Qualified workers for metal cutting with the skills and the knowledge to operate Computerized Numerical Control (CNC) machines are required. With CNC machines it is possible to produce work pieces of high precision automatically and in complex forms. The access to qualified workers in this sector is a necessary condition for Vietnamese and international enterprises to improve the production processes and to increase a competitiveness.

Together with our partner European Association for Vocational and Social Education (EBG) we implemented, in the frame of a public private partnership (PPP), a multi-level training programme in Modern Metal Cutting Technologies for teachers/instructors from TVET partner institutes in Thanh Hoa, Thai Nguyen, Nha Trang, HCMC, Vinh Phuc and Hung Yen. These institutions will receive modern metal cutting/CNC equipment by financial cooperation.

With the availability of demand-oriented qualified metal cutting and CNC technicians for the enterprises in the metalworking industry the quality of training will be improved.

The trained teachers/instructors functioning as multipliers will implement modular training programmes for students, workers, as well as other teachers/instructors. To be more and more familiar with organizing and realizing high-quality practice-oriented training in metal cutting/CNC pilot-courses for workers will be conducted in Thai Nguyen, Nha Trang, HCMC and Hung Yen with support of EBG trainers. Assessments will be conducted by an independent jury and international standard certificates will be provided in cooperation with Aussenhandelskammer (AHK) and the General Directorate for Vocational Training (GDVT). The comprehensive training material will be further used for different kinds of training in the field of metal cutting/CNC at the partner institutions.

GDVT is now implementing the developed teacher training model in further training for Vietnamese teachers/instructors for the whole country.

Activities/Results achieved so far:

• February 2008: Kick-off-Workshop with the directors from Thai Nguyen, Nha Trang, HCMC and Hung Yen in Germany
• April 2008: Entrance module to assess the practical skills and knowledge in conventional metal cutting of 21 teachers/instructors in Vietnam
• May to August 2008: multilevel training program for 16 (out of 21) teachers/instructors (CNC-basics, CNC-milling, CNC-turning) in Vietnam
• September to December 2008: 12-weeks intensive training for 8 (out of 16) teachers/instructors from Thai Nguyen, Nha Trang, HCMC, Vinh Phuc and Hung Yen in Germany
• 2009: Establishment of a CNC-expert group consisting of the 8 trained teachers/instructors to exchange experiences, to multiply the skills/knowledge and work on innovative concepts for TVET (CNC Expert Forum)
• March 2010: Start of pilotcourses for workers from industry and trainees
• March 2010: Learning and teaching material for module 1-3 published