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Building a New Future:

Opportunity and TVET in


Myanmar
Dr. Sai Kyaw Naing Oo
DDG, Department of Technical and
Vocational Education
ADB, Manila, 1-2 Dec 2015

Outline
1. Myanmars Dramatic Transformation
2. Myanmars Daunting Skills
Challenge
3. Reform Directions and Achievements
4. Case Study: Shifting to CompetencyBased Approaches

1. Myanmars Transformation
Myanmar has embarked
on a dramatic
transformation:
Political: a new
democracy
Social: people-centered
development and more
open society

1. Myanmars Transformation

(cont.)

Myanmars economic model also undergoing major transformations:


From

To

Closed/isolated

Open and engaged in


regional/global
markets

Dependent on
natural resource
exploitation

Balanced
development
(including industry
and service sectors)

Competing on
Modern, higher skill
cheap/low-skill labor and value-added

2. Myanmars Daunting Skills Challenge


A new Myanmar will require a huge array of soft and hard skills
Myanmars education/training system resembles many neighbors,
but is it meeting skill needs?

The Pre-Reform Reality


The problem: Many workforce entrants and young
workers are poorly educated and lack hard and soft skills:

Quantity issues
Quality issues
Constrains:
Business
Growth model
Inclusiveness (e.g.,
access to modern sector
work)

(i) Quantity Challenges:


Myanmars
Missing Million

Most youth complete primary but fail to complete secondary education

(i) Quantity Issues (cont.)


Equity dimensions: gaps dividing urban/rich vs.
rural/poor

(i) Quantity Issues (cont.)


ADB-supported CESR analysis shows exiters dont enter training:
Of 16-19 year-olds, 1 in 9 are in university but only 1 in 60 are in any training (less than 1% if exclude
university students also taking a training)
Concentrated in urban areas, computer courses, and languages
Partly because most forms of TVET require passage of high school matriculation exam

Human Capital Base for a Modern Economy?

and only 1.7% of 16-19 year-olds are enrolled in training.

SES will continue to bear the biggest burden in the near- term
TVET needs to expand
Both need quality-side reforms to produce skills (soft & hard)

(ii) Quality Challenges


Workers and employers need skills (not diplomas):
Soft skills (e.g., critical thinking,
communication, etc.)
Hard skills (e.g., welding, computers, etc.)
Key quality and labor market relevance issues in:
Secondary education:
largest share of workforce entrants, but rotebased/outdated
lack of interest #1 reason reported for dropout

Higher education (claims of worthless


degrees)
Technical and vocational education and
training (TVET)

TVET Quality Challenges


Prior to reforms, key quality
issues have included:
Top-heavy orientation,
leaving unmet skill demands
(by workers & employers) at
base of the skill pyramid
Supply-driven (weak
industry
dialogue/engagement)
Academic approach, not
based on delivering
skills/competencies needed
in workplace
Weak/outdated facilities
for applied TVET

Result: Vicious Cycle of Weak


Skills Base
Most employers:
complain that education system (including TVET) fails to equip youth to work
but dont train their own workers, partly viewing them as un-trainable

Source: ADB staff analysis of 2014 Enterprise Survey dataset

3. Reform Directions and


Achievements

Governments people-centered development


push:
Resources: e.g., education budgets tripled from
FY2011-FY2013 alone (though still low at just
above 2% of GDP)
Evidence: Comprehensive Education Sector
Review (CESR) initiated in 2012 to inform reforms
Legislation: e.g.,
2013 Employment and Skills Development. Law
(supports new basis on skill standards system;
proposes skill development levy, etc.)
Draft 2015 TVET Law (strengthens TVETs overall role)

Reform Directions and


Achievements (cont.)
Planning: CESR feeding into
National Education Sector Plan
(NESP) 2016-2021. Key TVET
thrusts to include:
Establishment of new TVET
Council
Reorienting TVET toward
demand-driven, competencybased approaches (e.g.,
continued development of skill
standards and new program
curriculum)
Expanding access for
disadvantaged youth/workers
Increased private sector role
Strengthening learning pathways

4. Case Study: Competency-Based Approaches


CESR called for development of new
model of competency-based
modular short courses (CBMSCs) as
a priority quick win:
Government sought ADB and
JFPR support via TA 8634: Skills
Development for Inclusive Growth
($2.0 million)
Close multi-agency cooperation
Core focus: development & pilot
testing of 3-month CBMSCs to
equip disadvantaged young
adults with job-ready, highly
demanded skills
Also provides on-the-ground
support to broader TVET reforms
planned under NESP (with further
ADB support planned)

Pilot Test Sites and Skill Areas


In 3 MOE Govt. Technical High Schools (Mandalay,
Naypyitaw, and Yangon), competency-based modular
short courses on building and construction:
Bricklaying
Bar bending
Concrete shuttering
Road construction (Culvert, Dirt Road, etc.)
In 2 MOI Industrial Training Centers (No.2 Mandalay and
No. 4 Pakokku)
courses on welding and repair of small rural-use
machinery:
Arc welding
MIG-MAG welding
Farm equipment maintenance and repair
Motorbike maintenance and repair
Courses to be launched starting January 2016

5 Key Innovations to Date


(1) Industrial attachment of GTHS teachers participating in the pilot
a bottom-up reform linked to a much bigger shift toward demanddriven, labor market-linked TVET
From humble beginnings

a TVET revolution has begun

5 Key Innovations (cont.)


(2) Promoting multi-ministry cooperation to
construct a multi-dimensional but cohesive
TVET subsector, while leveraging more impact out
of existing facilities
(3) Helped develop conceptual framework for
high-quality, demand-driven TVET
Industry skill demands,
National Qualification
Framework, etc.

5 Key Innovations (cont.)


(4) Helped NSSA develop Myanmars
new national skill standard
template/format, & supporting
development/revision of skill standards
(5) Introduction of competencybased modular short courses
(CBMSCs) as a new approach,
included as a major focal area of the
NESP for 2016-2020

Conclusion
Based on the current status of TVET in
Myanmar and building on recent progress, the
National Education Sector Plan (2016-2020) will
implement the following strategies to achieve a
Transformational Shift for TVET:
Expanding access to TVET for various target
groups including ethnic and disadvantaged
populations and people with disabilities
Strengthening the quality and relevance of
TVET
Strengthening TVET subsector management

Thank You
Dr. Sai Kyaw Naing Oo

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