Ho Chi Minh City, November 22^nd, 2018 – Today, the closing ceremony of the cooperative pilot training programme for Sewage Engineering Technicians took place at Ho Chi Minh Vocational College of Technology (HVCT). Attending the ceremony were leaders from the Ministry of Labour-Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA), the State Minister for Economic Affairs, Labour and Transport cum Deputy Premier of the Free State of Saxony, the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Ho Chi Minh City, representatives from the Vietnam Water Supply and Sewerage Association (VWSA) and 60 enterprises together with delegates from TVET colleges, local authorities and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).

Oriented to German occupational standard and tailored to fit local conditions, this is the first training programme to apply the cooperative training model in Vietnam, in which all relevant stakeholders including HVCT, VWSA and wastewater companies take joint decisions in the development, implementation and assessment of the programme. This is also the first time in ASEAN region, a professional association (VWSA) plays the leading role of the business sector in vocational training.

“The close co-operation between the school and the business sector is key to ensure quality and practical relevance of the training to meet the needs of a skilled workforce in wastewater sector, contributing to sustainable economic development and environmental improvement in Vietnam”, said Dr. Juergen Hartwig, Programme Director of Programme “Reform of TVET in Viet Nam”.

One of the most important factors contributing to the programme’s effectiveness is the quality of teachers. 11 examiners as well as 31 college teachers and in-company trainers received further training according to German standards. Benefiting from the improved training programme and teachers’ quality, after three years of intensive training, 17 out of 21 graduates are qualified for the Sewage Engineering Technicians according to the German occupational standard. The qualification equivalence was officially certified by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce Dresden (IHK Dresden), a public corporation sovereignly responsible for vocational training in Germany and the Dresden Sewage Company (SEED Dresden), a German recognised company offering vocational training, was directly involved in the examination and assessment process.

“The success of the cooperative pilot training programme marked a milestone in vocational training in Vietnam, proving that vocational training associated with business is an effective and efficient trend. This could be a good role model to be disseminated to other occupations, as well as other TVET institutions across the country, contributing to a TVET quality breakthrough In Vietnam”, said Mr Nguyen Thi Ha, Deputy Minister of MoLISA.

The activity is held within the component “TVET for a Skilled Workforce in Wastewater Sector” as part of the Vietnamese-German Programme Reform of TVET in Viet Nam. The programme is financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) together with the MoLISA.