Education Congress also honored him with the award for Outstanding Contribution to Education in “Sri Lanka Education Leadership Awards” in 2018.

Prof. Wickramasinghe is a graduate of a Bachelor of Science in Textile Engineering from the University of Moratuwa in 1993 by which he obtained first class honors. He finished his PhD at the University of Manchester in 2003. He also obtained a PG Certificate in Learning and Teaching, the University of Arts London, UK in 2006 and an MBA in the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka in 2008.

Program Coordinator and Resource Person Prof. Romulita C. Alto, EdD ([email protected]) has retired from government service in 2006, however, she continuously imparts her knowledge in various capacities like currently, she is a CPSC Project-Based Faculty Consultant, Accreditor of APACC and Research Consultant of the Technological Institute of the Philippines.

She is not new to the CPSC, since she has been associated with the Staff College since year 1992 in various capacities. From 1992-1994, she was a Research Associate. From year 1997 to 2001, she was engaged in CPSC as Governing Board engaged Core Faculty Consultant and Chairperson of Consultancy and Marketing Division and Research and Development Division. Dr. Alto is the lead author of CPSC’s best-selling book – the Research in TVET Made Easy and was the lead reviewer of the APACC documents in year 2013 – 2014.

She was also able to handle several high-profile assignments and projects in ADB, JICA, being an educator and international consultant for 57 years now. Dr. Alto earned her Doctorate Degree in Educational Administration in 1984, Master’s Degree in Teaching Chemistry in 1970, and Bachelor of Science Degree in Home Economics and Bachelor of Science in Education in 1961 all from the University of the Philippines. In addition, as an educator, Dr. Alto was a recipient of some awards in recognition of her outstanding performance such as the Outstanding Public School Teacher of the City of Manila in 1971, the Most Outstanding Natural Science Teacher of the Year in 1972, and the Outstanding Faculty of the Technological University of the Philippines in 2005. Among the scholarship grants she enjoyed are a Shell Philippines Chemistry Scholarship at the University of the Philippines; CDG-Gesellshaft scholarship at the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand on Remote Sensing Technology and Environmental Resources Management; Asia Foundation Scholarship on the Teaching of CBA Chemistry at the Ateneo University; and Teaching of Chemistry at RECSAM in Penang Malaysia to name a few.

Resource Person Maria Susan P. Dela Rama ([email protected]) is the Executive Director of the Certification Office, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority or TESDA. TESDA is a government agency, one of three (3) education agencies in the Philippines. TESDA is mandated to formulate policies, develop standards and implement programs towards a quality-assured and inclusive technical education and skills development and certification system.

The Certification Office, which she heads, is the office of TESDA that develops guidelines and monitors the implementation of its regulatory functions of program registration and assessment and certification of qualifications.

Director Dela Rama is also concurrently the head of the eTESDA Program Management Division of TESDA. The eTESDA unit develops TESDA Online Programs which can be accessed for free by the millions of Filipinos and other nationalities, provides technical vocational education and training (TVET) programs thru the internet.

Previous to this assignment, she was Executive Director of the Planning Office and had been assigned to field operations and public information.

Ms. Dela Rama is a graduate of Bachelor of Arts in Economics and has taken up all academic units of the Master of Statistics, both from the University of the Philippines. She has attended training programs in the areas of management, planning, monitoring and evaluation, TVET systems, assessment and certification, ICT and project management, among others

Resource Person Dr. Kesavan Ulaganathen ([email protected]) is a faculty expert in the Colombo Plan Staff College (CPSC). His academic expertise is on optical communication, industrial engineering and instrumentation, satellite communication, wireless communication, computer aided design for electronic design, semiconductor technology, digital communication, RF and Microwave technology.

He obtained his Ph.D. in Wireless Communication at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia in 2014, and his Master of Engineering degree in Electrical, Electronic and Telecommunication in 2005 in the same university. He has a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (Electronics and Telecommunication) degree from the College University Institute of Tun Hussein Onn (KUITTHO), currently known as UTHM - Malaysia where he also obtained a post-graduate Diploma in Education in 1999. He also has a Certificate and Diploma in Electrical and Telecommunication Engineering from Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Polytechnic in Pahang, Malaysia.

He has an extensive teaching experience in higher technical education working as a lecturer at Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Polytechnic (POLISAS), Kuantan, Pahang from 1999-2003; and as lecturer and training officer at Sultan Azlan Shah Polytechnic (PSAS), Tanjung Malim, Perak from 2005-2008. He was appointed as Senior Lecturer at Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Polytechnic (POLISAS) from 2009-2016. He was posted as Head of Department for Mathematical, Science and Computer at Polytechnic Sandakan Sabah, at East Malaysia at Borneo Island from 2017-2021. His former position was as Principal Lecturer in Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Polytechnic (POLISAS), Kuantan, Pahang in Malaysia. He has been involved in Higher Education Curriculum Development programmes for electrical engineering courses, specifically in the optoelectronic field, in Polytechnics system in Malaysia. He has been involved in consultation works as well, one of his areas is on the 5G network for Malaysia.

He has over 25 research publications on electronic and telecommunications which were published in prestigious journals such as the Advanced Journal of Technical and Vocational Education, International Journal of Electronics, and Radioengineering. He is also a reviewer for some of journals articles published by IEEE, PIERS, HINDAWI and others for international publications and conferences.

Resource Person Fr. Dindo Vitug is a member of the Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB). He holds a Ph.D in Educational Leadership and Management from De La Salle University – Manila. He also took the Leadership in Education Program International at National Institute of Education in Singapore and the Management Training for TVET administrators at the Internationales Institut Fur Berufsbildung (IfB) in Mannheim, Germany.

Currently, he is the Executive Director of Don Bosco – One TVET Philippines comprising of 18 Technical Vocational Institutions and Coordinator of Don Bosco TECH ASEAN comprising of 34 TVET centers in 8 member countries. He is also a Trustee of the Philippine Council for NGO Certification (PCNC) and to the various schools of the Don Bosco Educational Centers network.