Unevoc Archives - Sustainable Skills

October 25, 2019 Margherita Caggiano 2 Comments

UNESCO-UNEVOC Trends mapping – Innovation in TVET

UNESCO-UNEVOC presents a new trends mapping study on innovation in TVET

Recently released by UNESCO-UNEVOC, this report aims to improve the understanding on innovation in TVET among the international community, as well as to map current trends and showcase different types and experiences of innovation in TVET around the world.

Written by Jan Peter Ganter de Otero, the report clarifies what innovation means for the TVET community, taking into account the different stages of development they find themselves at and different geographic, socio-economic and political contexts. The study presents a general framework that helps to analyse the development and implementation of innovative practices in TVET, including in organizational practices, ecosystem engagement, teaching and learning processes, and products and services offered by TVET institutions.

Key findings

The study identifies several important issues from the literature review, questionnaires and a virtual conference on innovation in TVET that was held in February 2019:

Innovation comprises substantial change in the way TVET is practiced by an institution, making it progressively more relevant to its economic, social and environmental context.
The deployment of a broad set of organizational practices in TVET (including planning, financing, human resource management, administrative structure, and internal monitoring and communication) is crucial to support the development of innovation in TVET.
It is crucial for TVET institutions to consider a comprehensive human resource management approach to build their capacity to develop and implement innovative practices. All types of TVET institutions (ministries, national bodies, training centres and universities) reported a focus on training and skills development as their main human resource management practice. The study found that there was a lack of human resource management practices concerning recruitment, appraisals and incentives.
Innovations in the way TVET institutions reach out and foster relationships with external actors (ecosystem) are not only crucial to overcome barriers when it comes to collaboration between the TVET system and other sectors (including business), but can also be pursued with aims of creating a stronger and supportive sense of community between different stakeholders and enhancing the status of TVET.
Innovations in teaching and learning processes help to enhance the quality of TVET programmes, projects and initiatives.
Promoting technology diffusion and applied research in TVET can also act as an engine for innovation in local community and the society.
The great majority of the TVET institutions reported that the lack of time, resources or staff are significant barriers to develop innovative practices.

The final part of this report provides recommendations divided in three different levels: system, policy, and institutional levels.

Download the report: Trends mapping – Innovation in TVET

Join the online discussion

From 28 October, UNESCO-UNEVOC hosted an online discussion on the TVeT Forum on planning for innovation in TVET. This online discussion will be led by Jan Otero, author of Trends mapping – Innovation in TVET, and will focus on the process of planning for innovation in TVET institutions, schools and training centres.

To access the online discussion, you will need to have a UNEVOC account.

To get our latest updates follow Sustainable Skills:

May 27, 2018 Margherita Caggiano No Comments

UNEVOC-UNEVOC Publication: Moving Forward – Biennial Report 2016-2017

Unesco-Unevoc in Action – Biennial Report 2016-2017

UNESCO-UNEVOC, the UNESCO spcialized Centre for TVET acting as part of the UN mandate to promote peace, justice, equity, poverty alleviation, and greater social cohesion, has recently published the Moving Forward Biennial Report which gives a comprehensive overview of its activities in TVET over the biennium 2016-2017, and highlights the concerted actions and support to the UNEVOC Network and UNESCO Member States through capacity development, international collaborations and knowledge exchange to advance TVET.

The report details key engagements under each of the five thematic priority areas of UNESCO-UNEVOC: Greening TVET, Promoting ICT, Mainstreaming entrepreneurship, Mobilizing youth to promote skills development, and Gender equality.

Greening TVET for integrating Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and climate change actions

Over the course of the biennium, UNESCO-UNEVOC’s engagements in greening TVET included developing strategic partnerships, improving the capacities of UNEVOC Centres and Member States, and building the knowledge resources that reinforce orientation towards greater sustainability and institutional applications. As a result, over 200 TVET institution stakeholders and young people in more than 20 countries have increased their greening TVET capacities and understanding of the issue.

Promoting ICTs in TVET

The integration of ICTs in TVET presents certain challenges such as the disparity between the skills demanded by industry and the competencies of the TVET teachers to impart these to their students, largely due to their limited exposure to new technolgies as well as gaps in their own training.

Mainstreaming entrepreneurship in TVET

One of the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) on Education is to strengthen ‘skills for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship’. In line with the UNESCO TVET Strategy (2016–2021), youth employment and entrepreneurship is one of the core thematic priorities for UNESCO-UNEVOC’s activities. During the course of the biennium, the work of UNESCO-UNEVOC in this area focused on supporting TVET institutions in the Member States and the UNEVOC Network to develop and implement effective strategies to strengthen entrepreneurial skills in TVET.

Mobilizing youth to promote skills development

Young people constitute a crucial target group for TVET. UNESCO-UNEVOC pays particular attention to helping young people engage in the promotion of skills development and ensuring that their perspectives are reflected in the policy discussions and programmes. World Youth Skills Day is a UN-recognized initiative that aims to raise awareness about the importance of ensuring that all young people have access to good-quality TVET and skills development opportunities.

Gender equality

The UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre has been promoting discussions to shed light on issues of gender inequality in TVET, with a particular focus on women’s participation in this sector – the aim being to build a stronger knowledge base founded on good practice that will help guide targeted policies and programmes.

The Biennial Report gives an overview of the UNEVOC Network, consisting of approximately 250 Centres across 165 UNESCO Member States, Capacity Development Programmes, Knowledge Development and Management activities organised by the Centre, Partnership and international collaboration. The last part of the publication introduces the TVET team and the financial report of the biennum.

Download the publication: Unesco – Unevoc Biennial Report 2016-2017

April 25, 2018 Margherita Caggiano No Comments

UNEVOC – COL Publication: Using ICTs and Blended Learning in Transforming TVET

Using ICTs and Blended Learning in Transforming TVET

New technology and digitalisation are rapidly transforming the world of work and the demand for skills needed by the industry. In this scenario, TVET can play a crucial role by equipping learners with skills and competencies that match industry demand, thus facilitating people’s access to the labour market throughout life and supporting each countries’ economic growth. According to Unesco – Unevoc, a greater integration of ICTs in TVET has come along with a number of challenges including poor digital skills of the trainers and limited access to ICT infrastructures.

Information and communication technology (ICT) encompasses technologies such as radio, television, the Internet and the Web, satellite and Wi-Fi systems, mobile telephony, computer hardware and software, audio- and video-conferencing, virtual reality, social media, wikis, 3D printers and so on, which enable users to access, store, share, and present information.

The Commonwealth of Learning (COL), the Canada – based intergovernmental organisation created by Commonwealth Heads of Government in 1987 to promote the development and sharing of open learning and distance education knowledge, resources and technologies, UNESCO Section of Youth, Literacy and Skills Development, and the UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre have recently launched a joint publication called “Using ICTs and Blended Learning in Transforming TVET”, which presents case studies from around the world and the need of policy reforms.

The publication outlines ways in which use of ICTs and open and flexible means of delivery help enhance learning opportunities. It comprises of inputs from leading experts around the world, including case studies developed by experts from UNEVOC Centres in Germany, Finland, Jamaica, and Sri Lanka.

Drawig on the expertise and experience of 15 contributors, the books examines the potential of TVET to bring education to those who might otherwise be unable to access it, provides insight into — and lessons learned from — different applications of ICTs in TVET around the globe, analyses issues of cost and approaches to planning for successful and sustainable applications of ICTs, and offers recommendations for the international organisations, governments, policy makers, managers and staff responsible for TVET.

The first part of the book sets the context, by introducing the demands and challenges, outlining the range of ICT applications available for teaching and learning which include Distance Education, Open, Blended, Flexible and Mobile Learning, Open Educational Resources and Open Courseware, Massive Open Online Courses, Digital Repositories, Virtual Reality (VR), Simulations, Games and Role Plays, Augmented Reality, and 3D Printing, and explaining how to adopt ICT-based Applications in TVET. The second part of the book comprises nine case studies from Germany, Australia, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Jamaica, Finland, Africa, Cambodia, and Canada. In the third part, the authors explain how to plan for transformation, by providing considerations about costing the introduction of ICTs in TVET, and planning for the use of ICTs at the national and institutional levels.

This book should prove to be a valuable asset for both practising and potential TVET providers.

Download the publication: Using ICTs and Blended Learning in Transforming TVET

November 25, 2017 Margherita Caggiano 1 Comment

Greening TVET: A Practical Guide for Institutions

Greening TVET: A Practical Guide for Institutions Released by UNESCO-UNEVOC

Environmental Issues represent one of the World’s most pressing challenges of our century. According to the Global Footprint Network, the Earth Overshoot Day, the date when humanity’s annual demand on nature exceeds what Earth can regenerate over the entire year, this year marked globally on August 2, the earliest it’s ever been. Industry can play a pivotal role to reduce the global carbon footprint and change the future of our Planet. This transition demands a change in the nature of work by ensuring workforces have skills and knowledge to support the new green economies and societies. TVET is crucial to support the transition to a low-carbon economy by preparing learners to face new expectations of the industry.

In light of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), TVET underpins many of the proposed goals and the achievement of sustainable development. For example, Goals 4, 6 and 8 of the SDGs are directly related to TVET, with many of the targets capable of being supported by a well-designed TVET system and targeted skills-development interventions.

The “Greening TVET” guide, recently published by UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre for TVET, outlines the main reasons to invest in greening TVET, including:

Greening TVET helps production to advance to more environmentally conscious practices,
A ‘green’ worker is a more employable worker; a ‘green’ workforce will enhance the profitability of the enterprise;
National governments need to seize the potential for job creation by providing skills needed in the new green sectors;
Disadvantaged groups in the labour market (young people, women, persons with disabilities, rural communities and other vulnerable groups) require targeted support to develop their potential knowledge and skills for green jobs.

The publication is designed to help leaders and practitioners of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) improving their understanding and implementation of education for sustainable development using a whole-institution approach to greening their institutions.

“Greening TVET” discusses four key steps:

STEP 1: Understanding the process
STEP 2: Planning for the greening of TVET
STEP 3: Implementing an Institutional Green Plan
STEP 4: Monitoring and Assessment Strategies

The Guide is available here

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