How to Incorporate TVET in High School

Many high schools in various countries have realized the importance of offering technical and vocational education and training (TVET) to high school students.

Career Coaching in Maldives

Many high schools in various countries have realized the importance of offering technical and vocational education and training (TVET) to high school students.

Why all of a sudden this interest? Parents, students, and educators have seen the success of students who went for technical courses compared to those who opted for academic education.

The pay increased tremendously for first-time job seekers who have technical skills. I remembered my former boss telling me how her kids’ contemporaries who went to College did well in the job market compared to her kids, who went to universities.

The future of work won’t be about degrees but skills. I was at dinner with parents who told me that their daughter decided no longer to take advanced degrees, but a series of certifications. This daughter is highly successful in her current career. She knows what is going to be the future of the job market. 

The interests of students must, however, be an element in choices. Only when the person opts for what is meaningful to them would they become a success. So, what would be a useful intervention in education? 

One critical intervention schools can do is open the students early on to both academic and technical courses. What is happening now in some schools offering both streams is that they make the students choose the particular stream they want to pursue. However, there is no career counseling in many of these schools to help students identify the specific stream they want. 

Each stream has a different curriculum set, and they don’t mix or intermingle, making those taking technical and vocational education feel like second class citizens in the school.

Getting funding for career counselors will be difficult. Changing the curriculum is such a hassle. Working on the traditional mindset of many educators seem like an uphill challenge. So what, then, could schools do?

There are many things schools can do creatively to respond to the need to help students see where they are most suited.

  1. Allow both streams to take standard courses together. 
  2. Offer electives that are relevant to today’s job market. You can get part-time teachers from the industry. The parents in your school may be able to volunteer time to do this. 
  3. Form an advisory committee involving people in the community to think out possibilities for the school. You will be surprised at how many people in the city will be delighted to be part of this. The infusion of ideas from the various sectors will enrich your plan.
  4. Have a forum with your students to determine the electives they would like to see added in the curriculum.
  5. Invite successful leaders in the industry to offer workshops, or even talk to students about the challenges, demands, and the future job market. 
  6. Lunch dates. You can make students bring their lunches to a designated place in the school and organize for some people in the community to come and share with them, respond to their questions, or listen to their concerns around their choices. These talks will provide students the knowledge of what they need to do to prepare themselves more effectively for the job market.
  7. Train the teachers in career coaching skills so they can assist the students better in their choices.​

I am sure that you have your own ideas on how schools can integrate technical and vocational education in their existing curricular and non-curricular activities. Please feel free to share in the Comments below.

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