Building up human capital has become more urgent, with the need to transition to Industry 4.0 and the decline in learning and skills development in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo credit: ADB.
BIMP-EAGA is seeking to build a competitive, future-ready workforce amid disruptions in labor markets brought about by technology and other challenges.
Building up human capital has become more urgent, with the need to transition to Industry 4.0 and the decline in learning and skills development in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Industry 4.0 refers to new technologies that fuse the physical, digital, and biological worlds. It includes the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and cognitive computing. There is growing concern that these disruptive technologies could lead to widespread job displacement by automating tasks and potentially causing businesses to fail.
The subregion also has to overcome learning losses due to the pandemic. School closures during the health crisis led to losses equivalent to over half a year’s worth of learning, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB). This foregone learning will hamper students’ productivity and ability to earn income in the future.
According to the Accelerating Cooperation Together (ACT) midterm review of BIMP-EAGA’s Vision 2025, member countries urgently need to augment their human capital development programs and boost the competitiveness of their workforce to thrive in the digital economy. It said the subregion needs to (i) strengthen market-oriented competency through technology-based education and lifelong learning for community capacity building (e.g., automation and artificial intelligence); (ii) respond to industry needs, including the reskilling and upskilling of the workforce; and (iii) implement initiatives directed toward innovations in traditional arts and crafts aimed at creative and sustainable enterprises for long-term livelihoods and poverty reduction.
To better prepare its people for the future of work, BIMP-EAGA is boosting the competitiveness of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and higher education institutions by prioritizing collaboration among the schools to improve competencies and share innovation and technology.
Advancing TVET
During the 15th BIMP-EAGA Leaders’ Summit in 2023, officials noted the need to ramp up cooperation on boosting TVET institutions and universities. “We promote innovation and equitable growth in BIMP-EAGA by developing competitive human capital and vibrant creative industries. To build a future-ready workforce, we will expand reskilling and upskilling programs and help technical, vocational education and training (TVET) and higher education institutions meet global standards,” the leaders said in their statement.
The leaders said they look forward to the establishment of a TVET network following the launch of the BIMP-EAGA Higher Education Institutions network on 9 February 2023 in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan.
Member countries are now working to launch the TVET network.
According to the midterm review, a network of universities, academic institutions, and TVET institutions can generate demand‑driven knowledge products and services, such as research, training, and capacity-building activities,
BIMP-EAGA is expected to draw inspiration from the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) University Network and use it as a model for establishing a similar network in the subregion. The IMT-GT university network was established in 2016 and has been credited for helping advance people-to-people connectivity with the premise that higher education can generate broader economic growth as well as individual success.
During a TVET forum organized by BIMP-EAGA in December last year, Datuk Amar Dr Abdul Aziz Husain, chairman of Sarawak Skills, said TVET is key to bridging the skills gap. “The way forward is to increase cross-border collaborations involving student and staff exchange programs, new program development, and strategic partnerships among governments, TVET institutions, and industries,” he said.
An inventory made by the BIMP-EAGA Socio-Cultural and Education Cluster showed there are 207 TVET institutions across the subregion. Brunei Darussalam and Malaysia each have 13 institutions, Indonesia has 18, and the Philippines has 163. The BIMP-EAGA Socio-Cultural and Education Cluster is the operating unit that translates the strategic trusts of the cooperation program’s priority sectors into projects.
Progress made
The subregion has made progress in advancing human resources development.
As of 2023, all members countries have already topped the 70% target for TVET competency certification rate. Brunei Darussalam achieved 90%, Malaysia 95%, and the Philippines 92%. Indonesia is implementing a program for the certification of vocational school students and providing certification assistance with national and international standards for vocational high school graduates.
A total of 50 higher education institutions and TVET institutional partnerships have been established so far. These partnerships help ensure that skills development will be translated to employment.
BIMP-EAGA has also been able to advance knowledge sharing among the learning institutions. It has so far organized nine summits/conferences. These fora serve as a platform for developing institutional partnerships and networks, which will help ensure that the skills developed meet the needs of industries and support the sustainable development of the subregion.
The subregion has also organized 70 regional trainings that improve competencies and share innovation and technology. Capacity building activities have been organized through ADB’s BIMP-EAGA, IMT-GT, and the Greater Mekong Subregion B-I-G Capacity Building Program for Connectivity (B-I-G Program) to support government officials in designing and implementing policies, programs, and projects focused on people-to-people connectivity.
Country initiatives
Beyond subregional initiatives, each member country has been advancing their TVET institutions.
Brunei Darussalam seeks to transform its TVET agenda by restructuring courses, expanding apprenticeship options, reviewing progression opportunities, upgrading the training environment, and introducing a new scheme of teaching service.
Indonesia promotes TVET through a number of initiatives. For instance, it has created a roadmap for secondary vocational schools. It is improving the curriculum and synchronizing it with employers’ expectations. The government is also enhancing access to certification for secondary vocational school graduates and accreditation.
Malaysia has announced steps to transform TVET to prepare its workforce for Industry 4.0 and the digital economy. It has developed a TVET masterplan that will be coordinated by the Ministry of Human Resources and Ministry of Higher Education with the help of other TVET ministries. It is working to train and increase the number of trained teachers in TVET.
The Philippines is strengthening its TVET systems through a program that helps high school graduates find jobs whether or not they have a college diploma. The program’s curriculum aims to produce students with skills that match the requirements of industries. Efforts also continue to enhance the image and reputation of TVET.