Project Implementation Progress

Technical Education Development Project

(TEDP)
L 2197-SRI(SF)

Nelun Gunasekera
Social Development and Gender Officer
ADB SLRM
October 2010

The views expressed in this paper are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of
the Asian Development Bank (ADB), or its Board of Governors, or the governments they represent. ADB does not
guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this paper and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of
their use. The countries listed in this paper do not imply any view on ADB's part as to sovereignty or independent
status or necessarily conform to ADB's terminology.
 Technical Education Development Project
(TEDP) L 2197-SRI (SF)
Basic data:

Loan Amount approved - $20.0 million

Total cost - $26.7million
Project effective - 19 April 2006
Est. Project completion - February 2011
Executing Agency - Ministry of Skills Development,
Vocational and Technical Education (MSDVTE)
Targeting classification: General intervention
Sector/Sub-sector Education/Technical education,
vocational training, and skills
development
Themes: Inclusive social development
Subtheme: Human development
Technical Education Development Project
Project Impact: Skilled and highly skilled human resources
developed to contribute to economic growth and
social development

Project Outcome: Improved access and strengthened capacity of

TEVT in technical and technological education to
meet labor market needs.
Project Outputs:
(i) Strengthening 6 Colleges of Technology (CoTs) to offer technician
education;
(ii) Strengthening the Ministry of Skills Development, Vocational and
Technical Education (MSDVTE) and relevant institutions to support
a market-responsive technical education and vocational training
(TEVT) system
(iii)Establishing the University of Vocational Technology (Univotec), l
to offer new degree programs, starting with a Bachelor of
Technical Education and a Bachelor of Technology to produce
technologists.
Technical Education Development Project (TEDP)

Project Benefits and Beneficiaries:

™ strengthen and expand capacity for technician and
technological education.
™ develop training and program standards; upgrade
selected Technical Colleges (TCs) to Colleges of
Technology (CoTs), strengthen capacity of Technical
Education & Vocational Training (TEVT) teachers,
trainers, personnel, administrators - to raise quality,
relevance, and sustainability of programs for
technicians and technologists
™ develop National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) for
technicians and technologists – to institutionalize an
alternative education and career path in technical and
technology education leading to a degree - particularly
for school leavers.
™ establish a voluntary national association of TEVT
providers and industry sector councils - to increase
the market orientation of training programs.
Technical Education Development Project (TEDP)

Project Benefits and Beneficiaries contd.:

™ help reduce high unemployment and underemployment
among the educated youth,
™ increase access to postsecondary education and training by
establishing University of Vocational Technology (Univotec)
and CoTs, and by upgrading TCs to CoTs outside Colombo.
™ social marketing and career guidance:
• to promote technology-based employment,
• increase public awareness of technological career paths
• market training programs to women - to attract women
to technician programs including fields that are not
traditionally female-oriented
• new degree and diploma programs - as alternative
career options to higher education, for those not
qualifying for university admission.
Technical Education Development Project (TEDP)

Project Benefits and Beneficiaries contd.:

™ MSDVTE’s strengthened capacity for relevant, quality, and
efficient TEVT, technician and technological education -
will create skilled workers for domestic industries and the
foreign labor market.
™ direct economic benefits:
(i) increased domestic production - with greater use of
human capital, reflected in wage increases of graduates
employed in domestic industries;
(ii) increased remittances in foreign exchange from graduates
employed abroad.
Technical Education Development Project (TEDP)

Social Equity and Gender Strategy

Background: Gender issues in TVET sector

- women comprised 37% of total enrolment in

Technical Colleges (2003)
- mainly enrolled in commerce and secretarial
courses
- women comprise less than 25% of enrolment in
technical courses
- high degree of occupational segregation -
women and men are generally employed in
different sectors of the economy and in different
occupations within the same sector (e.g. IT
sector)
Technical Education Development Project (TEDP)

Ministry Policy for Gender and Social Equity:

To ensure equal access to TVET in enrolment
and equal opportunities in technical and
vocational education and training without
gender or any other social discrimination.
Technical Education Development Project (TEDP)

Gender Action Plan:

- recruit a social equity and marketing consultant to develop the
GAP and build capacity to address and monitor gender issues in
TEVT sector
- the Ministry will develop a policy and plan to create a gender-
sensitive environment to encourage women to enroll in trades
and technician programmes
- each CoT and UNIVOTEC will appoint a gender coordinator to
oversee the gender policy
- [gender]-disaggregated data will be collected and used in
reporting
- the PIU with the TVEC, CoTs and UNIVOTEC will analyze project
indicators
Technical Education Development Project (TEDP)

- Maintain gender-sensitive infrastructure facilities to support

female students
- 20% academic staff will be female by 3rd year of implementation
- Gender sensitization training for instructors and lecturers
- Maintain a gender ratio in engineering and trades enrolment at
2004 level of 37%
- Have female members in the Advisory Council
- Address gender in the social marketing strategy and raise
awareness of developing a technical career path and promoting
female enrolment in TEVT sector
 Strategies to address gender in TEDP
(i) In the overall social marketing strategy, the gender dimensions of TEVT will be
emphasized. Career guidance components will raise awareness of a technical
and technological career path, with a special focus in promoting female
enrollment in the TEVT sector.
(ii) Within the first year of project implementation, MSDVTE will develop and
approve a policy and an action plan emphasizing the need for a gender-sensitive
environment and for women to be encouraged to enroll in trades, technician,
and technologist programs. The policy and action plan will address issues such
as student selection and allocation criteria, subsidy, and scholarship programs,
and awareness-raising activities within the first year of project implementation.
(iii) Each CoT and the university will appoint a gender coordinator to oversee and
monitor the
implementation of the gender policy.
(iv) The project implementation unit (PIU), MSDVTE, TVEC, each CoT, and Univotec
will collect project baseline gender-disaggregated data, and, thereafter,
regularly collect and maintain gender disaggregated data in its database.
(v) The PIU, in cooperation with TVEC, the CoTs and Univotec will regularly analyze
project output and impact indicators, including by gender.
(vi) As new technician programs are introduced, the CoTs will, at minimum,
maintain the gender ratio of its 2004 enrollment as a TC (about 37%).
(vii) Each CoT and the university will maintain gender-sensitive infrastructure
facilities, which will enhance the learning environment of female students.
(viii) Instructors and lecturers will undertake gender-sensitization training.
Technical Education Development Project (TEDP)
Colleges of Technology - Strategic Plan 2009-2013
GOALS:
1. Ensure quality in everything the college does
2. Improved technical education and training
3. Upgrading of staff
4. Strong linkages and partnerships
5. Productive learning and working environment
6. Leadership, Management and Communication
7. Social Equity
- To ensure equitable opportunities for all, irrespective
of gender, social or any other barriers without any form
of marginalization
Technical Education Development Project (TEDP)

Gender and Social Equity Strategies of COTs:

¾ Develop Gender and Social Equity Strategies for all 6 Colleges
of Technology (CoTs)
¾ Develop Training on Social Equity and Gender Mainstreaming in
TVET sector:
Training Objectives:
-To understand the inequalities in the TEVT sector.
-To identify the need for gender mainstreaming.
-To develop a checklist for gender mainstreaming
-To identify interventions for social integration and creating
social justice
¾ Develop Training Manuals
¾ Social Marketing – develop a strategy to achieve social equity
and gender goals
 TEDP-Achievements
College of Technology – Maradana (Colombo)
Gender and Social Equity Strategy

Strategy 1 – Encourage Main Activities:

women to enter non- -Conduct a survey to identify male-dominated jobs
traditional areas of in the industry where female participation can be
TVET by providing increased
-Establish links with organizations which support
career guidance,
GAD
counseling and -Prepare a database on related organizations
appropriate information -Design gap-filling courses for students without
for decision-making on entry qualifications for non-traditional courses
training opportunities -Conduct awareness programs on gender and
and careers in order to social equity for staff and students
prevent gender -Develop a mechanism to prevent gender and
disparities social disparities in the CoT
-Strengthen the career guidance and counseling
centre
-Implement Gender/Social Equity-sensitive student
recruitment guidelines for aptitude tests and
selection procedures
 TEDP-Achievements
College of Technology – Maradana (Colombo)
Gender and Social Equity Strategy

Strategy 2 – Support Main activities:

programs that enable -Establish language support centre
equal opportunities for -Launch scholarship/stipend scheme
the highest possible -Provide learning equipment
attainment in learning -Arrange support facilities (computers, uniforms
performance without etc. at concessionary prices, photocopying,
gender or any other printing facilities)
social disparities -Link with international organizations for
knowledge sharing on special training programs
on gender and social equity
-Provide funding facilities for colleges
-Develop and distribute gender and social equity-
sensitive promotional material for TVET sector
-Provide G & SE training for academic staff and
CGOs.
 TEDP-Achievements
College of Technology – Maradana (Colombo)
Gender and Social Equity Strategy

Strategy 3 – Strengthen Main Activities (Strategy 30:

and support new -Conduct G & SE tracer study
initiatives that provide -Identify new initiatives for G & SE – e.g.
women and men with programs for the elderly and differently-abled
technical skills that -Provide funds for new initiatives
enable them to meet
the challenges of an
information and Main Activities (Strategy 4):
technology-intensive, -Design new scholarship schemes to provide
knowledge-based financial assistance to needy students of
economy. vulnerable groups
-Link with national scholarship schemes such as
Strategy 4 – Take Mahapola
initiatives to establish a -Decide on amounts of money to be allocated.
scheme to provide
financial assistance.
 TEDP-Achievements
College of Technology – Anuradhapura
Gender and Social Equity Programme

‰ Career Guidance Programmes: Awareness programmes for:

School students/School leavers/VT Students/Parents/Women
(Staff, Housewives)
‰ Training of Trainers Programmes for Career Guidance Officers,
Training Officers, Skill Development Professionals
‰ Short-term Tailor-made Courses (Basic House
Wiring/Plumbing/Computer Hardware etc.)
‰ Scholarships for low-income students
‰ Database on disabled persons
 TEDP-Achievements
College of Technology – Anuradhapura
Student participation at NVQ level
(as at 15 Feb. 2010)
Subject Male Female
- Construction technology 12 11
- Refrigeration & Air-conditioning 26 00
- Farm machinery technology 15 00
 TEDP-Achievements

College of Technology - Badulla

Student participation at NVQ level
(as at 15 Feb. 2010)
Subject Male Female
- Construction technology 08 05
- Information Communication
Technology 30 26
 TEDP-Training Activities
UNIVOTEC -Training of Trainers on Gender & Social Equity
(5-day training program)
Target Group – Career Guidance Officers, Training
Officers, Skill Development Professionals
Objectives:
- To become thorough with G & SE policies and
strategies of the TVET sector
- To be able to prepare training material, plan and
organize workshops to deliver G & SE to Training
Officers of TVET training providers
- To be able to guide and implement a G & SE
programme for other target groups.
 Challenges
- Lack of awareness on gender issues in TEVT
sector
- Slow progress in establishing CoTs, recruiting
personnel, formulating Social Equity and Gender
Strategies for each CoT
- No Gender Specialist employed to implement
social equity and gender strategy of each CoT,
but Career Guidance Officers are responsible for
this.
 TEDP-Progress

- All 6 CoTs and 2 other Technical colleges have developed Social

Equity and Gender Strategies
- Career Guidance Officers have been given training on Social
Equity and Gender and are responsible for implementing the SE
& G Strategy
- CoTs are implementing the activities identified in their
respective SE & G strategies
- Training and awareness programmes have resulted in greater
awareness among CoT staff, students and parents on social
equity and gender issues.
Thank you

Nelun Gunasekera