VIP-day at LILAMA 2: On 15 November 2016, the CEO of the German Chamber of Skilled Crafts (HWK) Erfurt, Mr Thomas Malcherek, handed over the official “Letter of Acknowledgement” to Dr Le Van Hien, President of LILAMA 2 Technical and Technology College. The letter certifies the equivalence of the newly developed Vietnamese occupational standards for Mechatronics Technician and Metal Cutting – CNC Technician to German standards. Together with the already finalized occupational standards for Industrial Electronics Technician and Construction Mechanics Technician it contributes to one major objective of the Vietnamese-German “Programme Reform of TVET in Viet Nam”: LILAMA 2 – as a “flagship of Vietnamese-German Development Cooperation” – provides demand-oriented initial and further technical and vocational education and training based on international standards.

The event was attended by representatives of Vietnamese companies and the Ministry of Construction as well as Dr Thomas Feist, member of the German Parliament, and Mr Andreas Siegel, the German Consul General. The participants expressed their appreciation of the dedication and the enthusiasm of the teaching staff and students. Vietnamese and German participants were impressed by the state-of-the-art equipment provided by the German Development Cooperation which will contribute to the high quality of the training at LILAMA 2.

The occupational standards were developed jointly with Vietnamese sector associations and more than 15 professionals of leading companies to ensure demand-oriented training. The process was accompanied by German experts. Based on the new occupational standards, a comprehensive three-year cooperative training programme is under development and will be presented and discussed on 9 December. Well-defined practical training phases of the cooperative training programme will mainly take place in the companies’ workshops with on-the-job training. In close cooperation with the business sector, LILAMA 2 will have a “double-function”: to teach necessary occupation-related theoretical content to the trainees and train occupation-related practical skills on the latest technologies in its state-of-the-art training workshops.

Cooperative training aims to enhance the employability of the trainees by involving the business sector in the development of occupational standards, in the delivery of training and in assessment and certification. This creates a triple-win situation: LILAMA 2 can utilize its expertise and capacity as a professional training provider, companies will get skilled work force trained according to their needs and graduates have the chance to get a well-paid job.