March 28-29, 2019

Bonn, Germany

As Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) adapts itself to the impacts of significant social, environmental and economic disruptions, innovative practices have emerged with great potential to rejuvenate the future of TVET. Current developments in TVET suggest that many types of innovative practices are already being developed or deployed, significantly changing the way we define and practice TVET.

To highlight the different ways through which innovation contributes to the development of TVET, the UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre launched its Skills for Innovation Hubs project on 28-29 March 2019 in Bonn. Representatives from 10 pilot institutions (listed below) met to exchange experiences and participate in the official project launch. The pilot institutions were selected from the UNEVOC network based on their proven experience and commitment to innovation, specifically in the sectors of entrepreneurship, digitalization, and greening. This previous experience is fundamental to the implementation modality, which relies on expertise pooling, knowledge sharing, and peer review to develop innovative practices and learning materials.

The i-hubs project derives from the understanding of major ongoing global disruptions in work and society. National TVET policy makers and systems’ developers face a challenge in anticipating and providing the innovative skills needed by business, society, and learners to succeed in the uncertain labour market of the future. The TVET system can no longer operate within a business-as-usual approach. Indeed, a new and radical shift is required, with TVET institutions increasingly empowered to implement more bottom-up initiatives to adapt skills provision to local needs.

The specific benefit of the i-hubs project is to affirm that TVET innovation is about more than delivering skills; TVET contributes to innovation by being an active part of the innovation process in businesses, communities, and schools. This is a major adjustment in the TVET institutional attitude and a powerful driver for relations between TVET institutions and the ecosystem.

The main objective of the launch meeting is to ensure a common understanding of the rationale, objectives, activities, and expected outputs foreseen in the i-hubs initiative among the ten pilot institutions, the UNESCO TVET community and the UNESCO-UNEVOC team. This common understanding and purpose is intended also to create the basis for an active core network, mutual learning and capacity development among key players actively engaged in innovation in TVET.

List of i-hubs Pilot Institutions:

• KENYA Rift Valley Technical Training Institute (RVTTI)
• SEYCHELLES Seychelles Institute of Technology (SIT)
• NIGERIA Yaba College of Technology (YCT)
• CHINA Shenzhen Polytechnic (SZPT) 深圳职业技术学院
• PHILIPPINES Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA)
• SRI LANKA University of Vocational Technology (UNIVOTEC)
• FINLAND Omnia - The Joint Authority of Education in the Espoo Region
• MALTA Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST)
• SPAIN TKNIKA – Basque Country
• GERMANY BKAL - Berufskolleg an der Lindenstraße