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Nepalese TVET Officials Attend a 5-Week Customized Program on Enhancing Qualification Systems and Competency Standards

Fifteen (15) officials from the National Skills Testing Board (NSTB) of Nepal is being hosted by Colombo Plan Staff College (CPSC) in Manila, Philippines from May 6, 2019 until June 7, 2019 for the immersion on the Philippine qualification systems, standards and processes. This is a part of a 13-week program that aims to develop an improved vocational training qualification and skills certification system in Nepal, with the remainder to be held in Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and in Kathmandu, Nepal until July 31, 2019.

The program is a supporting activity related to the development of a National Vocational Qualification Systems (NVQS) implemented by the Council of Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT) of Nepal, with the financial and technical support from the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation.

The program aims to describe to the participants the National Vocational and Qualification Framework and the integral sub-systems of the Philippines and its implementation mechanisms. The lectures and lessons were designed to explain competency standards and competency assessment tools development. The lecturers are expected also to share their techniques on occupational mapping and vocational qualification package development; training arrangements and quality monitoring and reporting techniques in skill assessment. It is also intended to discuss how the Philippines conduct competency assessment and certification and share and guide on how to prepare Competency Standards Assessment Tools particularly the Evidence Plan-Project Observation and Assessment Tool Packages.

The program is being supervised by the CPSC Director General, Dr. Ramhari Lamichhane and Sec. Isidro Lapeña, the Director General of TESDA. Program coordination was facilitated by Ms. Therese Tan Lee, Faculty Specialist of the CPSC. Academic resources were provided by the members of the CPSC academic team namely: Dr. Romulita Alto, Visiting CPSC Faculty Consultant; Engr. Abdul Ghani Rajput and Mr. Sanyog Bhattarai, both CPSC Faculty Specialists; Dr. Vijay Patil, CPSC Seconded Faculty Consultant and Mr. Felix Sibal, ICT Officer.

On the side of TESDA, the resource persons are composed of the following personnel: Ms. Imelda Taganas (Executive Director for Qualifications and Standards Office); Mr. Edwin G. Maglalang (Senior TESD Specialist); Ms. Mercedes E. Javier (Acting Chief and Supervising TESD Specialist of the Competency Programs and Systems Development Division); Mr. Raymundo C. Vergara (Senior TESD Specialist); and Ms. Bernadette N. Servaz- Audije (Senior TESD Specialist).

The five-week training also includes several workshops and study visits to other institutions such as the TESDA units in Taguig, Metro Manila; Toyota Motors Philippines; Don Bosco Technical School-Makati; Hotel H20; Meralco Foundation, Inc. (MFI) and Lyceum of the Philippines University in Manila. An intensive immersion in TESDA will be the program’s highlight in which they will be exposed to the practices of the agency when it comes to the development of competency standards and assessment tools.

As of posting, the program is on its third week of implementation.

The participants with Dr. Romulita Alto (center) after the lecture on the design of knowledge-based tests

Visit to MFI Polytechnic, Inc.

The participants with Mr. Neil Dichoso, Dr. Marc Celis and Engr. Rodney Fuentes during their study tour in Don Bosco Technical IInstitute - Makati

The participants with the officials of Toyota Motors Philippines during their study tour in their School of Technology.

Visit to Hotel H20

Visit to Lyceum of the Philippines University

Regional Program in China Trains TVET Teachers on Green Skills and New Economy for Sustainable Development

For two years in a row, the Colombo Plan Staff College and the Zhejiang Technical Institute of Economics (ZJTIE) successfully organized a regional program in the city of Hangzhou from April 29-May 10, 2019.

The program involved the participation of twelve TVET teachers, instructors and staff from the following countries: Bangladesh, Fiji, India, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philipines, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

The program was organized in realization with the need to further expose the participants from CPSC member countries with best practices from China, particularly on the field of Greening TVET and e-commerce, which are needed in addressing emerging labor and skill issues in this era.

The twelve-day program aims to impart the understanding of e-commerce and green skills to help participants design plans to embed in their respective TVET systems. It aims to advance the awareness of the participants on the relevance of e-commerce education and greening TVET today ad to realize the need to redirect a significant critical mass of TVET graduates from wage employment to sustainable entrepreneurial careers.

The program was made possible through the efforts of CPSC, led by the Director General, Dr. Ramhari Lamichhane; and ZJTIE, represented by the Vice President of ZJTIE, Prof. Huang Chunlin and the Project Director of the External Affairs Office & International Education Center, Mr. Tony Zheng.

On April 29, 2019, the participants were welcomed by Dr. Rupert McLean, founding director of UNESCO-UNEVOC and one of the lecturers of the program. Meanwhile, Dr. Lamichhane imparted lectures on Greening TVET for Sustainable Future and Organizational Excellence and Entrepreneurship.

The participants at one of their industry visits in Hangzhou.

In the following days, several lectures and workshops were conducted as planned in the schedule of the program for the participants. Prof. Ju Chunhua of the Zhejiang Goshang University discussed the development of e-commerce and service in China while a lecture on the innovative exploration of the greening classroom in vocational colleges, as experienced in China, was delivered by Prof. Tony Zheng of ZJTIE. Other lectures include: a discussion on new energy vehicles, facilitated by Prof. Chen Lidan of ZJTIE; lecture on China’s TVET curriculum development by Prof. Huang Chunlin (Chandler), Vice President of ZJTIE; presentation on China’s green logistics by Mr. Wang Wei of ZJTIE; Lecture on Greening TVET Educator’s Standards and Green Pedagogy by Mr. Affero Ismail of Universiti Tunn Hussein Onn of Malaysia and a lecture on Green skills and curriculum development by Dr. Margarita Pavolva of the Education University of Hong Kong. Mr. Wang Junhai, an instructor of ZJTIE, facilitated the workshops on e-commerce and other trainings. In addition, Mr. Mohammad Alamgir Hossain of Bangladesh presented the current TVET policy on Green Skills in their country as part of the lecture. Participants from Nepal, Malaysia and Myanmar were also tapped to deliver a summary of learnings from the previous days.

The participants were also given the opportunity to visit some of the key industries in the Hangzhou area as part of their learning field trips including the Yiwu International Trade City, Hangzhou Iron and Steel Group, Alibaba Group, Geely Group and Suning Green Logistics Enterprise.

Participants (left to right) from Myanmar, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bangladesh, Maldives and India receive their certificates of completion from the organizers

The Pakistani participant receiving instructions from the facilitator on making traditional Chinese pottery. Dr. Ramhari Lamichhane, CPSC Director General, delivering his opening speech during the welcome ceremony.

The participants with a meeting with the enterprises.

The participants at a cloud computing facility in Hangzhou.

March 2019


What's Inside

Governing Board News

  • Governing Board approves term extension of CPSC DG Dr. Ram at the 106th Session

Programs

Regional Program

  • Regional Program in Chandigarh, India Convenes Member Country Representatives for Entrepreneurship in TVET

In-Country Program

  • In-Country Program in Malaysia Explores Redesigning Teaching and Learning Practices Towards the Industrial Revolution 4.0

International Conference

  • International Conference on Skilling for Self-Employment held in Chandigarh

Customized

  • CPSC Partners with BFIC for a Study Tour to Polytechnics in Korea for Heads of Private Technical Schools of Nepal; Busan Deputy Mayor Meets DG, Delegation

APACC

  • APACC and PSSCIVE, India Jointly Conduct The Second APACC International Accreditors’ Refresher Training
  • PSA, Malaysia Continues to Show Passion for Excellence with APACC
  • APACC President Meets MARA Officials, Presents APACC Awards to Two Institutions under MARA
  • KKTM Ledang Becomes the Third MARA Institute to Undergo APACC Accreditation
  • APACC Visits PCET, Mongolia for the Second Time for Institutional Re-Evaluation
  • APACC and MNCEA Jointly Conduct Capacity Building Program on APACC Criteria and Process of Accreditation and Certification
  • APACC and MNCEA Seal Partnership through the Signing Of MoU

CPSC Invites Member Country Representatives for the Regional Program on Sustainable Skills and Employability through TVET

A total of 22 participants were in CPSC’s headquarters in Manila from April 22-26, 2019 to attend the Regional Program on Sustainable Skills and Employability through TVET. TVET officers from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Fiji, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand were represented in the program. In addition, representatives from CPSC’s honorary members such as the Institute for Diploma Engineers Bangladesh (IDEB) and Diploma Engineers Association of Nepal (Nepal) were present.

A notable guest of the program is the Minister of State, Ministry of Education of the Republic of Maldives, Mr. Mohamed Hashim. He is attending on his capacity to represent Maldives in this forum.

The regional program was organized for the participants to be able to promote the Greening TVET concept in their own countries. The lectures and visits were designed for them to be able to appraise strategies and identify the tools and techniques in integrating sustainability aspect into Greening TVET in Philippines. Through this program, they were also able to design suitable approaches and models incorporating the concept of greening of TVET Institutions, green TVET Curriculum, green Auditing and green productions and consumptions.

Supervising the program is the CPSC Director General, Dr. Ramhari Lamichhane and facilitating the local coordination is one of CPSC’ s faculty consultants, Ms. Therese Tan Lee. CPSC’s Officer for Research, Publications and Information, Mr. Rae Emmanuel Echaveria, also shared his knowledge on greening TVET as a resource person.

Participants during classroom sessions and activities

The program was opened on April 22, 2019 in an opening ceremony involving all the delegates and CPSC’s faculty and staff. In his opening speech, Dr. Ramhari welcomed all the participants to Manila and recognized the relevance of the program in contributing to raising the awareness and relevance of green TVET in the member countries.

Classroom sessions focused on topics such as integrating green concepts in TVET Curricula, greening TVET through sustainable development and strengthening TVET for sustainability through greening practices. Study visits to facilities such as the UP Diliman Task Force on Solid Waste Management, Tuloy sa Don Bosco Alabang, TESDA Green Technology Center and TESDA Women’s Center were embarked to further incorporate green TVET concepts with actual institutional practices.

The participants were also invited to participate in the 17th annual conference and 3rd international conference of the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities of Industrial Technology (PACUIT). This year’s conference was entitled “Leading the 21st century Generation Towards a Globalized Industrial Technology” and was held at the Ciudad Christia Resort in San Mateo, Rizal Province on April 24-25, 2019.

The event invited the Director General, Dr. Ramhari Lamichhane and CPSC Faculty Specialist, Mr. Abdul Ghani Rajput, to speak on topics regarding education for sustainability and industrial revolution 4.0. In addition, a panel on practices for green TVET on sustainable development was included in the program in which representatives from Fiji, Pakistan, Malaysia and Bhutan were able to discuss their country-specific cases on greening TVET to a wider audience.

Overall, the program demonstrated CPSC’s expertise in its green TVET advocacy and reflected its long-standing partnership with PACUIT in strengthening opportunities for program collaboration.

Member Country Representatives in the CPSC-PACUIT International Conference held from April 24-25, 2019.

Representatives from Fiji, Pakistan, Malaysia and Bhutan during the Panel on Greening TVET Practices on Sustainable Development held during the CPSC-PACUIT International Conference.

The participants during their visit to the UP Diliman Task Force on Solid Waste Management.

With the staff members and students of the Tuloy sa Don Bosco Foundation in Alabang, Muntinlupa, Philippines.

CPSC Establishes Partnership with PACUIT for the International Conference, signs new MOUs with various Filipino SUCs

The Colombo Plan Staff College signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities of Industrial Education (PACUIT) during a ceremony held at the 17th annual conference and 3rd international conference on “Leading the 21st century Generation Towards a Globalized Industrial Technology”. The event was held from April 24-25, 2019 at the Ciudad Christia Resort in San Mateo, Rizal, Philippines.

Representing CPSC is Dr. Ramhari Lamichhane, CPSC’s Director General with the Faculty Specialists, Mr. Sanyog Bhattarai and Mr. Abdul Ghani Rajput acting as witnesses. PACUIT meanwhile was represented by Dr. Raul F. Muyong, President of the Iloilo Science and Technology University (ISAT-U) and PACUIT.

In addition to PACUIT, CPSC also established a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the following Filipino State Colleges and Universities (SUCs):

  1. Zamboanga City State Polytechnic College
  2. President Ramon Magsaysay State University, Iba, Zambales
  3. Bulacan State University
  4. Marikina Polytechnic College

It is aimed that with these new partnerships, CPSC will be able to formally pursue new opportunities for possible collaboration and information exchange.

CPSC with officials of PACUIT and other heads of State Colleges and Universities in the Philippines

In-Country Program on Skills for Youth Employability through Industry Linkages held in Nepal

A total of 29 participants from both the public and private sector were in the Training Institute for Technical Instruction (TITI) in Kathmandu, Nepal from April 8-12, 2019 to attend the In-Country Program on Skills for Youth Employability. The program was organized in collaboration with the Council of Technical Vocational Training (CTEVT).

The program was organized on the backdrop of Nepal’s changing economic scenario and the reforms that are taking place in the world of work. More than ever, the collaboration and tuning between institute and industry are becoming recognized as an essential requirement to skilling youth for employability and for sustaining and promoting faster industrial and economic growth. Through this In-Country Program, CPSC contributed to the raising of awareness and provision of skills and values necessary to put Industry - Academia Linkages for TVET System into practice.

Dr. Rajesh Khambayat (further left) with some of the participants during the program. Specifically, the program was designed to elucidate the significance of skilling youth for employability through Industry - Academia Partnership in TVET. It also enabled the participants to comprehend the innovative models and approaches of skilling youth for employability through Industry - Academia Partnership. It also aims to cultivate innovative approaches for stimulating entrepreneurship in TVET system. At the end of the seminar, they are expected to prepare an action plan to have a special vision for skills for youth employability through industry linkages in TVET system.

Dr. Ramhari Lamichhane, a former CTEVT member secretary and the present Director General of CPSC, was the program coordinator and supervisor, along with Mr. Pushpa Raman Wagle, the present CTEVT member secretary. Dr. Rajesh Khambayat, the Joint Director of PSS Central Institute of Vocational Education (PSSCIVE), Bhopal, India, was the Program Coordinator and Resource Person. Meanwhile, Mr. Anoj Bhattarai, the Director of Technical Division of CTEVT, acted as the local coordinator and resource person for the program.

The program was inaugurated by Nepal’s Education Secretary, Mr. Khaga Raj Dahal. He was able to meet with CTEVT officials and Dr. Lamichhane and were able to discuss emerging concerns in the field of TVET in Nepal.

In addition to classroom lectures, a national seminar and a study visit to a nearby industry was also embarked to expose the participants to practical examples on implementing measures to strengthen the skills of youth for employability. Relevant discussions regarding this matter were also tackled during the group activities.

National Consultative Seminar on Skills for Tomorrow

articipants during the half-day seminar. CPSC in collaboration with CTEVT, Nepal convened a half-day seminar on Skills for Tomorrow against the background of the emerging industrial transformation regarding skilling youth for the future. Two panelists coming from the industries and the Public and Private Technical School Association were invited to impart their expertise to the participants.

The purpose of the seminar is to create a platform for the academicians and practitioners to exchange ideas and experiences to provide an insight on addressing the concerns and exploring opportunities for the future of work. It provided a timely opportunity for the participants and guests to share knowledge and experiences on the educational and training dimension of enhancing the skills in youth and to discuss the policy tools, the coordinating mechanisms and the scope of national educational and training strategies to deal with industrial transformation 4.0.

Key speakers of the Panel Discussion include the following: Mr. Rom Kant Pandey (Vice President, Federation of Computer Association Nepal); Mr. Khagendra Adhikari (Chairperson, Forum for Health and Technical Sciences); and Mr. Mohan Katuwal (Chairman, Federation of Grill and Steel Fabrications Association). Officials of CTEVT and MOEST were also present to facilitate the discussions.

Speakers and high officials at the National Seminar on Skills for Tomorrow (left to right): Mr. Tek Bahadur Malla (CTEVT Divisional Director, Training Division); Er. Mahesh Bhattarai (CTEVT Divisional Director, Administration Division); Dr. Rajesh Khambayat (Program Coordinator and Resource Person); Dr. Ramhari Lamichhane (CPSC Director General); Dr. Hari Lamsal (Joint Secretary, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology) and Mr. Binod Badal (Director, National Skill Testing Board).