UNESCO holds Third International Congress on Technical and Vocational Education and Training in Shanghai

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“Transforming Technical and Vocational Education and Training: Building skills for work and life” is one of the challenges that were addressed at the Third International Congress on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), held from 13 to 16 May in Shanghai, China.
The international congress sought to transform and expand TVET in order to ensure that all young people and adults can develop the skills that they need to improve their work opportunities and living conditions. Céline Lafoucriere, a specialist at the Regional Bureau of Education for Latin America and the Caribbean (OREALC/UNESCO Santiago) Regional Programme for Technical and Vocational Education and Training, considers this issue to be of vital importance for the region. “There is still a long way to go in Latin America and the Caribbean in terms of legislative and systematic organization of TVET. Although this is one of the world’s most dynamic regions in economical terms, it lacks the skills needed to respond to the demands of the industrial sectors. If this situation is not rapidly adjusted to meet the demands of the labour market, it may stand in the way of the region’s population in benefiting from this growth”.
Experts from around the world centred their discussions on three principal thematic areas during the four-day conference: 1) identifying and discussing present and future challenges facing TVET; 2) permitting enhanced understanding and sharing knowledge for sustainable TVET; and 3), informing perspectives for international cooperation in TVET. The event also sought to specify strategy guidelines for the future, and to support TVET at national, regional, and international levels.
The UNESCO Santiago Bureau prepared the document “The Current Status of Technical and Vocational Education and Training Information Systems in Latin America and the Caribbean (SINFO)”. In order to provide a focus for research activities, and for methodological reasons, a representative sample was selected featuring 12 countries in the region (Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic, and Trinidad and Tobago). The principal characteristics of TVET organization and provision were also examined.