POLICY GUIDELINES

Bhutan is a country with a mixed labor economy. Traditional skills are represented in agriculture, carpentry, masonry, and in Buddhist arts and crafts. Newer industrial and vocational sectors, including plumbing, electrical work, bricklaying and road-construction, are almost entirely staffed by different categories of foreign workers. Factories and workshops, particularly in border areas, also employ large number of foreign workers.

Existing vocational training institutes (VTI) produce graduates in insufficient numbers to meet the demand. Private training providers, mainly ICT training institutes have been established to train the school leavers. Some of the skills gap is being met through the activities of private training providers - for example, in the ICT fields.

To address the dual issue of the inadequate number of trained and competent Bhutanese workforce and the prevalence of foreign workers in most basic industries, new directions are needed in vocational education and training (VET). These issues have been addressed through the creation of the then Bhutan Vocational Qualifications Authority (BVQA) in June 2003 which has been renamed as the Department of Occupational Standards (DoS) in January 2006.

The department is mandated to improve and monitor the quality of all vocational training and skill development programmes to help contribute a skilled and productive workforce to the Bhutanese economy.

The main roles and responsibilities of the department are to:

•  Develop relevant policies and procedure to support quality assurance systems;

•  Develop a vocational qualifications framework that encourages and promotes life-long learning and skills development for all groups of learners, irrespective of age and academic qualifications.

•  Establish a National Assessment & Certification System to assess and certify the skills that people have acquired through various means and modes.

•  To develop and implement a National Accreditation System to accredit vocational training programmes and training providers, both public and private.

Objectives

During the 10 th FYP the department will strive to achieve the following objectives:

•  To contribute a skilled and productive workforce to the Bhutanese economy.

•  To increase the qualification levels by linking and integrating with the proposed National Qualifications Framework (NQF).

•  To accredit vocational training programmes offered by training providers, which are based on Occupational Profiles (OP).

•  To develop and operationalise the national assessment & certification system for vocational training programmes.

•  To assist training providers deliver vocational programmes based on occupational profiles.

Activities

These objectives will be pursued through a departmental structure comprised of three divisions.

A The Standards and Qualifications Division which will focus on:

•  Development of Occupational profiles and Qualifications for each occupation.

•  Quality control of occupational profiles .

•  Administering the qualifications and standards.

•  Co-ordination of Technical Advisory Committees (TAC)

•  Management of trainee registration e-database.

•  Establishing effective linkage with Industry for the development of qualifications.

•  Accreditation of training programmes

•  Advocacy and Publicity

B The Assessment and Certification Division which will focus on:

•  Development of quality of test items e-database for each occupation

•  Harmonizing the assessment system of the training providers

•  Training, registration and accreditation of Assessors

•  Conducting and administration of assessment in collaboration with accredited Testing Centers

•  Establishment and management of regional testing centers for testing of external candidates/Recognition of Prior Learning

•  Reporting and Recording the result of assessments

•  Verifying the results of assessment

•  Certification of workers/trainees as per achievement of relevant skill levels

C The Review and Audit Division which will focus on:

•  Reviewing occupational profiles and qualifications development processes

•  Reviewing registration and accreditation of assessors.

•  Reviewing accreditation processes

•  Quality auditing of the training providers/training programmes

Pre-requisites

Effective implementation of these strategies and activities requires the following:

•  Staffing with adequate number of professional and technical personnel.

•  Assistance of external technical experts/professionals

•  Project support for capacity building and HRD

•  Adequate budgetary provision

•  Financial incentives to motivate active participation and support from industry and employers

•  Adequate facilities

•  Policy support for development and implementation of relevant regulations and guidelines.

•  Establishing institutional linkages with other regional/international agencies

•  General awareness and public education