From left to right: Mr. Sangay Dorji (Chief Program Officer), Ms. Deki Wangmo (Sr. Program Officer/Project Manager), Ms. Thaye Choden Dorji (Program Officer/Project Engineer), Ms. Yeshey Choden (Deputy Chief Program Officer/Project Engineer) and Ms. Sonam Wangmo (Principal, Technical Training Institute, Thimphu)
The Government of the Kingdom of Bhutan, in taking viable efforts to uplift the quality of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in their country, tapped the expertise and linkages of CPSC in spearheading a series of consultative meetings and study visits to CPSC member countries. High officials from the Department of Technical Education (DTE), Ministry of Labor and Human Resources (MoHLR) held meetings with TVET institutions in three (3) CPSC member countries, namely, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand from November 7 to 15, 2018.
The consultative meetings primarily aimed to provide exposure on the best TVET practices and including new trends and innovations in TVET of the four countries mentioned and ultimately apply those as appropriate for the Bhutan setting.
Headed by Mr. Sangay Dorji, Chief Program Officer, DTE along with the following officials: Ms. Deki Wangmo, Senior Program Officer/Program Manager, Ms. Yeshey Choden, Deputy Program Chief Officer/Project Engineer, Ms. Thaye Choden Dorji, Program Officer/Project Engineer and Ms. Sonam Wangmo, Principal, Technical Training Institute, Thimpu participated in the said mission to the countries.
The first leg of the meeting and visit commenced on November 7 – 9, 2018 with ITE Education Services and Nanyang Polytechnic in Singapore. It started with a meeting with ITE Education Services (ITEES), a subsidiary of the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) which aims to promote ITE’s expertise in TVET. Present during the meeting were the following: Mr. Lim Boon Tiong (Director, Development and Operation), Ms. Nur Hidayah Binti Juraimi (Executive, South & Central Asia), Mr. Roy Teo (Executive, South & Central Asia) and Ms. Kee Yun Chin (Senior Manager, South East Asia). During the meeting, Mr. Tiong shared about the education and training system of Singapore and ITE’s role in TVET.
The meeting was followed by a campus tour in ITE College West and Nanyang Polytechnic. ITE College West offers various courses such as business, engineering, electronics, aerospace and marine technology. On the other hand, Nanyang Polytechnic offers various courses such as Business Management, Heath and Medicine and Engineering.
Visit to Nanyang Polytechnic
The second leg of the meeting was held in Malaysia on November 10 – 12, 2018 coordinated by the German-Malaysian Institute (GMI). A brief sharing about GMI was conducted by Mr. Ngan Cheng Hwa, Deputy Managing Director. GMI is a hub for advanced skills which aims to promote TVET using blended technology using lifelong learning.
Visit to the German- Malaysian Institute (GMI)
A brief introduction about the GMI
Tour of the Autotronics and Hybrid System Laboratory in GMI
The meetings and visit ended in Thailand on November 13 – 15, 2018. The final leg of their meetings was held in Thai – German Institute, a joint initiative by Thailand and Germany which aims to be an effective training center to promote advanced manufacturing technology in Thailand.
Tour of facilities in Thai – German Institute
The meetings and visits proved to be fruitful to the delegation with the insights and best practices they gained and intention to carry out and adopt within Bhutan’s TVET systems.
