TVET and ESD

The UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre emphasizes TVET for sustainable development through its programme activities and publications and as part of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).

TVET affects attitudes towards sustainability held by future workers. The changing nature of the world of work, especially due to globalisation and technological change, demands that TVET develop a skilled, committed and motivated workforce that understands how global changes impact upon local opportunities for business and industry and how these changes impact upon the quality of local social, economic and environmental conditions.

The greater the exposure of trainees to sustainability concepts, practices and examples, the more likely the desired workplace culture change will take place in the future. The delivery of sustainability practices must happen in pre-service TVET as well as on-the-job and in worker upgrading and retraining. Continuing TVET will continue to predominate in the future, in order to accommodate both technological and job change.

TVET is a consumer and producer of resources and therefore has many different concerns about sustainability. The over-exploitation of natural resources, ill-health and grinding poverty threatens the ability of future generations to satisfy their needs and wants. TVET needs to re-orient its curricula to imbue students and trainees with the conservation and sustainable use of resources, social equity and appropriate development, as well as with competencies to practice sustainable tasks at the workplace. It was one of the main themes examined at the UNESCO international experts meeting Learning for Work, Citizenship and Sustainability, Bonn, October 2004 and subsequent regional and international meetings that focus on the various aspects of TVET and ESD.