Friday, March 29, 2024

A great leap in training

Mahmudur Rahman
Technical and vocational education and training has come a long way. Once the mere acquiring of basic skills was considered enough to address the demand for technical expertise. Times and demands have changed. But in an age when emphasis is placed on technical competencies, especially in blue-collar jobs, Bangladesh faces a challenge.
Parents, guardians and students are so wrapped up in the two general education streams of SSC and Madrasah that they do not view technical and vocational education as being worthy. Yet industrialists bemoan the dearth of adequately trained and competent employees. There is too much dependence on sending typically unskilled labourers abroad. More and more of these expatriates are finding out that they no longer have the competencies that are in demand in today’s world.
When it comes to equipping our workforce with the required competencies, the challenge is huge. The key is in ensuring the balance of three basic factors; developed in tandem, training and education can enhance work flexibility, quality and relevance. If anyone of these slips, the result will be a shortfall, either in the competencies acquired or in meeting demands of the employment market.
The lack of streamlined existing trade and technical qualifications has meant that there are no universally acknowledged standards against which workers and employees can be measured, nor a mechanism that takes into account their previous learning. Moreover, with 70 countries of the world already having a qualification framework — a number of which are destinations for the Bangladesh employment market — the time may come sooner than later for a synergy between these overseas qualifications and those of Bangladesh.
In recognition of this, the Bangladesh government’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) reform project, managed by ILO and with funding from the European Union, produced a National Technical and Vocational Qualifications Framework (NTVQF). It focuses on TVET institutions flexibly meeting the job market’s technical and vocational education and training needs and on the needs of the poorer and disadvantaged groups.
The newness of this system is breaking the myth that technical training and education is limited to classrooms or based on the requirements of big industry. Qualifications and curricula are reviewed and new ones proposed so that the training regime becomes demand-driven, modular, competency-based and suitable for both big and small businesses.
Industries benefit from better-trained graduates. But the approach also ensures that regular students and underprivileged groups (such as drop-outs, low-literate and/or poor men and women and physically challenged persons) also have access to recognised training. This innovative training aligns with an expansion of qualifications that better reflect the growing and changing occupational and competency profiles in both domestic and international employment markets.
The NTVQF, when approved, will replace a National Skills Standards (NSS) system that was established decades ago but never really caught on. The new system will provide five vocational qualifications and one diploma-level qualification. In addition, the NTVQF will have two pre-vocational levels that provide pathways for less educated and underprivileged groups to train for higher-level certificates.
Should someone not be able to finish all competencies required for an entire qualification, there will at least be a ‘statement of attainment’ for specific units of competency achieved. These latter documents are useful to employers as evidence of competence and can be “banked” for application later if a person wishes to complete the training towards a full qualification.
At the secondary school level, a dual certification system is to be introduced. Students who complete SSC (VOC), HSC (VOC) and HSC (BM) can try for an NTVQF qualification, in addition to their school qualification.
A new qualifications framework for TVET is a huge transition for Bangladesh. The current idea is to ease the process by first introducing the NTVQF in the three “thrust” industry sectors which are the focus of the TVET Reform project, and in four industry sectors which are supported by the Skills Development Project.
All government agencies engaged in skills training will eventually align their curricula with the NTVQF, and NGOs and private-sector training organisations will be encouraged to do the same. The Bangladesh Technical Education Board is expected to undergo restructuring and expansion and will be responsible for implementation and periodic review of the NTVQF implementation and other aspects of a quality assured TVET system.

Mahmudur Rahman is a corporate administrator and a sports commentator.

 

Original article on The Daily Star

Related News

Social media pressure changing news making

Opinion Afsan Chowdhury THE relentless reality of social media has begun to influence news making at several levels. Three social media elements are making these pressures so strong. (a) It reaches consumers almost instantly and in no way can professional media compete with that. (b) Content creators can mix and offer audio-visuals that cost little ... Read more

Securing water for sustainable urban future

Opinion By AKM Mahmudul Haque WATER, the essence of life, is a precious resource that sustains our planet and its inhabitants. Yet, despite the vastness of our oceans, only a small portion of the water is potable. Recent studies have revealed alarming statistics that approximately 80 per cent of the water supplied in cities and ... Read more

We need to transform social norms for gender equality

World Population Day Views Md Nuruzzaman Khan World Population Day, which has been observed on July 11 every year since 1989, holds significant importance in addressing critical population-related issues. This year, the focus is on gender equality, symbolised by the theme of “Unleashing the power of gender equality: Uplifting the voices of women and girls ... Read more

Quality education for all, but quality schools for few?

Views Mohammad Ehsanul Islam Khan Education empowers and shapes nations. Increased enrollment and reading levels in Bangladesh have also enhanced education access. But the focus on quantity has overtaken the drive for quality education, leaving only a handful with access to top-notch universities. According to Dr John Dewey, “Education is not preparation for life; education ... Read more

Equal education leads to a better society

Opinion Mehreen Chowdhury EDUCATION is known to be strongest when voices and diverse perspectives are heard and shared around the community. It is vital that young people are given the space and safety to express them without feeling ashamed. The idea of special education is governed by the concept that education is for all. It ... Read more

Alarming increase in child marriage

Opinion Zillur Rahaman CHILD marriage is one of the social ills in Bangladesh. It was once an epidemic in Bangladesh. It, however, came under control because of various measures and the supervision of the government in the past decade or so, but has been increasing at an alarming rate since the Covid pandemic, which increased ... Read more

Time to prioritise social justice

Views We have the chance to reshape the world we live in – economically, socially, and environmentally. Gilbert F Houngbo May 1 is widely known as International Labour Day, a day when we celebrate the contribution of workers worldwide. It is a moment for pride, celebration, and hope. After three years of the Covid-19 crisis, ... Read more

More heatwaves are coming our way. Are we prepared?

Views While Bangladesh has a lot of experience in tackling cyclones and floods, we have not taken heat stress into consideration until now. Saleemul Huq The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently completed its sixth assessment report (AR6), with the Synthesis Report coming out in March. The Synthesis Report carries some key messages about ... Read more

Women must be at the forefront of the transition to a low-carbon economy

Opinion Veronica Mendizabal Joffre and Pinky Serafica Can we truly reimagine a path to a low-carbon transition and change the climate narrative? This is hard to envision when we witness the unprecedented damage we are inflicting on the planet. For women, the effects of climate change are already a lived experience. Where environments are damaged ... Read more

Why collaboration is in our collective interest

ViewsRMG NOTESClimate ActionWithout fashion retailers and their suppliers working together, our industry as a whole will continue to see emissions rising. Mostafiz Uddin According to the latest report of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the world is likely to fail to reach its most ambitious climate target – limiting global warming to ... Read more

Will our universities survive in 25 years?

Views Syed Saad Andaleeb Quality education is the backbone of a wholesome and prosperous society. But finding the “quality” in quality education continues to be elusive in Bangladesh. The “so called” universities (more like community colleges) are rife with social, economic, political and ideological problems that work against building learning organisations. Teachers, the kingpins, don ... Read more

Can teachers be the pivot of change in education?

Views Manzoor Ahmed “No system of education can be better than its teachers” is an aphorism that remains meaningful. The nostalgic and idealised image of the teacher as a scholar, dispensing knowledge and wisdom to the young selflessly, who lives a simple life with little concern for material rewards and who is looked upon by ... Read more

Climate loss and damage are clearly visible in southwest Bangladesh

Views Ashish Barua, Sawkat Chowdhury The Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) by Working Group I of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) shows that the sea level, over the last 120 years, has increased by 0.20 metres, and continues rising fast, caused by thermal expansion, glacier ice loss, ice sheet loss, etc. The sea level ... Read more

How can Dhaka solve its traffic problem?

Views Debra Efroymson If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard that “traffic was particularly bad today,” I could have retired already. Over the years, people have hazarded various suggestions as to the cause of the terrible Dhaka traffic and its potential solutions. Causes include: not enough roads for all the cars; poor ... Read more

Celebrating 50 years of global environmental movement

Opinion Saleemul Huq The global environmental movement started in 1972, with the first global environment conference held in Stockholm, Sweden, hosted by then Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme. Among the heads of governments who also attended was the then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who famously declared that environment and poverty were two major global issues ... Read more

Saving earth from disasters

Opinion By Md Zillur Rahaman TODAY is World Earth Day. The day is celebrated worldwide each year to show support for the protection of the environment. It was first observed in 1970 and is now held globally by the Earth Day Network. The UN-sponsored conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from June 3 to June 14, ... Read more

Women for women

Opinion Faria Rashid PATRIARCHAL societies like to deceive women into thinking that women cannot get along, work together and stand in support of one another. Given the patriarchal history of society, it has mostly worked to keep women in their places and apart from each other. This is why we hear so much about women ... Read more

CSR and a new order of business

From being seen as mere philanthropy and ‘doing good’, corporate social responsibility is now at the heart of business sustainability and ethical and accountable corporate behaviour Bitopi Das Chowdhury CSR or corporate social responsibility has been a buzz phrase for quite some time now. Not a day goes by without it being mentioned, albeit in ... Read more

Harmful impacts of cartels on consumers

Munshi Abdul Ahad A cartel is an anti-competitive arrangement between two or more competing businesses. Anticompetitive agreements, particularly cartels, harm consumers in urbanised society, as well as in the emerging countries. In adding together, cartelised industrial sectors lack competition which certainly reduces competitiveness in the long run and may have a negative impact on the ... Read more

How to troubleshoot the economy

Sadiq Ahmed Bangladesh is facing serious macroeconomic challenges and I have written a lot explaining them in a series of articles published in The Daily Star and in The Financial Express. In this new article I am going to write specifically about how Bangladesh could address those challenges while also mobilising substantial external financing in ... Read more