International vocational education and training symposium in China
Diana Cáceres-Reebs
The "ASEM Symposium - Attractiveness and Employability in Technical and Vocational Training and Education" took place in Qingdao (China) on 11 and 12 January 2011. The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) is an informal dialogue forum used for policy cooperation between the various countries involved. The symposium was organised by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research acting in conjunction with the Chinese Ministry of Education and the ASEM Secretariat.
220 delegates took part from Austria, Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Korea, Laos, Latvia, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, the United Kingdom, Vietnam, the ASEM Secretariat and China itself.
The aims of the symposium were to take particular account of labour market feasibility in highlighting measures for improving the attractiveness of VET and examples of good practice and to foster the exchange of experiences between the ASEM countries.
At the conference, the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) presented its advisory services within an international context and provided a particular explanation of the added value of the German dual system of vocational education and training for the partner countries. The characteristic features of the German dual system which attracted the particular interest of the international experts present were the close degree of cooperation between the state, trade and industry and the social partners and the measures and instruments in place for assuring the quality of teachers and trainers.
One particular objective of the meeting was to deepen cooperation between Germany and China in the field of vocational education and training. BIBB and the Chinese "Central Institute for Vocational & Technical Education" used the meeting as an opportunity to hold initial talks to map out the topics for a future cooperation agreement between the two institutes.
Not the least of the purposes served by the symposium were the exchange of information on current developments, programmes and projects in Asian and European
