CTE/TVET Promising Practices and Policies

Government Policies

Modern Apprenticeships
(New Zealand)

1. Purpose: Encourages participation in industry training by young people aged between 16 and 21. Combines the mentoring aspect of the apprenticeship tradition with formal industry training that leads to recognized qualifications.
2. Description: Government funds are utilized to contract services of Modern Apprenticeships coordinators to promote the programme, set up training agreements with employers, and act as mentors to the learners and their employers. The coordinators develop an individual training programme for each learner that specifies the qualifications and generic skills they will gain, and maps out how this learning will take place.
3. Limitations: Need to determine actual effectiveness of these apprenticeships quantitatively by researching results in New Zealand

Company Practices

Toyota Motor Thailand (TMT): Working Life Plan (WFA)

1. Purpose: Career development and self-realization mechanism.
2. Description: Employees are trained in the fundamental skills of their respective shops on a rotational basis. WLP is also linked to promotions.
3. Limitations: Need more details on WFA program implementation, resources necessary. Contact TMT for further information.

Company Practice

Toyota Motor Thailand (TMT): Skill Contest

1. Purpose: Designed to motivate career development in the production area and strengthen the WLP system.
2. Description: TMT has conducted Skill Contests for many years starting in each shop of each plant, finding representatives to join the TMT Cross Plant, Asia Pacific Skill Contest and TMC Skill Interchange Festival, respectively.
3. Limitations: Very limited information about this particular initiative; more details about what actually constitutes a Skill Contest are needed. This is an interesting concept; successful implementation could add energy into the work environment.

Company Practices

Toyota Motor Thailand (TMT): Skill Development System

1. Purpose: To provide a step-by-step Skill Development System for newcomers, team members, and controller and managerial level employees
2. Description: Two capabilities to be developed are Standardized Work Management and Shop Floor Management. Standardized Work Management refers to following established work standards developed by production skill training, such as the Fundamental Skill Training and Maintenance Skill Training. Shop Floor Management refers to performing work by acquiring necessary production knowledge and skills developed by role-playing and supervisory training, such as the Toyota Production System, Toyota Job Instruction, and Group Leadership Role.
3. Limitations: This kind of development requires a specific department to ensure training effectiveness which is relevant to actual performance at work.

Projoven Youth Employment Program (Peru)

1. Purpose: To develop labor abilities in youth ages 16 to 24, targets unemployed and low-income youth. To connect labor market with educational institutions. To make enterprises aware that hiring young workers is a long term in investment in human capital.
2. Description: Projoven provides 3 month courses, after which the beneficiary is placed in an enterprise for a paid internship. Since 2004 the program has received funding from the Interamerican Development Bank. These processes are closely monitored by the Program; the methodology provides the possibility of an innovative coordination between the educational and training institutions and the requirements of enterprises.
3. Limitations: More statistical evidence needed of effectiveness of this program: how many youth are involved, strategies to bring companies on board with the program.

Company Policies

Competency Visa (Thailand Somboon Group Company)

1. Purpose: To evaluate skill competencies of workers.
2. Description: Each visa contains information on core competency skills (adjustment, interpersonal, communication, leadership, and occupational skill) and functional competency (analytical skill, problem solving, hard-ware and computer software skills). Competencies are then compared between employees and used to develop HRD strategies. Employees are tested and competency visas are updated on a bi-annual basis.
3. Limitations: The key link is utilizing these competency visas to create successful and effective HRD strategies. More discussion is needed in this respect.

Government Policies

Ladderized Interface between Technical‐Vocational Education and Training and Higher Education (Philippines)

1. Purpose: To allow workers career mobility and development thru increased competence and qualification, the government launched a new system of education that harmonizes technical‐vocational education with college education.
2. Description: The ladderized system enables workers to enter and exit the educational system while at the same time acquire the skills and competence needed to ascend and reach successively higher job platforms. At each job platform, tech‐voc graduates can already land an entry‐point job. Should the worker desire to go up the organizational ladder or move to a better paying job but one which requires college education, he can already pay his way to college education and re‐enter the educational system bringing with him one’s previous tech‐voc learning which will earn him credit units for the college degree program.
3. Limitations: The system requires a system of accreditation of providers and courses, and the recognition and restructuring of curriculum to provide tech‐voc entry and exit points. Establishing these entry and exit points in a system not previously adapted to the concept of the “Ladderized Interface” will thus present challenges.

Government Policies

5-level Malaysian Skills Certificate (MSC)

1. Purpose: To intensify the development of skills training and retraining
2. Description: Workers are tested and can receive a MSC score of between 1 and 5. A worker with MSC 1 & 2 would take up a position at production level, while a worker with MSC 3 & 4 would become a supervisor. MSC 5 enables a worker to take up a position at the management level. Therefore, MSC promotes and motivates life-long learning and upward mobility for skilled workers, especially for those who are already in the business. Realizing the importance of quality control and assurance, the Department of Skills Development (DSD) has adopted a stringent procedure involving three levels of key personnel namely the assessor, internal verifier and external verifier. The assessor and internal verifier are appointed by the accredited centres while the external verifier are appointed by DSD itself. The DSD has expanded rapidly since its inception in 1993. Currently, there are more than 1,500 training centres with more than 6,000 programs accredited by DSD.
3. Limitations: Merit-based programs like these may upset norms in some countries, especially developed countries with highly independent corporations and workers. This model may be more appropriate for developing countries that have not yet institutionalized these norms.

Government Policies

Program of Support to Professional Training for Labor Insertion (APROLAB)

1. Purpose: To reorient professional training towards the demands of the market, the socio-economic needs and potentialities of development of Peru.
2. Description: This program is a joint effort between the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Labor funded by the European Union and the Peruvian Government. The total time of duration of the program is 36 months, starting from January, 2005. The program has three main goals:

• Defining and launching public policies regarding professional training aimed at increasing the levels of labor insertion
• Apply experimentally and validate the new professional training design in 4 cities
• Promote innovative experiences in each of the selected regions, prioritizing the attention of the rural and indigenous population with high participation of women.

1. Limitations: This is a promising model, but results need to be collected from the Peruvian implementation of the program. Also, applicability of the program to other countries will depend heavily on availability of funding.

Government Policies

National Dual Training System (Malaysia)

1. Purpose: To make skills training more market-oriented, and to produce the right skilled workers required by the actual workplace.
2. Description: Trainee or worker in this training scheme will spend 70% - 80% of their time at the work place and the other 20% - 30% in training institution to learn theoretical foundations. The training would be for a period of four semesters. There are two implementation approaches. The first one is accomplished through a “day-release approach”, where the trainee/worker spends 3-4 days per week at the work place and 1-2 days at the training institution. The other approach is the “block approach” whereby trainee/worker spends 3-4 months at work place and 1-2 months at training institution. Trainees/workers are given monthly allowance by the employers. On the other hand, employers are given reimbursements from the Human Resource Development Fund or tax incentive.
3. Limitations: Applicability to other countries depends on a variety of factors not outlined in the report.

Company Practices

Lifelong Human Resources Development System (LHRDS): Skills and Training Map

1. Purpose: To identify strengths and weaknesses of employee, to target weaknesses with training practices, to monitor improvement over time.
2. Description: Companies implement skills and training maps for each employee. The skill map systematically and incrementally shows the skills required to perform work and assignments. The training map clarifies the goals of HRD based on the skills map.
3. Limitations: To be effective, skills and training maps must be highly personalized. Constant analysis of where the worker is in terms of accomplishing goals outlined in the maps must be undertaken to provide effective feedback as to areas for improvement.

Government Policies

Literacy, Language, and Numeracy Action Plan

1. Purpose: To improve literacy and numeracy skills of those already in the workforce or ‘near’ work in order to provide an essential base for building a competitive, highly-skilled and productive workforce.
2. Description: New Zealand’s low levels of literacy, language, and numeracy have been identified as contributors to relatively low productivity performance. Literacy and numeracy learning will be available through government-funded initiatives such as workplace literacy funds, industry training embedded literacy and numeracy projects, and literacy and numeracy certificate level programs.
3. Limitations: This policy is particularly relevant for countries that share New Zealand’s literacy, language, and numeracy weaknesses. However, it will require not only significant government funding start-up costs but also vigilant monitoring and feedback on the programs after implementation. For example, company-sponsored literacy tests could aid quantitative analysis of effectiveness of programs.