Vocational skills will be a kind of "international currency"

An effective Vocational Education And Training (VET) system is needed to increase workforce participation in helping companies develop new technologies and increase the productivity of the economy.

Cisco and Optus/Alphawest have conducted studies on emerging global trends in TVET to share information with TVET institutions and policy makers to address challenges that bring the modernity of vocational education.

Trend 1: Students join vocational training at an earlier or later age

While the demand for skills and qualifications is increasing and the population in developed countries is aging, the need to retrain older workers will be higher.

The number of EU citizens aged 50 to 64 years in training has increased from 1% to 26% in EU countries between 2005-2009.

Along with that, due to career requirements, some countries tend to have students join vocational training earlier.

Trend 2 : The vocational training market in the world tends to move abroad

Skilled people are tending to developed countries to work. In 2010, an estimated 193 million migrant workers globally moved to different countries in search of work. Accordingly, the demand for training, re-skilling and recognition of migrant workers will increase. It is arguable that the rate of movement of people between countries for vocational training will also continue to increase in the context of globalization.

Trend 3: "Retaining" apprentices

The economic argument for retaining apprentices is undeniable: Acquiring a new customer is significantly more expensive than maintaining an existing one. Vocational Education And Training (VET) system around the world are realizing that the economic cost of losing students midway is significant.

Trend 4: Apprenticeship through many forms

The emergence of online learning and blended learning is hardly a new trend. However, recent trends in blended learning and online learning tend to focus on two areas. Firstly, moving from replicating face-to-face pedagogy to developing new pedagogical methods. Second, towards learning on mobile devices.

Trend 5: Innovative solutions to reduce infrastructure investment

Revenue, cost, and profit pressures are forcing Vocational Education And Training (VET) systems to think about infrastructure requirements. Organizations are looking at innovative ways to reduce investment in new infrastructure through the use of new technology (such as simulators or online collaboration tools) to avoid investment costly. Cost-sharing models, cloud-based services that reduce administrative costs are widely adopted.

Trend 6: Cooperating closely between schools and businesses

The supplier-consumer model has emerged in the VET sector. As competition becomes more intense, including new competitors from outside the VET sector, the industry demands new models of cooperation. These models focus on establishing deeper and more extensive cooperation to meet supply and demand.

Trend 7: Vocational skill is an "international currency"

Professional skills are an international currency: They are a source of economic advantage and are increasingly tradable in today's world. Large businesses always have to find ways to win the "war for talent" - a term that was named in the late 1980s and still holds true today.

It can be said that global trends present both challenges and opportunities for vocational education institutions of each country around the world. Vocational training institutions will need to flexibly adapt, improve many aspects, both in management tools and training methods, and cooperate to bring new experiences in all aspects of the vocational training process.