BIBB supports ILO workshop on vocational education and training

The regional office for Asia and the Pacific of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) had invited delegations with representatives of governments, employers and trade unions from countries such as China, Indonesia and two G20 member states to the conference.

The conference was opened by Dr. Ith Sam Heng, the Cambodian Minister of Labour and Vocational Training. Birgit Thomann, head of the Department "Internationalisation of Vocational Education and Training/Knowledge Management" in the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB), participated in the conference as a German expert on vocational education and training.

The quality features of a good supply of vocational education and training according to the ILO include:

• the social dialogue
• the clear definition of the roles of the different stakeholders in vocational education and training (competences and responsibilities)
• the solid legal basis
• the joint funding by the state and the private sector

These features served as the common thread for the talks and discussions in the context of the conference. Ms Thomann used the dual system of vocational education and training in Germany as an example to illustrate how these features are implemented in practice.

In the subsequent discussions the participants drew attention to the risk of young people being used by the companies as cheap labour. Consequently, the features of dual vocational education and training were contrasted with those of an internship. In many countries, vocational education and training belongs to the informal training sector and is often carried out via internships which are neither regulated nor quality-assured.

The implementation of dualised courses of education and training in the formal sector could well be based on the German model, according to the participants. It was also mentioned that enterprises are rather reluctant to recruit new employees without recognised qualifications. There are only limited possibilities of public funding of vocational education and training in these countries, so a public-private funding partnership would be in order. Such a partnership could be best developed if vocational education and training was geared more strongly towards the needs of the economy and the labour market. The primary goal should be to impart skills and abilities which are relevant to the labour market and can be detected by future employers based on recognised certificates and degrees.