ILO; UNESCO. Technical and vocational education and training for the Twenty-first Century: UNESCO and ILO Recomendations París : UNESCO/OIT, 2002. 68 p. (also french)

Complete document: pdf format - Unesco website

Contents

A joint message from UNESCO and ILO

Revised Recommendation concerning Technical and Vocational Education (2001)

I. Scope

II. Technical and vocational education in relation to the educational process: objectives

III. Policy, planning and administration

IV. Technical and vocational aspects of general education

V. Technical and vocational education as preparation for an occupational field

• Organization
• Programme content

VI. Technical and vocational education as continuing education

VII. Guidance

VIII. The learning process

IX. Staff

• Teaching staff
• Administrative and guidance staff

X. International cooperation

Conclusions concerning human resources training and development

A joint message from UNESCO and ILO

As economic, social and technological change gathers pace, people everywhere need to develop their knowledge and skills, on a continuous basis, so that they can live and work meaningfully in the knowledge society. Education and training contribute to an individual’s personal development, increase her/his productivity and incomes at work, and facilitate everybody’s participation in economic and social life. It follows that education and training can also help individuals to escape poverty by providing them with the skills and knowledge to raise their output and generate income. Investing in education and training is therefore an investment in the future; knowledge and skills are the engine of economic growth and social development.

UNESCO and the international community have set the ambitious goal "to ensure that the learning needs of all young people and adults are met through equitable access to appropriate learning and life skills programmes" (World Forum on Education, Dakar, 2000). The effort to provide basic education and literacy for all children and adults will underpin the economic and social development of countries by ensuring the capacity of people to learn and provide the foundation for their employability and access to decent work. This is also one of the key policy challenges in the ILO’s Global Employment Agenda. Education for All and Work for All are two sides of the same coin.

Quality technical and vocational education and training (TVET) help develop the individual’s knowledge of science and technology in a broad occupational area requiring technical and professional competencies and specific occupational skills. National TVET systems therefore need to develop the knowledge and skills that will help the workforce become more flexible and responsive to the needs of local labour markets, while competing in the global economy.
Some countries have introduced TVET reforms that endeavour to integrate workplace-based learning and training into the vocational education curriculum. TVET systems must also be open and all inclusive to give even the most underprivileged access to learning and training. The opportunity for people in urban and rural communities to equip themselves to lead productive and satisfying lives will undoubtedly be critical to the prosperity and well-being of the community.

In a time of continuous economic, social and technological change, skills and knowledge become quickly out-of-date. People who have not been able to benefit from formal education and training must be given  opportunities to acquire new skills and knowledge that will give them a second chance in life and at work. Providing all individuals with learning opportunities throughout their lives is an ambitious but necessary undertaking. An all- inclusive lifelong learning system calls for the mobilization of increased public and private resources for education and training and for providing individuals and enterprises with the incentives to invest in meeting their learning and skills development needs.

These are the vibrant messages presented in this publication that contains the major policy statements of two United Nations Specialized Agencies, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural   Organization (UNESCO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO). The Revised Recommendation concerning Technical and Vocational Education (2001) was adopted by UNESCO’s General Conference at its 31st session in 2001; the Conclusions concerning Human Resources Training and Development was adopted by the International Labour Conference at its 88th session in 2000.
These texts present internationally acknowledged sound policies and practices of TVET and continuous, lifelong learning and training. The policy strategies are the outcome of extensive consultations between the Organizations’ Member States, federations of professional associations, employers’ and workers’ organizations, and non-governmental organizations. Their statements have the ambition to guide national decision-makers to develop effective, relevant and equitable policies of education and training. They also seek to engage other stakeholders in TVET, including the social partners, in partnerships that support these policies and practices.

As the titles of these statements suggest, UNESCO’s concern is centred on technical and vocational education, which the Organization considers an integral part of the global Education for All initiative. The ILO focuses on training for employment, decent work and the welfare of workers, in the context of the Global Employment Agenda. However, the two Organizations are aware that education and training are rapidly becoming inseparable, especially as the notion of a job for life is being replaced by the necessity for lifelong learning.

In 1954 UNESCO and the ILO signed the Memorandum of Collaboration in Matters of Technical and Vocational Education and Related Matters and since then the two Organizations have cooperated on various occasions and at different levels. Recently, we have revitalized our partnership in TVET and engaged in a series of joint activities in order to maximize results and optimize the use of resources. This publication represents such a joint initiative. It may also serve as a very public demonstration of the renewed commitment by the two United Nations Organizations to carry their constituents’ mandate to work more closely in this field.

It is our fervent hope that this publication will inspire and guide our Member States in putting in place technical and vocational education and training policies and programmes for all throughout life, and   facilitate the effective preparation of people for the world of work and responsible citizenship.

The Inter-American Centre for Knowledge Development in Vocational Training (ILO/Cinterfor)
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