To develop and revamp the image of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in the country, a TVET Interim Office was established in Thimphu today. The team comprising of five members will officially work towards the formation of an autonomous agency related to TVET.
Prime Minister Dr Lotay Tshering inaugurated the new TVET Interim Office located in the previously used office of the REDCL in Chubachu today.
“There are jobs and there are job seekers as well but there is a gap in between these two. Job seekers lacked the skills required. TVET sector is not very popular among the youths and only the students who could not land anywhere opted for the TVET courses. Moreover, everyone claimed graduates from these institutions will be left unemployed. So, this is, I would say one of the biggest steps towards solving those issues,” said Dr Lotay Tshering, the Prime Minister.
Lyonchhen added, to begin with, the interim office will be under the Prime Minister’s Office. Once the service condition and the Standard Operating Procedures are ready, the office will be delinked and will operate on their own.
The former Member of Parliament from the North Thimphu Constituency is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the TVET Reform Initiative.
“This is an interim TVET reform initiative. So, as the word implies it is interim for now. The whole idea during the interim office is to do all the consultation and also the studies of the TVET reforms on how to go forward. So, I think at this point it will be premature to say this will be delinked and that will be added. I think it is very premature. The main thing is the government has taken this big initiative to reform the entire TVET sector,” said Kinga Tshering, the CEO for TVET Reform Initiatives.
The team will have to report to the Prime Minister’s Office during the transition period until it takes off as an independent organisation.
“If you look at the unemployment numbers, the unemployed youths who have a university degree are higher than 40 to 50 %. So, half the students who come back after finishing their degree they have no job. On the other hand, if you look at the vocational and skilled children, there is a ready job market for them. So, I think this is one of the things we need to really impress on parents and children saying that there is an opportunity for you to get skilled, not only get skilled but also get a good salary,” the CEO added.
The government pursued TVET reforms since last year. Currently, two groups of experts are working on the new curriculum for skills and competency relevant to the 21st century and also ensuring the governance structure of the revised system.
Of the total budget of over Nu 1bn received by the Labour Ministry for the 2019-20 Fiscal Year, TVET sector has received a lion’s share of more than Nu 500 M to strengthen TVET system and improve access, quality and relevance through infrastructural expansion and capacity building of faculties.
Today, there are about 1000 trainee students under various TVET institutes in the country.
Passang Dorji
