A high-level delegation from Mongolia, led by H.E. Sanja Mungunchimeg, Vice Minister of Labour and Social Protection, Government of Mongolia, visited the UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre on the 23rd March 2018. Discussions between the Mongolian delegation and UNESCO-UNEVOC focused on issues of mutual partnership and strengthening the TVET Sector in Mongolia.

Given that the Government of Mongolia is currently undertaking reform on its TVET system, the Mongolian delegation highlighted two of the main priorities of this reform;

1. Strengthening the TVET quality and relevance through developing/sustaining links with the private sector/employers;
2. Reinforcing the governance structure of the Mongolian TVET system.

The delegation presented the current challenges faced by Mongolia in terms of existing skills gaps and the need of the skilled workforce that fulfils the requirements of the labour market. Given the limited engagement of the industry in fostering skills development, there is a greater demand of public policies in support of skills development in Mongolia. They underscored the importance of agriculture sector in the country and the role of TVET in improving the agriculture sector. The delegation expressed keen interest in furthering their engagement with UNESCO-UNEVOC, and with TVET stakeholders at the international and regional levels, including members of the UNEVOC Network and UNESCO Offices in the region.

UNESCO-UNEVOC apprised the visiting delegation on the transformative potential of TVET for Sustainable Development, coupled with its engagements and those of the UNEVOC Network in the Asia & Pacific region. The visiting delegation was also briefed on the knowledge management activities and online platforms that UNEVOC offers. The discussion also shed light on new trends and issues on TVET with reference to Sustainable Development Goal 4, and the UNESCO TVET Strategy (2016-2021). The delegation shared that the forthcoming UNESCO Policy Review Support to the Government of Mongolia will complement the on-going work of the World Bank, Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) in the Mongolian Education Sector Master Plan. The delegation also requested UNESCO-UNEVOC support in the TVET review process and development of special programmes in future.

Under the leadership of H.E. Sanja Mungunchimeg, Vice Minister of Labour and Social Protection, the delegation comprised of 4 Members of the Mongolian Parliament, senior TVET related functionaries in the Mongolian Government, and representatives of the GIZ.