Asia Education Leaders Forum 2015 18 March 2015 Dr Clement CHEN, SBS, JP Chairman of VTC Vocational Education Learning a Living Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, Good afternoon. It is a pleasure to have this opportunity to speak at the Asia Education Leaders Forum. I am pleased that the organiser featured Vocational Education Learning a Living as one of the discussion subjects in the forum. This is not only an important subject, it is also a very timely one. Learning a living A Talk of Town Subject Earlier this year, The International Labour Organisation (ILO) released a report entitled World Employment and Social Outlook Trends 2015. The report indicated that almost 74 million young people worldwide are looking for work and they are three times more likely to be unemployed than adults. Given these particular statistics surrounding global unemployment, learning a living has become a pressing topic for governments in many parts of the world. Learning a Living Linking Learning with the World of Work So what do we mean exactly by learning a living? Simply put, it means linking learning with the world of work. In the domain of vocational education and training or VET as we say for short, it s always a challenge to ensure young people are equipped with the right type of capabilities to survive and succeed in the labour market. And when VET - 1 -
educators get it right, they help by enhancing the learning experience and in increasing the employability of individuals. By applying the right skills to workplaces and enterprises, VET learners not only see an improvement in their own personal prospects, but they contribute to the betterment of the communities in which they reside. Importance of Vocational Education and Training Hong Kong s Experience Against this global backdrop, I would like to share the story of Hong Kong s experience the achievements and current challenges. The Hong Kong Government established the Vocational Training Council (VTC) in 1982 giving it the mandate to provide structured and systematic VET primarily for upgrading the quality of manpower. Over the past 30 plus years, the role and function of VET in Hong Kong has evolved in response to the changing economic and social needs, and VTC has progressed and grown along with it. Today, VTC has 13 member institutes offering vocational education and training to a quarter of a million young people and in-service workers every year of which 50,000 are full-time students. Modern VET - An Effective Means to Pursue Personal Goals For the last ten years, VTC has positioned its VET programmes as an effective way for young people to pursue their personal goals. We have encouraged students to follow their interests and strengths getting them to look at how VET can provide them with opportunities to achieve their career aspirations. It has not been an easy task particularly in an Asian city where most parents and students alike aspire to go to university right after completion of senior secondary education. With our persistence in community education and engagement of the secondary school sector, we have attracted approximately 16,000 students, or 23% of senior secondary school leavers aged 17 to 19 to study full time at VTC each year. We are committed to changing the public perceptions. - 2 -
Job Content Changes Constantly, Building Personal Attributes a Key So not only do we need to take into account the aspirations of young people, we have been listening and working with our industry partners to understand their needs. What are employers looking for? Obviously, a specific set of skills from employees that match the skills necessary to perform a particular job. But beyond job-specific technical skills, employers are looking for something more. Nowadays, job content changes more regularly and new occupations are created over a short period of time. Just to chase paper qualifications is no longer the golden rule for success. Employers require staff members to have the ability to adapt to a working environment where change and unanticipated situations are facts of everyday life. This makes building personal attributes as important as learning professional skills. VET - A Combination of Skills and Attributes to Meet the Challenges With shifting demands for a workforce with more varied and holistic skills as well as changes resulting from the impact of technological advances and increased globalisation, VET is poised to take on an enlightened approach to learning. Today, the blended VET programmes featuring a balanced mix of specialised skills and general competencies not only allow learners to acquire professional skills for career advancement but also enhance their personal development. Let s take our craft certificate in electronic engineering as an example. In the early 90s, over 90% of the training hours of the programme were in specialised skills, while 10% were devoted to acquiring generic skills. As generic skills continue to rise in importance, the training hours in generic skills has increased substantially. Today, close to 40% of the total training hours of the programme are allocated to generic skills including language proficiency and whole person development. The proportion of having 60% of vocation-oriented training and 40% of generic skills is now becoming the benchmark of VET programmes in Hong Kong - 3 -
Mastering of 4 Key Skills with Ethics as a Core In addition to specialised trade skills, VET in Hong Kong focuses on the acquisition of 3 other key skills similar to that of the Swiss and German VET system, and these are namely problem solving skills, social skills, and method skills. These skills are underpinned by a core requirement a strong sense of ethics. So, our aim as educators is to provide learners with the requisite skills but also with a code of conduct that that will bring with them into their work lives. The inculcation of ethical principles at an individual level is important to maintaining the competitiveness of industries that are critical to Hong Kong s economic prowess including financial services, transport and logistics services, retail industry, just to name a few. In other words, Hong Kong surpasses other cities in having corruption-free, reliable and trustworthy systems to provide a stable environment for investors and employers to operate. Student-Centred Approach to Enhance Employability It is always easier said than done. How is VTC helping to equip our students with these key skills? Currently, in addition to imparting knowledge within the classroom environment, we encourage students to be active learners by giving and sharing ideas in the classroom, to express their ability and talent by working in teams on projects and participating in competitions; to analyse and solve problems on their own by taking part in the workbased and experiential learning. Industry attachment is also set as compulsory module for our Higher Diploma students to ensure they gain workplace experience. This kind of student-centred approach facilitates their acquisition of communication, critical thinking and creative problem solving skills leading to the formation of positive attitudes and self-confidence. Strengthening International Perspectives of Students As we move into the 21st century, we are facing accelerating - 4 -
globalisation which changes the way we think about skills education. To prepare students for global citizenship, it is essential to include international perspectives to enrich the learning experience of our VET students. In addition to admitting non-local students, we provide opportunities for our students to participate in exchange programmes. In AY 2013-2014, over 9,000 students participated in outbound exchange in which 2,400 visited overseas countries including Spain, France, Japan, and Taiwan, and 6,700 went to the Mainland China. VTC- ITE Seminar We also bring in student groups from our VET counterparts so that more students can benefit from the exchange programme experience. For example, since 2007, VTC has cooperated with the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) in Singapore to organise student seminars. Held biennially, the upcoming VTC-ITE international student seminar taking place at a VTC campus will see over 600 local and international students gathered to exchange ideas and share best practice. These opportunities enable students to broaden their horizons, develop skills that are relevant to the international marketplace and become well equipped and more competitive in the global employment market. Use of New Technology, Make Learning More Fun We also deploy new technology to aid in teaching and learning, and bring real world experience into the classroom by means of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality platforms. By using virtual reality training tools, it motivates students and adds a lot of fun to learning. VR learning requires interaction and encourages active participation rather than passivity. For example, the newly established Retail Lab at our campus, equipped with simulations and state-of-the-art retail facilities offers a virtual learning environment to practice their skills. Let s look at a short video clip. The simulation of retail places such as a luxury shop, a supermarket and a cosmetics shop can enhance real-life experience. Students find it exciting and challenging to walk through an environment in three dimensions, and interact with it. Together with the provision of different - 5 -
authentic and relevant scenarios, the learning tool helps students develop trade skills, cognitive skills and appropriate work attitude. VET Students Enjoy 90% Employment Rate Since the teaching and learning approach of VET integrates practical training with classroom learning, it can more effectively address employers needs. In fact we have been told that employers prefer to hire VET graduates because they consider these students to be more work-ready and more pragmatic in terms of job expectations. Our graduates consistently enjoy over 90% employment rate. Tripartite Collaboration, Critical Success Factor of VET In fact, the overall unemployment rate in Hong Kong in 2014 remained at a low level of 3.2%. However, the unemployment rate of youth aged 15 to 24 stood at 9.2%. This is a concern. To bridge the gap of youth unemployment and skills mismatch, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong in his Policy Address of 2014 announced a series of measures to strengthen vocational education and support its development alongside traditional academic education; which is very encouraging to us. Earn and Learn Scheme We have thus started to revitalise the apprenticeships in areas where there is great manpower demand. A new Earn and Learn Pilot Scheme was introduced in 2014. Under this new initiative, the Government, industry and VTC has built a strong tripartite collaboration, where the Government provides a subsidy as additional incentive to trainees while industry provides the job opportunities for training purposes. Let s look at a video clip of the Earn and Learn Scheme and hear what our trainees say. In 2014, the HKSAR Government allocated funding of around HK$200 million to VTC to launch the pilot scheme to benefit approximately 3,000 young people. - 6 -
Future Directions Through-train Pathway in Hong Kong VET System To address the aspirations of students for further education and provide opportunities for their upward mobility, the VET system in Hong Kong has built a clearly defined pathway from junior operative level to para-professional at the sub-degree level, and then to degree and professional level; and onto lifelong learning. Learners have a choice to join or step off the path at different levels. Any new student can look ahead and see that they can travel with the VTC as far as their motivation and developing skills are able to take them. Call for Integrated Education System to Enhance Permeability However, the permeability between VET and higher education is viewed as the ultimate key to encouraging students to choose a vocational pathway. I am not saying this is not happening but the public awareness should be increased. What we need to do is to pass on the message to parents, principals and the community at large; and on policy level, to further enhance the permeability between the two educational paths. With an integrated education system in which vocational education and traditional academic education are interwoven, people can bring along their qualifications to move to and from the two streams. When such a flexible model is fully activated in Hong Kong, it will not constrain students from choosing the vocational pathway. Conclusion In conclusion, VET is high quality education and training, combining professional competence with generic skills and whole person development. It provides opportunities to cater for the diverse interests and aptitudes of students. In Hong Kong, we advocate VET students to master the 4 key skills. By means of classroom learning, practical training and industry attachment, use of new learning technology and broadening students international perspectives, we equip them with necessary knowledge, skills and attitude for earning a living. - 7 -
The value of VET is proven and it is now on the priority list of the development agenda of many countries. The tripartite collaboration among the government, industries and VET providers is the cornerstone to the success of VET. Through the concerted efforts of all VET players in the global arena and the support of the government and industries, I am certain the VET sector will grow steadily and continuously and nurture even more competent professionals for the sustainability and the betterment of societies everywhere. Finally, I would like to thank the organiser for providing such an excellent platform to our students to participate in this great event, afford over a hundred of them the opportunities of greeting international guests as event assistants, demonstrating their skills in the Skills Showcase corner, contributing artworks for charity sale and helping with the video shooting. I am also pleased to see more than six hundreds VTC students will visit the exhibition in these three days. I am sure they will bring home a most valuable experience and memory after the event. I wish you all a most rewarding exchange and networking experience in this forum and the Worlddidac exhibition. Thank you. - 8 -