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UNEVOC TVET Leadership Programme prompts 22 leaders to move to action

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28 October, 2016

Bonn, Germany

Twenty-two mid- to senior-level technical and vocational education and training (TVET') experts from 20 countries convened for a two-week programme that aimed to empower change leaders to put into action a transformative vision of TVET. The UNEVOC TVET Leadership Programme, organized by UNESCO-UNEVOC, is the first of its kind and was held on the UN Campus in Bonn, Germany, from 17 to 28 October 2016.

“Now is the time to move to action” said Shyamal Majumdar, Head of UNESCO-UNEVOC, when he addressed participants. From international policy developments to greening TVET and integrating information and communications technology into TVET, the hands-on and interactive programme honed participants’ leadership skills and supported them in identifying action pathways through which they can contribute to towards sustainable institutions, societies and economies.

The UNEVOC TVET Leadership Programme, a new UNESCO flagship programme, addresses a perceived bottleneck in effecting change in TVET institutions, namely the lack of change leaders, by developing the capacity of mid- and senior-level TVET leaders from around the world. The Programme does this by covering three key elements effective leaders need: vision for change, knowledge for change, and skills to drive change.


Participants at the UNEVOC TVET Leadership programme


Vision and knowledge for change

For TVET leaders to be effective in transforming TVET, they need to have a clear vision that will compel colleagues, staff and other experts to join TVET leaders in striving for change. Sessions that addressed the significance of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for global developments, including the impact of the SDGs on TVET, helped TVET leaders to align the future visions of their institutions and regions with global policy developments, and identify how to best put their ideas into action.

The discussions that took place over the two-week period mainly revolved around the role TVET may play in an increasingly globalized world and experts and participants exchanged views on the part TVET should play in facilitating the transition to green economies and sustainable societies, fostering youth employment and entrepreneurship, and promoting equity and gender equality. Leading experts from UNESCO, UNIDO, Cedefop, DIHK, and JET Education Services in South Africa also informed participants on labour market- and policy trends, and provided insight into the development of national qualifications frameworks as well as strategies for collaborating with higher education and the private sector.

Skills to drive change

Vision and knowledge alone don’t make an impact as long as ideas cannot be implemented. Therefore the Programme also looked at key leadership and management skills. For example, a panel of TVET experts discussed the link between effective leadership and changing mind-sets inside a workplace. Joining the panel were Sebastian Paust from the Asian Development Bank, Marcia Rowe Amonde from the HEART Trust, National Training Agency in Jamaica, and Shyamal Majumdar, Head of UNESCO-UNEVOC. When asked what he believed the most important facets to good leadership to be, Mr Paust’s emphasized “communication, communication, communication”, which resonated with all present.

Combining theory with practice, participants were able to identify leadership styles and management strategies that best fit their situation.

Looking ahead, moving to action

One of the outcomes of the programme was the development of institutional and regional proposals. Following a module on proposal development, participants were encouraged to develop their own project proposals and the resulting high-quality regional (7) and institutional proposals (21) demonstrated the programme’s constructive value and participants’ keenness to move to action. In his closing address, Shyamal Majumdar said that “when people speak from heart and act from the heart, nobody can stop them”, a feeling that many participants are sure to take home with them.

More information

Please visit the UNEVOC TVET Leadership Programme webpage for further information.

The UNEVOC TVET Leadership Programme was implemented in cooperation with the following partners:

Supported by





 

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