Hanoi, 02.10.2013

On 02 Oct 2013, at the College of Urban Works Construction (CUWC), a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Public Private Partnership (PPP) on vocational training for environmentally friendly building construction was signed by CUWC and a private consortium of German enterprises; Bau Sachsen, Xella building materials and iproplan Planungsgesellschaft. Participating in the Ceremony were Dr. Nguyen Dinh Toan (Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Construction) , Dr. Pham Khanh Toan (Director of International Department of MoC), Dr. Horst Sommer (Director of Vietnamese – German Programme Reform of TVET in Viet Nam), Mr. Michael Petzsche (Project Director, on behalf of BFW Bau Sachsen/Xella/Iproplan), Mr. Bui Hong Hue (Principal of CUWC) and Mr. Le Van Chuong – Vice Head of GDVT Administration and other officials from government institutions, international organizations, teachers and students of CUWC.

The MoU signing forms the start to pilot new modes of vocational training in the Vietnamese construction industry, which are intended to improve the supply of competent workers in that sector. Therewith the sector enterprises would have qualified workers available, which are able to apply energy-efficient work operations and technologies in building houses. In line with the Green Growth Strategy of Viet Nam and new government regulations and standards for construction this pilot will contribute to the reduction of energy consumption and sustainable development in Viet Nam. This whole engagement is supported by a special programme for Public Privat Partnership (develoPPP.de) of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented in cooperation with Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.

The principal of CUWC Mr. Bui Hong Hue stated that the aim of this collaborative venture is to promote vocational training in the Vietnamese building sector and improve knowledge and skills about new building materials and environmentally sound practices. The vocational training will consist of theoretical and practical parts. This includes practice-oriented training at a prototype house, which also demonstrates aspects of isolation and energy generation as well as domestic water and waste water problems. Apprentices and workers have the opportunity to put what they have learnt into direct practice. This pilot project is the result of six-year cooperation between CUWC and German partner enterprises and GIZ. Likewise, Hue’s counterpart Mr. Michael Petzsche further pointed out the key issues of the cooperation, in which technical skills, modern technologies, the selection of appropriate materials for construction and occupational health and safety measures are essential to ensure a qualified environmentally sound and energy-efficient construction.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Dr. Horst Sommer (GIZ) emphasized the importance of vocational training and its direct application into practice. The building of a state-of-the-art prototype house offers a great opportunity for concrete hands-on, industrial training in environmental friendly and energy efficient technologies. He welcomed the presence of Mr. Kompalla, Deputy Chief Representative from the German Chamber of Foreign Trade (AHK), a delegate of German industry and Commerce in Vietnam, to further explore the possibility of extending the activities towards examination and certification on international level. In addition, he outlined that the transfer of German technologies, quality standards and occupational standards to Viet Nam should be properly adapted to existing local conditions. This requires a good cooperation between the responsible line ministry, the MoC, and the ministry in charge of vocational training, MoLISA, right from the upstart to allow for an appropriate integration into the Vietnamese Training System later on and to achieve a broad and sustainable impact.

Dr. Nguyen Dinh Toan urged for further cooperation and technical expertise in the new approaches of environmentally sound and energy-efficient construction technology and expressed the wish of the MoC to support the pilot project.

This joint initiative of the German industry by actively engaging and investing into vocational training and transferring technical know-how to the CUWC, technically supported by GIZ, and at the same time by finding and implementing locally adapted solutions together with the CUWC, gained great praise and appreciation from all participants present at the signing ceremony.

The MoU signing was followed by a ground-breaking ceremony for the model house for energy-and resource efficient construction. The senior leaders of the cooperating parties participated in the ceremony and launched the ground breaking.

Photos of the event