Involving private and public companies is key to ensuring a relevant technical education system. VVOB supports Ecuador's Ministry of Education in establishing sustainable relationships with the public and private sector. Both are involved in curriculum development, entrepreneurship initiatives, internships in companies and the use of infrastructure and knowledge, guaranteeing the relevance of technical education for the labour market.
Curriculum development in accordance with the production matrix
A 3-year VVOB programme scheduled to end in 2016 supports the Ministry of Education in the selection, development and validation of priority curricula for technical education in accordance with the productive matrix of the country. These curricula are contextualised according to the needs of different regions. VVOB is also helping to implement a virtual library for teachers including didactical materials for working with the new curricula.
Alongside the Ministry, representatives of private and public companies determine the technical education supply on the national level. Members of chambers of commerce and companies develop professional profiles for the areas of agriculture, industry (wood and construction, mechanics and electricity, confection, derivatives such as petrol and chemicals) and services (ICT, administration, tourism and commerce). These professional profiles form the basis of the new curricula.
Fostering entrepreneurship
Exporting finished products rather than unprocessed natural resources ensures that added value remains in Ecuador. To achieve this, Ecuador needs technically trained people with an entrepreneurial spirit. VVOB works closely with the Ministry of Education to embed entrepreneurship into Ecuador's technical education.
VVOB has developed the curriculum for a university course on entrepreneurship which 4,224 teachers from three universities will have attended by the end of 2016. Teachers will then be equipped with the tools enabling them to coach their students in entrepreneurship and production.
Other initiatives which make technical education more relevant to the labour market
A particular challenge is that the specific pedagogical and didactic skills needed by teachers in technical education are inadequate, as are their specific professional competences. Systems of professionalisation and training do not yet take into account the specific nature of technical education. To that end, VVOB is supporting the design and implementation of a system for training teachers to improve their pedagogical and technical expertise. VVOB is also collaborating with the Ministry of Education in order to arrange internships for technical education teachers in companies.
VVOB also supports the Ministry of Education in its efforts to optimise collaboration between technical colleges, public and private companies and higher technical institutes and universities. This collaboration was developed to ensure internships in companies and leverage the use of existing infrastructure and knowledge.
Finances
VVOB has received $157,932 for curriculum development from the Ecuadorian Ministry of Education, with VVOB contributing € 81,971. Additionally, VVOB has also received € 2,200,000 from the Belgian Development Cooperation for its technical education programme in Ecuador.
By bringing together both worlds, technical education will be made more relevant to the labour market and students will be better prepared for the demands of the workplace. Ecuador will ultimately benefit from technically trained people with an entrepreneurial spirit.
