Case Study: Partnership Opportunities in China Emma Whitehead, Skills Adviser, China, British Council

Current opportunities: Foundation Partnership Guangdong Dongguan Technician College “We hope that, by learning from UK experiences in vocational education, Dongguan Technician College will deepen reform on its education and teaching, innovate its talent cultivation model, improve its teaching quality (particularly in connection with skill building), introduce UK qualifications/ joint programme delivery and ultimately, in order to improve the employability of its graduates.” The college has 36 specialities for 18 – 21 year olds 2 Travel grants available of £3K Deadline for Travel Grant applications: 19th July 2013 For a scoping visit 23rd – 27th September Deadline for Partnership Proposal: 31st October 2013 Start of Partnership: December 2013 £15,000 is available to contribute to delivery of the successful project proposal. For more information and to apply, see “Partnership Calls” on the website

Current opportunities: Start-up Exploratory travel grants: £3K available to visit Chinese Colleges Criteria: EITHER a visit from the Chinese College has already occurred, OR there is already a specific focus These grants are not available to colleges who have already visited a Chinese college as part of the Principal’s Shadowing Programme Deadlines for applications: Monthly Start-up opportunities: 10K of match funding for each partnership Proposals should be developed in partnership based on the priorities below Application Rounds: 1: 1 July - 30 September 2: 1 October - 30 December For more information, see ‘Start-up Scheme’ on the website

55 million workers with specialised skills (2011) China: Introduction In China there are: 55 million workers with specialised skills (2011) 13,093 secondary vocational colleges (ages 16-19) with 22 million students – c. half of all students at this level 1,288 tertiary vocational colleges (ages 18-21) with 9.6 million students 12,900 job training schemes, with 49 million students

China: Introduction In China’s 12th Five-Year Plan (2011 – 2015), Education is placed at the heart of development and reform policy. In the National People’s Congress work report on Education in March 2010, strengthening vocational education was identified as a key area of focus. (along with improving the perception and pay of teachers) This is to address a predicted skills gap: Demand for highly-skilled workers with vocational qualifications is expected to exceed supply by c. 16 million workers in 2020 This is due to both a geographical and a structural mismatch

China Priorities Strengthen TVET Quality of teaching and learning Student centred learning National Centres of Excellence: leadership, professional development, quality assurance etc. Employer Engagement Competency based standards Led by industry associations Engaging private enterprises Joint solutions to meet employers’ needs for high-skills workers Expansion of TVET Rural areas Attract more students Prestige

In China, we work with the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security as well as provincial and local education authorities to select Chinese vocational colleges that have the reputation, quality standards, scale, leadership, ambition and relationships with industry to be effective partners for UK colleges. In the UK, we select partners through competitive applications that are independently reviewed and evaluated.

Existing / previous partnerships 8 partnerships under the MoHRSS 4 partnerships under the MoE The following themes have emerged: Curriculum development Employer-centred partnership World Skills Competition collaboration Joint product development Apprenticeships Quality Assurance Teacher training and student exchanges Most commonly requested sectors: Automotive Mechanical Engineering Creative Industry (fashion design, animation ) Information Technology E-commerce Hospitality

Benefits of previous partnerships “Working with the British Council in China on the Skills for Employability programme has given Walsall College a unique opportunity to work with one of the largest employers in the sector, as well as a forward thinking vocational educational institute that is a centre of excellence.” Jatinder Sharma, Principal, Walsall College “Yancheng College seems particularly excited about the emphasis on creative learning in the UK and the focus on the individual learner rather than on the group. Another difference is that in the UK we teach our young people the broader set of skills for employability and self-directed learning – not just technical skills. My students could…learn from Yancheng’s disciplined approach to learning, the behaviours of its students and their thirst for knowledge” Marion Plant, OBE, Principal and Chief Executive of North Warwickshire and Hinckley College

Outcomes of previous partnerships Chengdu Technician College have started the process of establishing an apprenticeship programme after sending teachers to train to become apprenticeship trainers and assessors at Clydebank College, focussing on Electrical Engineering Guangzhou Communication & Transport Vocational School introduced new automotive courses and qualifications after teachers undertook training with IMI Awards through their partnership with Central College Nottingham. Guangzhou GZITTC have been working closely together with Highbury College to develop new curriculum and raise the profile of skills, using World Skills competitions as a focus.

British Council support UK Support: Facilitating networking and mentoring Monitoring and Evaluation China Support: Facilitating communication and accompanying visits Providing expertise and advice on the local context Facilitating networking and mentoring Recognising and sharing achievement

Next Steps Register interest in partnerships with China: Foundation partnership opportunity Exploratory travel grant Start-up opportunities Inform us of existing relationships with Chinese colleges, or existing areas of focus For more information about our college partnerships, please contact Miranda Swanson in the first instance: Miranda.Swanson@britishcouncil.org Miranda will direct you to Ron Pan to provide advice on the China context

Case Study: Partnership Opportunities in Vietnam

Vietnam: introduction Key priorities: TVET Strategy “Development of TVET is the cause and the responsibility of whole society” The Government is committed to: “Carry out fundamental and drastic reform of state management of vocational training, in order to create momentum for promoting vocational training toward standardization, modernization, socialization, democratization and international integration.” And to: “Strengthen international cooperation in vocational training” Planned measures include: Promoting and strengthening the application of information technology in vocational teaching Developing curricular and textbooks based on curriculum frames or national occupational skills standards Quality control and quality assurance Employer / Enterprise engagement

Current opportunities: Foundation Partnership Hanoi Vocational College for High Technology 18 – 23 year olds 5 faculties: Electricity, Mechanics, Electronics, IT and Economics A partnership focussed on: Strengthening international cooperation Training for teaching staff to achieve UK national standards Transfer of curricula from the UK UK colleges recognise the qualifications provided by Hanoi College for High Technology Call to be announced soon. Please see the “Partnership Calls” on the website for more details.