Within the trilateral cooperation between the National Institute of Vocational Education and Training (NIVT), the German Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) and GIZ, regular joint working missions are conducted in Viet Nam and Germany since 2010. These joint missions aim at exchanging latest updates in the field of vocational education and training (VET) and developing processes and products to enhance VET sector monitoring and quality in Viet Nam.

Last week, Dr Sandra Liebscher and Mr Michael Schwarz from BIBB arrived in Viet Nam for an intensive mission with three main objectives:

Firstly, NIVT researchers and the two German experts laid out the core content of the Viet Nam VET report 2018. The annual publication provides arguably the most comprehensive and updated information on the developments of the Viet Nam VET system in the year. Presenting and interpreting data against measurable indicators in 09 thematic fields within the VET system, Viet Nam VET Reports are a reliable source of data for evidence-based policy making, and a monitoring tool to enhance accountability for better overall VET quality.

This year, the Directorate of Vocational Education and Training (DVET) actively took part in several sessions within the VET report drafting process. In particular, Dr Nguyen Thi Viet Huong, DVET Vice Director, led a fruitful discussion at NIVT office on overcoming the current limitations of data sources. Dr Huong also gave recommendations on enhancing the impact of VET reports through better communication and better tracking of the reports’ contribution to policy making.

Secondly, BIBB expert Sandra Liebscher introduced to the Vietnamese VET practitioners the EU-Commission’s Environmental Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) with the aim to better plan, monitor and report on Greening VET activities at the school level. Representatives from VET institutes, DVET and NIVT test-used the tools and provided constructive feedback on its adaptation to the Vietnamese context.

The third working topic for the joint BIBB-NIVT this September was the development of the Viet Nam VET Strategy for the 2020-2030 period. GIZ, BIBB and NIVT researchers will jointly work on the assessment of the impact of the current 2011-2020 strategy, and plan for activities to gather the necessary inputs for the drafting of the new strategy scheduled for release in 2020.

The next joint NIVT-BIBB working mission is tentatively scheduled for November at the BIBB’s office in Bonn, Germany.