Germany helps develop skilled labour in Thailand, GMS

BANGKOK, September 10 (TNA) - Germany and Thailand have cooperated to address the problem of skilled labour shortages in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS), through the “Dual Vocational Education” scheme, in which in-company trainings are provided to vocational students. The cooperation is based on an agreed idea that the establishment of an effective in-company training system should help vocational schools' graduates to develop practical skills to meet the industrial sector's demand. Thailand's Office of the Vocational Education Commission under the Ministry of Education, in cooperation with German International Cooperation (GIZ), is, therefore, organizing a first workshop on in-company trainers development in Bangkok from September 10-12, as the quality of in-company-trainers are considered very important because they are responsible for transferring knowledge and skills to students. The three-day training, aimed to develop the Regional Minimum Standards for in-company trainers, involves all stakeholders from GMS member countries, including Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, as well as the Philippines. The stakeholders include those from relevant public and private agencies, vocational schools and in-company trainers. The first workshop, set to be followed by three others by February 2015, will also gain inputs from the participants, which will be then used to assess the current demand on trainers' competency, the first step to achieve the goal. GIZ Regional Director Christian Stüer said, when opening the three-day workshop on Wednesday, that the ultimate goal of the training is to develop an In-Company-Trainers Certificate with Training and Certification System for the private sector, starting in Thailand and Vietnam, followed by other GMS member countries later. Overall GMS member countries include Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and China's Yunnan Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (TNA)