Sub-theme6: Bridging Skills Development for Global and

Local Demands

Mapping TVET Skills in Demand in

Southeast AsiaDr. Paryono

SEAMEO VOCTECH

Background• This paper addresses two main components of TVET skills

development, especially in response to ASEAN Integration Initiatives, i.e. on skilled labour mobility: the “soft” and the “hard” skills.• Across the region insufficient attention has been given to the role of

(weak) labour market institutions (LMI) (OECD, 2009)• Realising that TVET graduates are not only prepared to enter labor

force in the country but possibly are also working in the other ASEAN member countries, this labour mobility will affect the mapping of skills set for TVET graduates. • The two sets of skills addressed: in this paper are hard skills which are

the selection of the field/area of TVET reflecting the needs from the country and the region and set of soft skills including the 21st skills demanded by industries.

Internal Sources:• The mapping of hard skills or the TVET

areas were based on the initial study on Future Skills in Demand in Southeast Asia (2015). The former study was carried out by country researchers identified and assigned by SEAMEO VOCTECH using document analyses and interviews.• The soft skills expected by industry

were based on the study on the study on Transferable Skills in 2014 and Transversal Skills in TVET in 2015. This study was using mixed methods.

Skills Pyramid

Employability skills/Soft skills (Work ethics, communication skills etc.)

High skills high wage-Low skills low wage

21st Century Skills

Level 1: Set of Soft/Transferable Skills in SEA Context (combined) (SEAMEO VOCTECH, 2014)

Competencies in Learning Competencies in Understanding self and others

Competencies in work Environment

Competencies in LearningCapacity to learn,problem solving,willingness to take a chance,innovation & creativity,critical personality,self reliance and independence,Self evaluating,self control,self directed,self disciplines

Integrity, team work/building, communication and public speaking, confidence, mutual respect and tolerance, sensitivity, vigilance, piety, empathy

Flexibility,Dealing with pressure,Work ethic,Positive attitude,Time management,Pro-activeness,Negotiation skill,Decision making ability,Leadership.

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Level 1: Selected Components of Soft Skills*

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6*VTCT, UK

Level 2: 3 Rs, basic IT Skills, 21st Century themes

• 3 Rs: Reading, Writing, Arithmetic skills• Basic IT skills: Information, Media, andICT Literacy• 21st Century Themes: Global awareness, Financial,

economic, business and entrepreneurial literacy, Civic literacy, Health literacy, Environmental literacy

Level 1 and 2 are pre-requisites for employment, but do not provide a bargaining power for higher pay

Level 3: Technical and Vocational Skills

• In response to ASEAN Integration: TVET graduates must be prepared for entering labour market in the country and abroad, i.e. other SEA countries (see Demographic and Economic Indicators at a glance)

• Skills mismatch is evident (OECD, 2009)• Regional trend: agriculture sector shows declines in its labor force but still accounts for

43 million, in-formal sectors, and expansion of service sector. There is an overall trend of industrial restructuring from manufacturing to service-based economies. This doesn’t mean that manufacturing is less important, but instead it needs special attention.

• Facilitating new entrepreneurs and those working in non-formal to become formal economy. Blurring and combining informal and formal mode of employment.

• Migration and mobility (both between and within countries) are driving the need for increased skills portability (transferability and recognition).

Demography and economic indicators at a glance (2015)Country Population Working-

Age Pop.GDP Top Sector Contributors to the GDP Labor force by

economic sector

Brunei 423,188 0.31M US$15.49B Agriculture: 1.1%, industry: 60.4%, services: 38.5%. Major industries: oil, gas, services, IT, and halal products.

Agriculture: 4.2%industry: 62.8%services: 33%

Cambodia 15,577,899 9.97M US$18.05B Agriculture: 26.7%, industry: 29.8%, services: 43.5%. Major industries: garment, construction, services (tourism), gem, cement, and agriculture.

Agriculture: 48.7%industry: 19.9%services: 31.5%

Indonesia 257,563,815 172.57M US$861.93B Agriculture: 13.7%, industry: 40.3%, services: 46%. Major industries: oil & gas, textiles, automotive, electrical appliances, apparel, footwear, mining, cement, medical instruments and appliances, handicrafts, chemical fertilizers, plywood, rubber, processed food, jewelry, and tourism. +Maritime and infrastructure (new)

Agriculture: 38.9%industry: 13.2%services: 47.9%

Lao PDR 6,802,023 4.15M US$12.33B Agriculture: 21.3%, industry: 32.5%,services: 39.4%. Main industries: Mining, timber, electric power, construction, garment, cement, tourism, and agriculture

Agriculture: 73.1%industry: 6.1%services: 20.6%

Malaysia 30,331,007 21.1 M US$296.283 Agriculture: 8.2%, industry: 37.8%, services: 54%. Major industries: Oil and gas, rubber and oil palm, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, medical technology, electronics and semiconductors, timber processing, services, and logging.

Agriculture: 11%industry: 36%services: 53%

Country Population Working-Age Population

GDP US$)

Top Sector Contributors to the GDP Labor force by sector

Myanmar 53,897,154 26.44 M 62.601B Agriculture: 36.1%, industry: 22.3%, services: 41.6%. Major industries: agricultural processing; wood and wood products; copper, tin, tungsten, iron; cement, construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer; oil and natural gas; garments; jade and gems; services.

Agriculture: 70%industry: 7%services: 23%

Philippines 100,699,395 63.44M 291.97B Agriculture: 9.7%, industry: 30.5%, services: 59.8%. Major industries: electronics assembly, garments, footwear, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, wood products, food processing, petroleum refining, agri., services.

Ag.: 29%, industry:16%, services: 55%

Singapore 5,535,002 4.1 M 292.739B Agriculture: 0%, industry: 26.6%, services: 73.4%. Major industries: electronics, chemicals, financial services, oil drilling equipment, petroleum refining, rubber processing and rubber products, processed food and beverages, ship repair, offshore platform construction.

Ag.: 1.3%industry: 14.8%services: 83.9%

Thailand 67,959,359 48.8 M 395.168B Agriculture: 8.9%, industry: 35.9%, services: 55.3%. Major industries: tourism, textiles and garments, agricultural processing, beverages, tobacco, cement, light manufacturing such as jewelry and electric appliances, computers and parts, furniture, plastics, automobiles and parts, agricultural production.

Agriculture: 32.2%industry: 16.7%services: 51.1%

Vietnam 91,713,300 65.6 M 193.599B Agriculture: 17%, industry: 39%, services: 44%. Major industries: food processing, garments, shoes, machine-building; mining, coal, steel; cement, chemical fertilizer, glass, tires, oil, mobile phones; services.

Ag.: 48%industry: 21%, ser-vices: 31%

Demography and economic indicators at a glance (2015) (Ctd.)

Level 3: Technical and Vocational Skills (contd.)

• The employment trend in some ASEAN member countries are the followings (SEAMEO, 2015 and others as indicated):• Brunei: to sharpen its focus on other areas of the economy (besides oil and

gas) including financial services, the halal industry, and tech start-ups. Oil and gas are still the major industries. Construction and real estate sector is expected to continue.

• Cambodia: The garment, construction, and services sectors, including tourism were the main drivers of its economy and will continue in the next few years. The formal sectors of garments and tourism are the main engines of growth, with garment manufacturing accounting for 85% of Cambodia’s exports and employing some 350,000 workers, mostly women (OECD, 2009).

• Indonesia: There is growth in the engineering and manufacturing sectors due to relatively low labour costs and increasing demand for infrastructure. Marketing positions, like public relations managers, are in demand. Middle management is predicted to increase. It is projected that the country will have an undersupply of 9 million skilled and 13 million semiskilled workers by 2030.

• Lao PDR: hydro and mining sectors employ 22,000 people and is expected to continue besides agricultural, processing, service, and electrical personnel in the next decade or so.

• Malaysia: increasingly becomes a manufacturing and logistics hub, also in financial services. The digital sector is growing rapidly, with demand for skills in coding, digital marketing and e-commerce. Construction industry is cooling, so are oil and gas industry. (MichaelPage, 2016)

Level 3: Technical and Vocational Skills (contd.)

• Myanmar: will experience strong expansion in construction, manufacturing, telecommunication and services. Currently, energy, transportation, tourism, retail, and telecommunications industry has grown by over 40 percent. Agriculture will still play a large part in Myanmar’s economy, accounting for 25 percent of exports, and approximately 70 percent of employment. (DCR Trendline, 2017)• Philippines: The services sector contributed most to the country’s

GDP growth, followed by the industrial and agriculture sectors. The Philippines has established a thriving business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, which will continue to require a large pool of skilled resources in the next 10 years, in addition to exporting manufactured and agricultural products.

Level 3: Technical and Vocational Skills (contd.)

• Singapore: 24% year-on-year increased in advertised roles in IT within Singapore and it is expected to remain high. Similarly also in digital marketers, regulatory and compliance project professionals, investment professionals and skilled contractors. Slowdown is expected in accounting and finance, manufacturing (Asia Finance, 2017).

• Thailand: The service sector will help create new and better jobs, higher incomes and more opportunities. Tourism growth has been strong in 2016, with the number of tourist arrivals, mostly from China, increasing by 13.1 percent in the third quarter. Other areas that continue showing progress is auto industry, dual rail track and rail upgrading projects. (The World Bank, 2016)

• Vietnam: About 40 percent of multinational companies (MNCs) in Vietnam plan to increase staff over the next 12 months. The greatest demand, according to HR2B Recruitment, has been for candidates in Sales, Information technology, Business development, Accounting, Marketing, Engineering, Human resources, Manufacturing, Quality control, Administration/secretarial, and Medical and health (Going Global, 2016).

Level 3: Technical and Vocational Skills (contd.)

Level 4: Managerial and Leadership Skills

• This area is normally offered at HE level, not at TVET level.• Having a technical and vocational skills accompanied by

good managerial and leadership skills may take a person to the next career ladder in an organisation.

Common regional trends

• The services sector or service industry showing continuous increase in all countries in SEA.• Manufacturing is decreasing in some countries. This

industry area, however, are considered as more resilient to any adversities than service sectors.• The demand for candidates with digital skills far outstrips

supply: a trend that shows no signs of abating. There is also increasing demand for professional services. There is a tremendous demand for candidates with regional experience.(MichaelPage, 2016)

Conclusions and Recommendations

• TVET sector should be responsive and even proactive in anticipating changes of technology and labor demand.• It is crucial that TVET institutions are able to prepare their

students and trainees with necessary employability skills (level 1 and 2) and equip them with relevant technical and vocational skills (level 3) that make them competitive in the labor market and prepare them for smoother transition from school to work.• To make TVET skills relevant, having a labor market

information for the local and national level is necessary. In addition, there is a need now to have regional labor market information in response to AEC.

Recommendations

• Promote Lifelong Learning using national strategies with appropriate policy support• Invest resources for the expansion and improvement of the

SEA workforce• Enhance TVET curriculum to make them relevant and

responsive to developmental needs of the country and the region.• Strengthen niche areas in TVET

References

• Asia Finance. (2017, January 20). Study: These Are The Most In-Demand Jobs In Singapore In 2017. https://www.asia.finance/trends/demand-jobs-singapore-2017/

• Central Intelligence Agency. The World Fact Book. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook

• DCR Trend line. (2017). Employment Trends in Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and Brunei. https://trendline.dcrworkforce.com/employment-trends-in-myanmar-laos-cambodia-and-brunei.html

• Going Global. (2016). Employment Trends: Vietnam. http://www.goinglobal.com/articles/1661/

• Michaelpage. (2016). 2016 Southeast Asia Salary and Employment Outlook.

• SEAMEO. (2016). Policy Brief: A Decade Hence Skills That Will Be in Great Demand in Southeast Asia.

• SEAMEO VOCTECH. (2014). Integration of Transferable Skills in TVET Curriculum, Teaching-Learning and Assessment.

• UNESCO Bangkok. (2015). Transversal Skills in TVET: Pedagogies and Assessment.

• The World Bank. (2016). World Bank: Thailand’s Economy to Grow at 3.2 Percent in 2017. http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2016/12/19/thailands-economy-maintains-recovery-at-32-percent-in-2017