2nd ASEAN TVET Council Regional Policy Dialogue

OVERVIEW

The world of work is changing dynamically with technological advancements, digitalisation, globalisation, demographic and climate change. Timely and comprehensive labour market information systems can help to provide stakeholders an up-to-date overview inform employment and skill policies. Efficient use of labour market information in policy making can contribute to the enhancement of the workforce, keep it updated to meet the requirements of the changing labour market hence secure decent work. Successful models of gathering, analysing, utilising and sharing labour market information require targeted and harmonized efforts from various stakeholders, from both public and private institutions.

The ASEAN region is aware of this issue and already addressed it in ASEAN workplans. In the ASEAN Declaration on HRD for the Changing World of Work and Its Roadmap, improving accessibility and quality of labour market information, where appropriate, towards strengthened and coherent labour market information systems, including skills forecasts is one of the actions to be taken. More to mention, in its ten-year Work Plan 2021 - 2030, the ASEAN TVET Council (ATC) emphasised the effective use of labour market information to strengthen labour market orientation skills forecasting for the fourth industry revolution and other emerging trends.

To inform the joint cooperation on the ATC Work Plan 2021 – 2030 at the regional level as much as the debates on HRD and TVET reform in ASEAN Member States with a focus on policy implementation, the ATC members since 2022 institutionalized a series of Regional Policy Dialogues (RPD). The ATC RPD series, guided by the ATC Work Plan, is a forum for mutual learning and exchange on TVET policy and practice in the ASEAN region, aiming at:

• Mutual learning by bringing together representatives from politics & academia, public institutions, and business community on an equal footing;
• Reflecting on state-of-the-art research and practical examples from the ASEAN region and beyond;
• Identification and documentation of progress, challenges and lessons learned and setting of a future agenda for analysis and further exploration; and
• Providing recommendations relevant to the context of ASEAN and ATC Work Plan for the further development of TVET at the ASEAN regional level.

This ATC RPD is the second event in the series, focuses on the topic “Labour Market Information for better TVET Policy”. The 1.5-day conference is co-hosted by the ATC Chair - the Ministry of Education (MOE) of Singapore, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) of the Philippines, the Office of Vocational Education Commission (OVEC), Ministry of Education of Thailand with the support of the ASEAN Secretariat and the German Government’s RECOTVET programme.

THEMATIC FOCUS AND EXPECTED OUTCOMES

Labour Market Information System (LMIS) is not simply a data system and issues related to managing data and statistics. A LMIS consists of (1) collection and compilation of data and information; (2) repository of information; (3) analytical capacity and tools; and (4) institutional arrangements and networks.

In this regard, the 2nd ATC RPD will provide a broad overview of the design and implementation of an effective LMIS in relation to labour market, skill and TVET policies, while consider sub-topics that are relevant and practical to policy makers, for example, coordinating data, institutional set up and potential synergy of the different units in the LMIS network, skill anticipation. The 2nd RPD aims to achieve the following outcomes:

• Outcome 1: Consensus and shared understanding on LMIS and utilisation of LMI for TVET policy making, particularly regarding the priorities formulated in the ATC Work Plan;
• Outcome 2: Endorsed policy recommendations regarding LMI for TVET policies in ASEAN by the ATC members.

The results of discussions at the ATC RPD and recommendations will be processed into documentation to inform ATC members in their implementation of the ATC Work Plan. Moreover, the recommendations and results can be brought to the attention of the relevant sectoral bodies of ASEAN, where they can serve as orientation for the further development of HRD and TVET in ASEAN.

All RPD inputs and outcomes are made available on SEA-VET.NET, the TVET platform for Southeast Asia.

METHODOLOGY

The RPD will enable interactive discussions and knowledge sharing among policy makers, managers at high and middle level, leading experts and officials from member countries as well as international partner organizations on Labour Market Information for Better TVET Policy in a hybrid format. The conference will feature keynote presentations, panel discussions as well as breakout sessions, where smaller groups can learn from inspiring inputs and engage in expert discussions and peer-learning.

 PARTICIPANTS

Participants in the event include the focal points of the ATC and relevant stakeholders in the region and beyond:

• Representatives from the economic, education, and labour sectors from AMS (SEOM, SOM-ED, SLOM focal points)
• Representatives from business and industry sectors (ASEAN Future Workforce Council, other business leaders, companies from ASEAN region, chambers, association, and HR managers)
• ASEAN sectoral bodies and other relevant stakeholders (SEAMEO VOCTECH, ASEAN Confederation of Employers (ACE), ASEAN Trade Union Council (ATUC)
• Academia, International experts and other relevant stakeholders

PLENARY AND BREAKOUT SESSIONS