“Greening TVET (Technical and vocational education and training) is the master key for sustainable development and one of the priority areas of Viet Nam’s government to achieve the National Green Growth Strategy. This is a new process during which public administration as well as TVET Institutes are required to take specific action which has to be agreed upon among the stakeholders”, said Dr Truong Anh Dung, Deputy Director of the Directorate of Vocational Education and Training (DVET) at the workshop “Development of an Action Plan for Greening TVET in Viet Nam”. Taking place on 3 July and 4 July 2018, in Hoa Binh province, the workshop attracted 25 participants, including leaders of DVET, specialists of DVET relevant departments and leaders from TVET institutes. They contributed valuable inputs to build a 5-year Action Plan for Greening TVET in Viet Nam for the period from 2019-2023.

A green economy demands new and altered skills, knowledge and attitude of workers. This requires a green TVET which encompasses various aspects, for instance the integration of green requirements in TVET offers,, efficient use of energy and resources, TVET institutes which serve as role models for environmental-friendly practices and possibly the development of new green occupations.  During the two-day workshop under the facilitation of German expert Dr. Klaus-D. Mertineit the participants discussed these and other requirements to derive a concrete action plan to be implemented by DVET during the next five years.

During the discussions, all participants agreed that valuable but fragmented policies concerning Greening TVET are existing already. However, objectives and stakeholders should be clearly defined and aligned with the action plan for implementing the Green Growth Strategy in relation to the labour market MoLISA is charged to develop. “In future, the TVET strategy that DVET is developing will feature green aspects more prominently. Green requirements will also be integrated as criteria in the legal framework guiding the recognition of high quality TVET institutes. We have to develop a coherent approach”, Dr Truong Anh Dung said.

Ms Britta van Erckelens, Deputy Director of Programme “Reform of TVET in Viet Nam” emphasized: “The business sector is the driver of green economic growth, therefore at both, state and institutional levels, it is essential to enhance the cooperation with the business sector and to mainstream green aspects into this cooperation. Mainstreaming of green aspects could be enhanced via industry and sectoral boards for example. These could cooperate with TVET institutes in developing green TVET offers and support DVET in developing strategies and the legal framework for greening TVET.”

The Action Plan on Greening TVET in Vietnam as the result of the fruitful workshop will be a principle guideline for DVET and TVET institutes to integrate green aspects in TVET activities. More importantly, it demonstrates a strong commitment of different partners in the process of transforming TVET in order to meet the need of a green economy and society.

This activity is held within the component “Policy Advice and System Reform” 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 fuer Technische Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) together with the Vietnamese Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA).