BIBB Director of Research at the Thai-German TVET Forum

The aim of the event, which centred on the topic of “Upgrading Professional Standards and Integration of Private Stakeholders” was to raise awareness on the part of trade and industry of just how important their contribution is to the qualitative further development of vocational education and training. 200 representatives from the Thai private sector economy and from the area of policy making had been invited to attend.

Professor Hubert Ertl, Director of Research and Vice President of BIBB, presented the results of the latest cost-benefits survey conducted by the institute in a keynote address entitled “Analysing the cost argument – what the data on cost and benefits of work-based training in Germany can tell us”.

The way in which Germany involves companies in the training of skilled workers and integrates young people into the labour market is deemed to be the yardstick of a successful vocational education and training system in international VET cooperation. At the same time, economic considerations play an important role for companies all over the world when deciding whether to train young people or not.

Good prospects of returns are a convincing argument for company investment in training

Professor Ertl used the German data to explain to participants that the specific costs of company-based training need to be compared against the productive output of trainees and the long-term benefits accrued by firms if persons completing training are given permanent employment as skilled workers. While company-based training initially represents an investment, it delivers considerable returns for the firms in the medium to long term, something which is borne out by the results of the BIBB survey.

Since the early 1980s, BIBB has been surveying companies providing training at regular intervals to find out about the costs and benefits they experience. Such an analysis facilitates evidence-based debate in VET policy and practice and allows possible undesirable developments to be identified and rectified in a timely manner. BIBB has supported Vietnam and the Philippines with the implementation of cost-benefit studies in the past as part of its international cooperation activities.

Skilled workers trained in accordance with requirements are crucial for “Thailand 4.0”

The Kingdom of Thailand has laid out an ambitious agenda in the shape of a national development strategy entitled “Thailand 4.0”. The aim is that this will result in modernisation and improved competitiveness of Thai trade and industry. In his address, the Secretary General of the Thai Office of the Vocational Education Commission (OVEC) stressed that dual vocational education and training and participation by the Thai economy will play a vital part in terms of achieving the goals that have been set, as this would only be possible if the quality of training was increased and steps were taken to ensure that skilled workers were trained in accordance with requirements.

The Thai-German TVET Forum took place in Bangkok on 3 August 2018. The event was organised by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Thailand in Berlin together with the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Office of the Vocational Education Commission (OVEC); and the Thailand Professional Qualification Institute (TPQI).

Representatives from the fields of vocational education and training and trade and industry took part in panel discussions, during which they explored the current opportunities and challenges arising from cooperation between educational institutions and the private sector economy, and discussed the contribution of the latter to VET within the context of the “Thailand 4.0” national development strategy.