Business and techvoc

Last Sept. 15, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) and the German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GPCCI) signed a memorandum of agreement to support dualized training in the Philippines.

This development confirms that not only will K to 12 graduates be hired by business corporations, but the corporations themselves will help train Senior High School students to be ready for employment.

Tristan Arwen G. Loveres, the chief operating officer of TÜV Rheinland Philippines, gave a succinct description of dualized training within the context of the K to 12 reform. Here are excerpts from his speech:

“In order to sustain the economic growth of the Philippines, it is imperative that we implement the K to 12 education reform. The competitiveness of the Philippines relies on a competent, capable, and skilled workforce, especially at these critical times of the ASEAN economic integration.

“We are all aware of the challenges in the educational system in the Philippines. A core challenge of Philippine industries, on the other hand, is the lack of practical-oriented technical and vocational training.

“In GPCCI, we believe that it is important to invest in further education and training to ensure that the younger generation is capable and ready to support what we need.

“Germany, as an economic powerhouse not only in Europe but in the whole world, is economically driven not only by well-known German companies, but also by the strength of SMEs powered by a skilled workforce fully supported by a Dual Training system. This is what we want to replicate and institutionalize in the Philippines, and this would be very timely that we incorporate this in the K to 12 implementation.

“The dual vocational training system is the most common form of vocational training in Germany. The core concept of the dual system is that training is conducted in two places of learning – companies and vocational schools.

“In the last two years, with the implementation of the Dual Training program as part of the [German-funded] K to 12 Plus Project, we have achieved the following in relation to the Project Goals:

“In the pilot regions (Metro Manila, Laguna, and Cebu), a pilot class in the TVET basic metal working cluster with relevant actors (PCCI and local chambers, associations, companies, Senior High Schools, TVIs, etc.) has been established, and occupational profiles have been developed in consultation with local offices of DepED and TESDA.

“Chamber management workshops during the PCCI-area business conferences (Laoag, Dumaguete, Manila, Daet, Dipolog) have documented good practices in dualized vocational education and training and contributed to an improved public image of vocational education and training. The results will be highlighted in the coming October 26-27 PCCI Business Conference.

“A Regional Study Tour in Thailand and an International Study tour to Germany have capacitated PCCI, local chambers, and industry/sector associations to actively shape and implement dualized vocational education and training and conduct a constructive policy dialogue with relevant public actors.

“We have showcased German best practices in TVET through knowledge exchange. We have conducted a Train the Trainer workshop leading to German and international certification.

“We look forward to the coming visit of the German State Secretary, as well as the GPCCI Vocational Training Award 2015 in November. Next year, we will have PCCI and GPCCI cooperating in building up K to 12 clusters with local chambers in new markets in Mindanao.

“Dual Training has a lot of different meanings and is highly sophisticated. We would like to support a view of German Dual Training to create a common understanding and show what is feasible for the Philippines.

“With PCCI and GPCCI as partners, together, we can realize our noble intention of improving our educational system in our beloved country, the Philippines, and help contribute to ensuring and sustaining its economic success.”

Dual training, needless to say, is a much larger concept than the immersion envisioned in the K to 12 curriculum of the Department of Education (DepEd), but the core idea is the same. To solve the mismatch between the products of education and the needs of industry, industry itself has to be heavily involved in education.

Because work skills are never completely learned through books and classroom discussions, it is necessary for learners to spend a huge part of their learning years being actually inside workplaces. Immersion in the TVL Track means that learners must spend a lot of time, even the bulk of their Senior High School days, inside companies.

Educators have known for ages that telling is not the same as showing. In the classroom, teachers merely tell but never show. In the workplaces or enterprises, learners are shown how things are actually done.

This is the reason that learners in the TVL Track spend a lot more than 80 hours outside the campus. In fact, they should spend most of their last two years in school being trained outside school by the employers that will eventually give them their livelihood.

Without hundreds of hours of immersion in real work by learners, the addition of two more classroom-bound years to high school becomes a waste of valuable time for those that need to get national and eventually international certifications for employable skills.