The Third Meeting of the Monitoring and Advisory Committee (MAC) of the Vocational Education and Training Programme for OIC Member Countries (OIC-VET) was held in Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran. The meeting hosted by Iran Technical and Vocational Training Organization (TVTO) and was attended by the delegations of the National Focal Points (NFPs) of the OIC Member States, namely Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Iran, Iraq, Maldives, Pakistan, Senegal, Togo, Tunisia and Turkey. The Representatives of the concerned OIC institutions, namely COMCEC, IDB, IUT and SESRIC, were also present in the meeting.

The main purpose of the meeting was to review the progress since the Second Meeting of MAC and to discuss the ways and means of collaboration within the scope of ongoing and planned projects under the framework of OIC-VET Programme. The meeting started with the opening statement made by Dr. Kourosh Parand, Deputy of Training at TVTO, and followed up by Prof. Abdolrasoul Pourabbas, Deputy Minister / Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran &President of TVTO and Dr. Savaş Alpay, Director General of SESRIC.

In his speech, Prof. Abdolrasoul Pourabbas welcomed the delegates to the Third Monitoring and Advisory Committee Meeting and stated Islamic Republic of Iran’s compliments to the OIC-VET Programme for its success to create special attention to skills trainings in the OIC Member Countries. He further stated his hope that the Third MAC Meeting would be an important step in achieving the long term objectives of Islamic Countries in the path of developing skills learning. Besides, Prof. Pourabbas underlined the significance of innovation, technology and skills for sustainable development in the Islamic Countries, especially with the shift from the resource-based economy to knowledge-based economy. He identified the improvement of skills of human forces and promotion of their learning abilities through life-long learning and expansion of technical and vocational training as the most important tools for the policy of innovation and technology.

Dr. Savaş Alpay started his speech by thanking all the delegates for accepting SESRIC’s invitation and designating their time to attend the meeting and presented his special thanks to TVTO for hosting the Third MAC Meeting in Tehran. Dr. Alpay emphasized the role of the OIC-VET Programme in establishing a common platform for exchange of knowledge and experience through cooperation and collaboration among OIC Member Countries in order to improve the quality of vocational education and training in the public and private sectors with the aim of supporting and enhancing the opportunities for individuals to develop their knowledge and skills and thus to contribute to the development and competitiveness of the economies of their countries. Further, Dr. Alpay stated the importance of skills development through lifelong learning, especially in the age of rapid globalization and technological transformation. During his speech, Dr. Alpay also mentioned the projects that have been undertaken by SESRIC, the Executive Organ of the OIC-VET Programme, since the Second MAC Meeting. He ended his speech by stating his belief that the Third MAC Meeting would provide an invaluable platform to discuss further ways of improving the existing programmes under OIC-VET, besides identifying new potential areas for further collaboration and asked for the continuous support of OIC Member Countries and Institutions to the Programme. Last but not the least; Dr. Alpay requested OIC Member Countries and relevant OIC institutions to give their continuous support to the Programme and to actively get involved in the ongoing projects for their increased success.

Ms. H. Melek Ateş Taşcı (SESRIC) briefed the participants on the OIC-VET Programme and explained the activities completed and the efforts undertaken by SESRIC since the Second Meeting of the MAC. She introduced the ongoing programmes under the framework of OIC-VET, including İSMEK Master Trainer Programme (İMTP), OIC International Student Exchange Programme (OIC-ISIP), OIC Network for Occupational Safety and Health (OIC -OSHNET) and OIC E-Government Working Group (OIC EGOVWG), in addition to the seven sub-programmes under the Capacity Building Programme. She also mentioned the accomplishments that have been achieved under these ongoing programmes since the last meeting.

The representatives of National Focal Points made presentations and expressed their comments during the sessions regarding their in-country experiences in vocational education and training and their proposals for joint activities within the scope of the OIC-VET Programme. Moreover, related OIC institutions have also briefed the Committee about their existing and planned activities in the field of VET. OIC-VET project partners also had the opportunity to share their experiences under the framework of OIC-VET Programme.

Ms. Hatice İlbay Söylemez (SESRIC) briefed the participants on the planned projects for the upcoming term, besides introducing the updated web portal of OIC-VET Programme to the participants. She highlighted the importance of support of National Focal Points to the Programme and communication among MAC Members for the smooth functioning of the Programme.

Inspired by the presentation of the Implementation Report and presentations prepared by SESRIC, the participants expressed their satisfaction of the implemented activities and adopted a number of decisions and recommendations for the coming period until the next MAC Meeting. The Meeting also agreed on possible areas and projects promoted by the National Focal Points of the Programme for consideration and implementation.

As part of the programme, side visits to two different technical and vocational training centers, Training Center for Automobile Technology and Skills and Instructor Training Center, were also organized by TVTO.

Documents

Agenda

Final Report

Statements

Opening Statement of Dr. Savaş Alpay, Director General, SESRIC

Opening Statement of Dr. Pourabbas, President, TVTO, Islamic Republic of Iran

Photos