The strengthening of the labour-market orientation through the effective use of labour market information and institutionalised cooperation can enhance the capacity of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) personnel, allowing the ASEAN TVET Council (ATC) to be an effective institution in the region.
This was discussed in a work plan during ATC’s third meeting in Singapore recently, presided by Chair of the ASEAN TVET Council 2022-2024 and Deputy Secretary (Higher Education and Skills) at the Ministry of Education in Singapore Chong Yiun Lin.
Members of the ATC and key stakeholders including the ASEAN Future Workforce Council (AFWC), Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation for Vocational and Technical Education and Training (SEAMEO Voctech) Regionalcentre, RECOTVET and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia (DFAT) convened the meeting led by the ASEAN Secretariat for the ATC annual report presentation, discussions on follow-up actions from the 2nd ATC Meeting, and in addressing activities put forward in the ATC Work Plan 2021-2030.
SEAMEO Voctech Regional Centre Director Alias bin Haji Abu Bakar and Deputy Director of Administration Pengiran Haji Mohammad Sufri bin Pengiran Ali were in attendance to affirm the centre’s commitment for the Council.
The TVET Regional Centre has been identified as the lead in the field of a strengthened labour market, by offering its capacity to carry out the study on ‘Readiness of TVET Institutions for Industrial Revolution 4.0 in Southeast Asia’ which will be completed this month.
Additionally, in collaboration with the Philippines and GIZ-RECOTVET, the centre launched the ATC digital platform and established the ATC web page. The initiative aims to sustain knowledge and information for the cross-sectoral body through the regional knowledge platform, SEA-VET.net. The event also saw the ASEAN Secretariat being updated on the engagement of the council with ASEAN sectoral bodies and external parties underscoring updates on decisions from various ASEAN summits and related meetings. It also focused on inter-sectoral initiatives such as the post-2025 ASEAN Community Vision, ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework, Consolidated Strategy on the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and the ASEAN Declaration on Human Resources Development (HRD) CAD-PRO2023 for the Changing World of Work.
Representatives from RECOTVET and DFAT also virtually participated in the meeting to support the implementation of the ATC Work Plan and TVET-related activities of members.
The council agreed and supported SEAMEO Voctech as the permanent member of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Bridging Innovation and Learning in TVET (BILT) Advisory Committee. – Rokiah Mahmud
