Concurrent with compiling new strategies in vocational skills and training, the Iran Technical and Vocational Training Organization (TVTO) seeks to create diplomatic acumen in its alumni to promote their presence on the international scene.
The organization’s role in international collaboration calls for improving standards and providing creditable training, said Javad Salehi, head of TVTO’s Legal and International Affairs Department.
“We have been striving to develop communication ties with international institutes to be abreast of latest scientific and technological advancements and keep pace with international standards,” he said, reports IRNA.
The organization has trained 425 senior executives from Afghanistan, Iraq, Tanzania, Burundi, and Lebanon. MOUs will soon be signed with the education ministries of Tanzania, Burundi, Sierra Leone, and Uganda to undertake joint programs. It will also equip and run a newly-built vocational training center in the semi-autonomous Tanzanian archipelago Zanzibar.
TVTO is the primary institution in charge of short-term technical and vocational training which it imparts through both public and private sectors.
Its main task is to provide vocational training and research through 1-18 months courses in: permanent centers of the public sector (600 centers nationwide), mobile training teams (in remote areas), training in prisons, garrisons and industries, training in Instructor Training Center (ITC) and private training institutions (14,000 authorized by TVTO).
TVTO trains skilled and semi-skilled labor needed by industry, agriculture and service providers.
Salehi said the TVTO will extend cooperation with the UNHCR, Danish Refugee Council (DRC), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).
He proposed cooperation with UN-affiliated agencies to promote diplomatic skills.
Earlier, Esther Kuisch Laroche, director and representative of UNESCO Cluster Office in Tehran, had expressed readiness “for any kind of cooperation with the TVTO” and neighboring countries Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, to help enhance vocational training of women, improving standards and allocating educational resources.
Achievements
Salehi also pointed to the outstanding achievements of TVTO in the international arena owing to improved standards, skills improvement and selection of qualified individuals for national teams in global competitions.
Iran ranked 4th, 6th and 16th in the Worldskills International Competitions in Germany (2013), England (2011) and Canada (2009) respectively. The biennial is the biggest vocational education and skills excellence event in the world. The 2015 event will be held in Sao Paulo, Brazil in the upcoming months. The TVTO has developed close cooperation with its Brazilian counterpart, the National Service for Industrial Training (SENAI).
Salehi also pointed to TVTO collaboration with British Pearson, Peoplecert, Greek ICDL and IDP Education, the leading players in the global education and certification industry and said, close cooperation with these bodies gave accreditation to the country to hold international examinations.
Areas of research, one of the main tasks of the organization, deal with major challenges between training and labor market and industries to help understand the skills needed; gathering information for skills training curriculum development, training software and hardware; upgrading workers’ skills and setting up unions for technical and vocational trainers to attract their participation.
