On November 22 and 23, within the framework of the Programme Reform of TVET in Vietnam, the Review and Planning workshop of Drainage and Wastewater Treatment group as well as discussion on the Proposal for the Sector Skills Council was held in Ho Chi Minh City with the participation of experts and delegates from the Directorate of Vocational Education and Training, Ministry of Construction, The European Chamber of Commerce, Vietnam Water Supply and Sewerage Association, representatives of the programme’s partner colleges and businesses, universities, GOPA Consulting and GIZ.
The workshop was organised with the goals of discussing the outstanding achievements of the Drainage and Wastewater Treatment group in the current phase (2021-2023) as well as the programme’s work plan in the future. Delegates had discussions on the Sector Skills Council and exchanged opinions on the mechanisms of a sustainable vocational skills council to improve wastewater management in Vietnam. In addition, the delegates had the opportunity to go on a field trip to the main wastewater treatment plant in Ho Chi Minh City.
Opening the workshop, Ms. Maria Zandt – Deputy Director of Programme Reform of TVET in Vietnam emphasised her appreciation for effective cooperation between all parties throughout the current phase of the programme, as well as looking forward to receiving comments and reviews from representatives of vocational education colleges and business officials so that the programme would develop better and more reasonably in the coming time.
The delegates discussed in groups about the great achievements that have been achieved. The programme was considered to have brought closer connections between businesses and colleges, and between partner colleges, especially by successfully joining hands to build the curriculum and learning teaching materials for the Drainage and Wastewater Treatment sector according to German standards. In addition, delegates believed that the programme had provided significant support in terms of teaching equipment for colleges, conducting PR communication, providing scholarships for students as well as improving professional capacity of lecturers at colleges and companies from specialised training courses. The successes of the programme throughout the phase had been recorded and the experiences gained had been summarised to have a clearer plan for programme development in the next phase.
Besides, Mr. Willy Lenk, representative of the German experts in Dresden, shared his words online with the delegates, showing the experts’ commitment to accompany during the programme development. Representatives from Construction Technical College No. 1, Hue Industrial College and Ho Chi Minh Vocational College of Technology II – the three main partner colleges of the group in the current phase – also gave presentations about the successes as well as the challenges experienced. Besides the vocational institutions sector, the workshop also received many practical contributions from representatives of the state sector and businesses.
The next day, delegates discussed the Proposal of Sector Skills Council for Drainage and Wastewater Treatment. Many valuable comments were made from different stakeholders on important objectives such as providing technical advice, advocating for improving the image of the industry, establishing an effective and sustainable cooperation mechanism of the Sector Skills Council as well as evaluate and provide updated information. The workshop came to some consensus on what needs to be done as well as important milestones that need to be achieved in the coming time. After that, the delegates visited the Binh Hung Hoa wastewater treatment plant and learned about the technologies being applied there.
The workshop for review and planning of the Drainage and Wastewater Treatment group took place successfully with pretension that the programme will continue to accompany and develop more sustainably in the next phase with the mission of building a greener Vietnam.
