Bangkok--10 Aug--GIZ
Rajamangala University of Thanyaburi (RMUTT) and Burapha University under the Ministry of Education are cooperating with the German International Cooperation (GIZ) in holding a regional conference to enhance the practical vocational competence in vocational teacher education. The conference is an activity of the Regional Cooperation Platform on Vocational Teacher’s Training and Education in Asia (RCP) involving collaboration with vocational teacher education (VTE) institutions in 6 countries including Thailand, Laos, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and China with an aim to improve the quality of vocational teachers at the institutional levels.
This collaboration project supported by German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) on behalf of the German government will be implemented within the established three-year time frame, commencing in December 2012 and ending in December 2013.
Associate Professor Dr. Numyoot Songthanapitak, the President of RMUTT said “One of the key drivers of growth in economies is a highly-qualified workforce. Thailand is facing a skilled workforce shortage due to insufficient vocational teachers, insufficient skilled teachers, and newly graduated teachers with insufficient skills and experiences. This directly has an effect on the productivity of the workforce markets in terms of quality and quantity, and as a result, the need of the improvement of the production capacity of vocational workforce is critical and vital which is in line with the focus of the second decade of education reform in Thailand (2009 — 2018), emphasizing the development of highly-qualified teachers.”
“The RCP supports Thailand’s education policy reform and encourages educational cooperation in the regions. The conference held in Bangkok provided opportunities for institutions in the regions to exchange knowledge and experiences with a focus on preparation of teachers’ and organizations’ readiness to join the AEC (ASEAN Economic Community) which is the goal of regional economic integration by 2020.” Associate Professor Dr. Numyoot added.
Dr. Thomas Schroder, RCP Project Director, GIZ said “The economies of the countries of ASEAN and China have developed at a rapid pace. It is the role of Technical and Vocational Education and training systems to cope with the demand of the changing labour markets by adapting to the changes and meeting the need for technical innovations via a demand-oriented output. The RCP coordinates with partner universities to focus on the enhancement of practical vocational competence in vocational teacher education. Furthermore, the RCP focuses on quality of lectures and in research on TVET as an important scientific discipline.”
“Vocational education and training is one of the areas in which GIZ has a high level of expertise in the international cooperation field. In Thailand, Thai-German technical cooperation has lasted for more than 55 years and with the setting up of the Thai-German Technical School in 1959, vocational education was the first area of cooperation. Since then, education has become a focus of cooperation. In addition, GIZ has long been cooperating with other countries in the regions to improve the quality of vocational education from the policy and strategy level to practical implementation.” Mr. Schroder added.
The Deutsche Gesellschaft f?r Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is a federal enterprise with worldwide operations. It supports the German Government in international cooperation for sustainable development and in international education work. It operates on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and other German ministries, governments of partner countries and international clients (like the EU, UN, World Bank, ADB) as well as private enterprises.