UK–Taiwan Technological & Vocational Education Workshop Advances TVET Development & Cooperation
The United Kingdom–Taiwan Technological and Vocational Education Workshop that took place in London on September 19 was designed to strengthen ties between Taiwan and the UK in the field of technical and vocational education and training (TVET).
Dr. Mon-Chi Lio, Deputy Minister of Education, gave opening remarks for the workshop in which he emphasized the pivotal role of TVET for both youth development and economic growth. TVET institutions all have a shared goal of nurturing a highly skilled workforce, and he expressed the Ministry’s strong desire for enhanced collaboration between TVET institutions in Taiwan and those in the UK. The central theme of the workshop was Forging Future Pathways: Exploring Innovations in TVET Mechanisms, Apprenticeships, and Transnational Collaborations between Taiwan and the UK.
The Education Division in the UK coordinated the participation of a delegation of people from Taiwan's Ministry of Education, including Dr. Yu-Hubei Yang Director General of the Ministry of Education’s Department of Technological and Vocational Education, and leaders of technology universities and institutes of technology in Taiwan, and representatives of the UK government and of TVET associations in the UK in the workshop.
The key figures from the UK education sector included Dr. Faye Taylor, Deputy Director for International Education at the Department for Education; Dr. Tanya Lawes, Head of Quality Assurance at the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education; Ms. Vanessa Wilson, Chief Executive of the University Alliance; Mr. Peter Mason, Head of Global Research and Innovation Policy at Universities UK International; Dr. David Looked, Head of Technical Education and Apprenticeships at the University of Brighton; Ms. Celeste Jones, Associate Director of Apprenticeships & Professional Programmes at the University of Hertfordshire; and Mr. Jonathan Ledger, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Specialist for the Department for Business and Trade.
The workshop discussions encompassed a spectrum of topics, including student mobility, apprenticeships, quality assurance, and transnational education cooperation. Of particular significance were the strategies explored to foster internship opportunities and student exchanges between Taiwan and the UK. In particular, Dr. Faye Taylor provided an overview of the Department for Education's education strategy and discussed the Turing scheme. This has already assisted more than 200 British students to go to Taiwan this year and it is anticipated that more will follow them in the coming years.
This workshop was the first of its kind for Taiwan–UK VET education collaboration. It was very successful and the participants welcomed proposals to hold similar workshops annually.
