Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Regional Center for Technical Education Development (SEAMEO TED) in collaboration with Go Study Global Education, China, an international Webinar on TVET Development Strategies Post Pandemic was organized on 21 April 2021 virtually. The Webinar aimed (1) to share TVET development strategies post pandemic from country to country as a benchmarking model for consideration; (2) to learn and benchmark the strategies from each other for TVET development regionally; and (3) to enhance regional cooperation in technical education among our stakeholders. Eight (8) guest speakers who are TVET experts and practitioners from Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and China were invited to share their knowledge, lessons learnt and practices and important policy implementation in their respective countries. Two sessions were separated with (1) TVET development strategies post pandemic and (2) best practice sharing among the SEA vocational-technical high school network members. 592 participants registered from 12 countries in the region including Indonesia (66 participants), Malaysia (8), the Philippines (440), Cambodia (60), Thailand (3), Vietnam (5), Laos (4), Singapore (3), Timor-Leste (1), India (1) and Uzbekistan (1).
The Webinar kicked off by updating the progress of SEA vocational-technical network by Dr. Songheang Ai, SEAMEO TED Director and moderator. Welcome remarks were given by Ms. Qin Ziyan, Director of International Relations, Go Study Global Education, and SEAMEO TED’s strategic partner. She meaningfully welcomed all guest speakers and participants by highlighting the commitment of Go Study Global Education and future collaborative plans and supports given by China. Then, the opening remarks were given by Dr Ethel Agnes Pascua-Valenzuela, the director of SEAMEO Secretariat, sharing 7 SEAMEO priority areas and SEAMEO 10-Year Strategic Plan supporting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDCs) and Covid-19 Impact to education and GDP growth in Southeast Asian region.