Supporting the government’s endeavour to bring about transformational changes in the country’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), the Gross National Happiness Commission (GNHC), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and TVET Reform Project Office signed a Statement of Intent last Friday.
The TVET Reform Project Office was established in March as part of the Prime Minister’s Office by the government to revamp the TVET system with a goal to address the mismatch between education/skills and jobs. It is also to improve the image of TVET to attract the youth.
The project office, under the aegis of the Department of Technical Education, Ministry of Labour and Human Resources, is working to offer world-class courses primarily through international collaboration with reputed institutes like the ITEE and Nanyang Polytechnic of Singapore. The courses offered will be not only reflective of and aligned with the changing labour market needs in the face the COVID-19 pandemic but also job skills for the future.
According to a joint press release, the partnership will see the TVET Reform Project Office and UNDP work together to create an enabling, innovative and inclusive employment ecosystem through three main activities. The TVET Reform Project Office and UNDP’s Accelerator Lab team will work together with an international consultant to develop the concept and a strategy for the Bhutan Innovation and Technical Education (BITE) Hub.
The partnership is part of the UNDP-supported COVID-19 Response and Recovery project towards a Smarter, Greener and More Resilient Recovery through Innovation in Bhutan. It is funded by the government of Japan.
