The Colombo Plan Staff College (CPSC), in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), Singapore through the Singapore Cooperation Programme (SCP) and the ITE-Education Services (ITEES) Singapore, conducted the Joint-Training Programme on Greening TVET for Sustainable Development from May 6 to 10, 2024 at the Park Royal Hotel in Singapore. The participants consisted of 29 TVET institutes’ officials from Bhutan, Cambodia, Cook Islands, Dominican Republic, Ghana, Fiji, India, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Palestinian Authority, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Seychelles, and Togo.
With the supervision of CPSC Director General Prof. G.L.D. Wickramasinghe and MFA Deputy Director General Mr. Gan Teng Kiat, the training program was crafted to help the participants be equipped with green knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are deemed necessary for TVET development. The program also aimed to introduce how Singapore TVET institutions formulate their strategies in greening TVET and how they develop innovative systems within their existing institutional management practices.
MFA Deputy Director Mr. Oliver Koh (top left photo), ITEES Special Projects Senior Manager Mr. Kerwin Hing (bottom left photo) and CPSC Governing Board-Engaged Faculty Consultant Dr. Kesavan Ulaganathen (right photo) deliver their speeches in the opening ceremony
The five-day program commenced through an opening ceremony in which officials from MFA, CPSC, and ITEES welcomed the participants as they delivered their opening remarks. MFA Deputy Director Mr. Oliver Koh highlighted in his speech that sustainable development is a necessity and that TVET institutions have the responsibility to prepare tomorrow’s workforce for green jobs. Likewise, CPSC Governing Board-Engaged Faculty Consultant Dr. Kesavan Ulaganathen said that the concept of greening TVET can emerge as a strategic approach to align education and training with sustainable practices. ITEES Special Projects Senior Manager Mr. Kerwin Hing, in his speech, also encouraged the participants to share and discuss the successes and challenges faced by their respective countries.
The five-day program commenced through an opening ceremony in which officials from MFA, CPSC, and ITEES welcomed the participants as they delivered their opening remarks. MFA Deputy Director Mr. Oliver Koh highlighted in Shortly after the opening ceremony, Dr. Kesavan gave a discussion on Green Skills in Sustainable Development. This was followed by the lecture of Dr. Lim See Yew, Senior Director in ITE College Central, School of Engineering. The succeeding lectures were facilitated by the Deputy Directors in ITE School of Engineering, Mr. Ramanath Sathyanarayana Hassan and Mr. Foo Wing Yong. Their sessions covered topics on Strategic TVET Development for Sustainability; Nurturing Innovation and Entrepreneurship in TVET Students; Greening TVET in the Context of Singapore; and TVET Skill Sets, Opportunities and Strategies for Skills Development for Jobs in the Green Economy.
An institutional tour was conducted inside the campuses of ITE College Central and College East. Facilitators from the institutions shared some of their greening TVET initiatives, facilities, authentic training lab and best practices. The participants also visited the Eco Hotel at Siloso Beach Resort for an industry visit on sustainability. Prior to this, the MFA organized a social programme for the participants which was held at one of Singapore’s most famous landmarks, the Gardens by the Bay.
During the last day, Mr. Ramanath and Mr. Kelvin facilitated the sharing session with the participants to wrap up their learnings and insights on greening TVET and sustainability. The five-day program concluded with the closing remarks that were respectively delivered by Mr. Oliver Koh, Dr. Kesavan Ulaganathen, and Mr. Kelvin Hing. The delegates were also conferred with certificates of participation in completion of the training program by MFA, Singapore deputy director Mr. Oliver Koh.
Group photo of the participants
