On 7 February, UNESCO-UNEVOC was invited to attend a lecture on international workforce development at BIBB (Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training), a UNEVOC Centre, in Bonn, Germany.

BIBB recently introduced the “International Advisory Academy” which features lectures of distinguished professionals in the field of international TVET consulting. The lecture, which was presented by Dr. David Fretwell of Scarcliffe Associates, Paso Roble, California, USA, focused on international employment and education programs and policies. Mr. Fretwell, who has worked around the globe for various bilateral and multilateral organizations, including USAID, World Bank, ADB, ILO and UNESCO, shared his experiences as a consultant in human capital development. In his presentation, he highlighted the following critical elements in developing TVET globally:

• the collection of labour market information as a starting point for developing TVET systems
• focus on TVET that is demand driven rather than supply driven
• the importance of integrating career guidance and counseling in countries’ education systems
• development of national qualifications frameworks that are relevant to employers

After the presentation, Mr. Fretwell also visited the UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre. Mr. Majumdar, Head of UNESCO-UNEVOC, presented about the work of the Centre and showed him around the premises.