UBTEB Renews IVETA Primary Membership
UBTEB renews IVETA primary membership: The Global Perspectives
IVETA (International Vocational Education and Training Association) is a network of vocational educators. The network includes vocational skills training organizations, business and industrial firms, and other individuals and groups interested or involved in vocational education and training worldwide. IVETA is dedicated to the advancement and improvement of high-quality vocational education and training throughout the world. IVETA is working to create a new era in communication among vocational educators across the globe. Members include practitioners, researchers, and students in the field of vocational education and training as well as institutions, organizations, and companies actively engaged in human resource development
In 2018, IVETA annual conference was held on 13th -16th August 2018 at Tsogo Sun, Cape Sun, South Africa.The conference was hosted by South African College Principal Organisation (SACPO) . SACPO is an independent association of all 50 South African Technical, Vocational Education and Training colleges, comprising of a National General Council and a National Office. Membership of the association is voluntary. Since its establishment, SACPO has strived to bring focus to its mandate of supporting TVETS in the Higher Education environment, characterised by a highly diverse membership-base of colleges. SACPO has a strong strategic role to play in representing the interests of TVETs within the system of Higher Education as a whole and supporting its members to fulfil their developmental obligations. SACPO is expected to be an active participant in Higher Education and Training System to provide common policy positions on numerous issues and to voice TVETS interest, as well as provide solutions to the challenges currently facing TVETS.
The conference was officially opened by the Ms.Naledi Pandor, Honourable Minister of Higher Education and Training. She welcomed the delegates to South Africa and congratulated SAPCO upon successful organisation of the IVETA conference.
The Minister made the following important highlights in line with the IVETA 2018 theme;
1)Skills specialisation: All TVET colleges/academies should specialise to avoid duplication of roles and resources
2)ICT for training: TVET institutions should embrace dynamism in training in order to train human resources for the economy in a rapidly changing and sophisticated economy. “Training people for digital economies is not good, we need to train for what we don’t know. The use of social media, entrepreneurship etc have many benefits” Minister Naledi stated.
3)Retooling lecturers: Governments should develop the ability to reskill the existing work force to meet the changing demands of world of work. There is need to train and educate young people to high level skills demanded by world of work. The TVERT colleges should refine the capabilities in order to address challenges such as promoting the agenda of modernisation. Training lecturers is key to changes we want to achieve. “We should reignite the industrial skills revolution and make TVET institutions to respond to new emerging edge. Having relevant skills will help to exploit the opportunities that exist in different sectors of the economy” Minister stated. With technology, there is need for people who can adopt to technological changes. For example catering students should be able to speak foreign languages.
4)Industrial linkages; The Minister argued that the Training Institutions should establish strong linkages with the industries/SMEs. For industrial training to be effective as well as hands-on training to be realised, there is need to mutual cooperation and undertaking with the private sector and SMEs. For greater and effective linkages, TVET institutions should produce dynamic and innovative graduates with high end skills. This can be made possible through the establishment of modern laboratories, ICT labs etc. TVET institution should put in place dual systems like Germany, the need for emphasis on apprenticeship. TVET should also embrace cognitive skills alongside practical skills to provide employment to the youths and make TVET graduates more competitive.
5)Public awareness of TVET systems: The way the public views TVET should change. The TVTE institutions should define and clarify the understanding of TVET, the quality of TVET. This will help to make TVET graduates to stand out. There is need to demonstrate TVET not only as a source of cheaper labour but demonstration of critical career for industrial growth. There is need for more motivated TVET personnel who will portray the best image of TVET. If the current systems can’t permit best conditions for TVET progression, there should be efforts to change legislation to make TVET work and deliver national qualifications.
6)TVET and national development: There is need to align TVET to national development plan so as to be able to exploit critical national resources like fisheries, agriculture, oil and gas. There is need for value addition to TVET systems so that TVET is the source of solutions to community problems. In this regard, TVET will have great potential to empower the next generation of Engineers and Technicians. The Minister also called for the mapping of TVET colleges in the whole country so that there is easier mapping out of skills being offered.
REMARKS BY IVETA PRESIDENT:
Mr.Robert Mahlman in his communications thanked all delegates from 25 countries all over the world attending the IVETA conference in Cape Town. He said that all over the world, TVET is strongly needed to respond to industrial revolution. He noted there scarcity of key professionals in Engineering and yet most youths shun these critical vocational programmes. He called for efforts to make TVET colleges more attractive to the youths as well as aligning professionalism, quality assurance and collaborations with government, Industry and training academies.
He further called upon TVET agencies to learn from each other to get solutions to go forward; also use of technology to drive industrial revolution. He finally appealed for making the curriculum relevant and responsive to the needs of the economy.
Lessons learnt for adoption/integration in Uganda
The conference had very good and resourceful materials and key learning points for consideration by the Board namely;
Collaborations: The Board should strengthen the need to incorporate the world of work in the training of students like the case of Thailand and Germany where apprenticeship is driven by companies
Institutional led teaching and learning i.e. encourage training TVET institutions to work with companies in their locality to develop learning materials.
Funding: Need to lobby Government to fund industries through Public Private Partnerships to boost practical training. This would help cater for cases of insurance of trainees, feeding and materials.
Mentorship programmes: The need for strong students guidance and mentorship to perform well in science based subjects since they are critical in TVET programmes
Refresher programmes for the Assessors who are from training institutions should be emphasised. The lecturers from TVET institutions should have industrial experience/attachment for ease of attainment of hands-on skills and transfer of knowledge and skills. There is need to strengthen vocational pedagogy and research for sustainable skills development.
Emphasis on soft skills; There is need for imparting skills for employment readiness. These can include the need to impart values of respect, confidence. There is need to embrace work based values approach because it helps to complement the skills and knowledge possessed by the TVET graduates.
TVET awareness and promotion: In line with the UNESCO 2017 conference, there is need for awareness of TVET role and reinforcing the training competencies.
In conclusion, there is a lot of global expertise shared during the international conferences that can help to boost the local expertise in terms of the best practices. Therefore UBTEB’s membership to global bodies like IVETA is on a positive note given the intended objectives and benefits thereof.