Background
As Southeast Asia is moving towards greater regional integration, the establishment of the upcoming ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is expected to bring greater prosperity and well-being to the people of the region. To make this expectation a reality, tools to facilitate free flow of learners and skilled labour are being developed at national and regional levels. Many countries in the region have already developed National Qualification Frameworks (NQF), and are currently devising their implementation strategies. These NQFs are to be referenced against a regional framework, the ASEAN Qualifications Reference Framework (AQRF), which will allow for mutual recognition of qualifications, including TVET certificates, between ASEAN member states. As NQFs and AQRF are being developed, attention is increasingly shifting to their implementation including through the establishment of quality assurance of certifications mechanisms which are the foundation for mutual trust and recognition of TVET certificates across borders.
In response to these developments, UNESCO is conducting a global study entitled Quality Assurance of Certification in TVET, which aims to examine quality assurance mechanisms that underpin the certification process generating trust and support among individuals and employers. The study will examine the extent to which reforms of qualification systems and the shifting focus on learning outcomes influence quality assurance arrangements of certification in TVET. Through a phased approach, it will produce a discussion paper (Phase 1) and countries’ case studies (Phase 2) that will present quality assurance principles, criteria and approaches that support the certification processes, and how these are understood by stakeholders and applied in countries. The outcome of Phase 1 and 2 will inform the development of guidelines for effective quality assurance of certification in TVET (Phase 3).
In the framework of UNESCO’s global study, UNESCO Bangkok and the Office of the Vocational Education Commission (OVEC) in Thailand are organizing a regional meeting to examine mechanisms for quality assurance of TVET certification as the foundation of mutual recognition and thus of mobility of learners and skilled labour in AEC. The meeting is expected to bring together a range of international experts and national stakeholders from ASEAN countries and beyond to discuss mechanisms of quality assurance of TVET certification. The meeting will, in particular, pay attention to typologies of quality assurance, modes of assessment, and the options for further developing quality assurance of TVET certification. The workshop will be held from 8-9 October 2015 in Bangkok, Thailand.
Objectives
- To present a discussion paper of international practices in quality assurance of certification in TVET (Phase 1);
- To discuss a research framework for countries’ case studies;
- To discuss a work plan for the regional research;
- To facilitate discussion on developing mechanisms for quality assurance of TVET certification in ASEAN member countries and beyond.
Participants
- International experts of NQFs and quality assurance in TVET;
- National QA experts/researchers from ASEAN and other countries in Asia-Pacific involved in the UNESCO study;
- Officials from relevant ministries in ASEAN and other countries in Asia-Pacific, if applicable.
