More than 50 embassy representatives, delegates from donors, development agencies as well as international and Vietnamese professionals in the field of TVET participated in the TVET Development Partner Network meeting organized in Hanoi on June 19, 2018. Co-chaired by the Directorate of Vocational Education and Training (DVET), under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) and the German Embassy in Viet Nam, the meeting focused on the topic “mechanisms for the cooperation with the business sector in TVET”.

Highlight of the meeting was the launch of the book on “Selected Normative Documents on Vocational Education and Training” which was compiled by DVET with technical support of the Programme Reform of TVET in Viet Nam. Since the TVET law came into effect in 2015 and the responsibility for the sector was entirely shifted to MoLISA and respectively DVET in 2016, numerous decrees, decisions and circulars concerning the TVET sector have been issued. With its thematical structure, the legal book aims at providing an overview of the legal framework guiding various topics such as standard and training programme development, engagement of the business sector in TVET or capacity development of TVET personnel for interested development partners and Vietnamese stakeholders. “The legal book is very important as it responds to the needs of different stakeholders and helps to understand and effectively implement rules and regulations concerning TVET, thereby enhancing the reform of TVET in Viet Nam”, Ms. Luisa Bergfeld, First Secretary and Deputy Head of German Development Cooperation  of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Hanoi remarked.

Following an update on priorities of the Vietnamese government during the “Year of TVET”, focus of the discussion at the meeting was the cooperation with the business sector in TVET. Based on the new VET law, DVET has incorporate the cooperation with the business sector into the legal documents specifying the TVET law. Participants appreciated the overview on the status quo of the cooperation among enterprises and training providers provided by DVET and expressed keen interest in defining together with DVET concrete cooperation activities in this field. For instance, accreditation and quality management instruments including tracer studies, enterprise surveys and workshop management have been piloted within the frame of Vietnamese-German development cooperation and were integrated into legal documents, Dr. Vu Xuan Hung, Director of the Formal Training Department of DVET, highlighted “DVET aims at cooperation in the development of further concrete instruments and mechanisms to enhance the cooperation with the business sector in TVET” he added.

The TVET Development Partner Network is an initiative resulting from the Viet Nam Development Partnership Forum (VPDF) in 2013. Facilitating dialogues and exchange among MoLISA, multilateral and bilateral donors, development partners and implementing agencies as well as NGOs, this network supports the DVET in coordinating ODA activities of development partners in the TVET sector. Over the past 4 years, the TVET Sector Development Partner Network has been co-chaired by DVET/MoLISA and the German Embassy.  It serves to enhance synergies among development partners all aiming at improving the quality of TVET in Viet Nam.

Responding to the very positive feedbacks of many participants about the importance and usefulness of the meeting, Dr. Dung mentioned in his closing remarks that he regards the high number of participants from most of the development partners active in TVET in Viet Nam as a convincing sign of interest and commitment of international “friends” of the Vietnamese TVET sector. He shared the viewpoint expressed by many participants that the cooperation with the business sector has to be based on mutual benefits and trust. Dr. Dung assured his commitment to enhance the knowledge and information exchange between development partners and DVET to effectively utilize joint resources in the future.

The meeting was held within the field of activity “Policy Advice and System Reform” as part of the Vietnamese-German Programme Reform of TVET in Viet Nam. The programme is implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).