The professionalisation of TVET teachers or trainers is critical in order to build a quality technical and vocational training system which will produce highly skilled trainees which are a key requirement for the country’s economic development.

With the technical assistance from ILO Skills 21 project, the Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) and Bangladesh Technical Education Board (BTEB) have introduced the first-ever Level 5 (pedagogical) Competency-Based Training and Assessment training for Master Trainers in Bangladesh.

Some 24 TVET teachers and trainers, who are all level 4 qualified trainers and assessors from all over Bangladesh, have participated in the month-long training, led by an international Master Trainer. Eventually, these trained master trainers will train another 180 teachers and trainers next year. These training courses will produce a pool of trained master trainers to educate and upskills TVET students.

The residential training started on 14 March and ended today, 11 April, and the skills assessment will take place on 12-13 April 2022. BTEB developed the competency standards for Level 5 with the support by the ILO Skills 21 project, which is funded by the European Union.

In the closing session of this training, the Secretary TMED Md. Kamal Hossain said, "In order to modernise the TVET system, the government prioritizes the transformation of the traditional TVET system to CBT&A methodology. This requires a structured process like Competency-Based Teaching".

Contributing to the whole-of-system quality upgrade of the Bangladeshi TVET system, the ILO EU funded Skills 21 project has trained 2,800 trainers and assessors in order to raise their professional qualifications level.

He also confirmed that ILO will continue to support the government of Bangladesh through developing additional qualification packages and supporting the alignment of TVET curriculum. High-level professional qualifications of master trainers are essential for a high-quality TVET system capable of upskilling youth to meet the requirements of the growing Bangladeshi economy currently and for the future.

Uttam Kumar Das, Instructor, Bangladesh Korea Technical Training Centre, expressed that the Training Need Assessment, one of the Level 5 master training modules, is crucial to identify gaps in training both for the trainers and students.

Md. Mostafizur Rahman, Chief Instructor, Vocational Teachers Training Institute, said the development of competency standards is one of the newest things they have learned from this training. He also mentioned the different ways to develop digital learning materials and connect them with the training.

This course is intended to be the baseline qualifications for all teachers/trainers who deliver qualifications under the Bangladesh NTVQF. TVET Teachers/trainers should also be technically qualified in the specialised occupations they intend to teach/train. The National Certificate-IV in in Competency Based Training and Assessment was developed comprising 12 units of competency. The delivery of the currently ongoing CBT&A programmes are based on this qualification.

The National Certificate in CBT&A Methodology for Trainers & Assessors, Level-5 includes eight (8) compulsory occupation specific units of competency specific to the occupation of TVET teacher/trainer and one (1) elective occupation specific units of competency specific to the occupation of TVET teacher/trainer.

Trainees’ selection criteria Certified on National Certificate in CBT&A Methodology for Trainers, Level-4 Must have at least two years of experience in implementing CBT&A L4 training Able to Communicate both oral and written Can perform basic mathematical and logical computation  Analytical and logical thinking Methodology Lecture/discussion ( three blocks = two block Face to Face and one block On the job ) Demonstration/application (On the jobs one week) Presentation Assessment

The Technical Teachers Training Centre, UCEP Bangladesh, and Risda Institute of Technology are now hosting training sessions led by a group of master trainers from the first batch of CBT&A level 5 training. 60 TVET trainers from various public and private TVET institutes are taking part in this training session. This demonstrates the interest of both the government and private sectors in the professional advancement of TVET officials.

Skills 21 project is a joint initiative of the Government of Bangladesh and the International Labour Organization (ILO), funded by the European Union. The project seeks to increase productivity and employment opportunities through an environmentally conscious, inclusive, demand-driven, and interlinked skills development system responding to the needs of the labour market.