The Colombo Plan Staff College (CPSC), in collaboration with the Office of the Vocational Education Commission (OVEC), Ministry of Education, Thailand has successfully implemented the face-to-face In-Country Program on 21st Century Skills for TVET last February 20 to 24, 2023, in Pattaya Technical College, Chonburi, Thailand. A total of 49 trainers, executive officials, and policy analysts from numerous technical and vocational colleges in Thailand have participated in the training.

The program was primarily designed to discuss the importance of obtaining 21st-century skills for TVET in developing and designing quality TVET curricula in technical and vocational institutions including critical thinking, creative thinking, problem-solving, metacognition, collaboration skills, effective communication, and global communication.

Included in the program management are Program Supervisors: CPSC Director General, Prof. G.L.D. Wickramasinghe, and OVEC Secretary General Acting Sub. Lt. Thanu Vongjinda, Program Coordinator Engr. Dr. Mian Khuram Ahsan, and Local Coordinator Mr. Laksasak Yangsaman. The various theme paper presentations were delivered by the invited resource persons - President of the Institute of Vocational Education (Bangkok) Council Dr. Siriphan Choomnoom; Professor of Geoinformatics, Remote Sensing, and GSIS, Asian Institute of Technology, Dr. Nitin Kumar Tripathi; Director for Policy and Strategy in OVEC, Dr. Rangsan Thepmondhri; and Director, Thai-Austrian Technical College, Ms. Orathai Yothingrueang Sudsanguan.

OVEC Deputy Secretary Flg. Officer Somporn Pandam and CPSC Senior Faculty Specialist Engr. Dr. Mian Khuram Ahsan (right) delivering welcome remarks during the opening ceremony, February 20, 2023

The participants were welcomed by an opening ceremony on February 20, 2023. Key speeches from the program management members were delivered and an orientation of the program schedule for the five-day training ensued which was facilitated by the Program Coordinator, Engr. Dr. Mian Khuram Ahsan.

Resource persons Dr. Nithin Kumar Tripathi (top) and Dr. Rangsan Thepmondhri (bottom) delivering their theme papers

The five-day training was composed of lectures and workshops surrounding different topics on 21st-century skills in TVET and IR 4.0 such as developing curriculum structures that are adaptive to the requirements of the VUCA world, digitization innovations in teaching and learning, as well as change management using the Plan, Do, Check, and Act (PDCA) cycle in TVET. Exercises involving the crafting of SWOT analysis, creating Competency-Based Training (CBT) modules, and developing curriculum integrating 21st-century skills assessed the understanding of the participants of the topics.

In addition to the aforementioned activities, the participants were also able to conduct a study visit to SNC Former Public Company Ltd., one of the leading manufacturers of air-conditioning and electrical parts for the automotive and housing industries in Thailand. The delegation was welcomed by the Executive Vice Chairman of SNC, Mr. Somchai Ngamkitcharoenlap who provided a brief discussion on the functions of SNC in the manufacturing industry of Thailand. This was followed by an open forum where the participants were able to ask questions to the officers of SNC.







Photos of the study visit of participants SNC Former Public Company Ltd., February 23, 2023

The closing ceremony was held on February 24, 2023 wherein officials from OVEC gave their closing remarks, and extended their gratitude to all the members of the organizing committee that took part in the successful implementation of the program. On the other hand, Program Coordinator Engr. Dr. Mian Khuram Ahsan, on behalf of CPSC, also expressed his appreciation to all the participants for their cooperation and contributions into making the program productive and informative.