Development of skilled workers being addressed
Development of skilled workers being addressed
Laos is in need of more skilled workers to help develop competitive products for the domestic and international markets as the country heads towards the Asean Economic Community at the end of this year.
Director General of the Ministry of Education and Sports' Technical and Vocational Education Department, Mr Nouphan Outsa, stressed recently the importance of vocational education related to industrial growth and new common standards for in-company trainers in the Mekong region as being the main reasons for proceeding with the series of workshops in Bangkok.
According to a press release, the workshops began recently, aimed at developing effective in-company vocational training in six Asean countries, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, as mandated by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
The project is intended to enhance the capacity of the region in developing qualified skilled workers by establishing a high quality of in-company-trainers and promote the role of the private sector in workforce development through an effective in company-training system, thereby satisfying the increasing demand of industries for skilled workers.
Mr Nouphan also explained that the increasing integration of Laos in regional markets brings great opportunities for the country, but it also poses substantial challenges to this relatively small economy.
As the movement of skilled labour is liberalised, the workforce of Laos must be prepared for the pressure of increasing competition from neighbouring countries if it is to benefit from the growth of the Lao economy.
He remarked that the Lao government was keen to use vocational education as a key part of its strategy to improve competitiveness. It is endeavouring to provide young people with vocational training to a high standard so that they can successfully enter the job market and start living self-reliant lives.
With the cooperation of the Bureau of Personnel Competency Development under the Office of Vocational Education Commission in Thailand and the Ministry of Education and Sports in Laos, the standard will later be put into practice to train competent in-company trainers in the Vocational Education Development Institute in Vientiane.