Human resource development key to prosperity of ASEAN Community

The ASEAN Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Council makes its debut (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Hanoi (VNA) – Developing high-quality workforce who can adapt to the changing world of work due to impacts from the climate, aging population, diseases and particularly the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is the common target of the ASEAN Community.

The statement was put forth at the ASEAN High-level Conference on Human Resource Development for the Changing World of Work which was held on September 16 by Vietnam’s Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs in coordination with the Ministry of Education and Training.

Realising commitments

The conference was organized in both in-person and virtual forms. Present at 70 venues of the virtual conference were labour ministers, education ministers from member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), ASEAN Secretary-General Dato Lim Jock Hoi, heads of international organisations, officials of dialogue partners of ASEAN and representatives of the ASEAN Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Council.

Participating the conference at the Hanoi venue were Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam; Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung; Minister of Education and Training Phung Xuan Nha; leaders of relevant ministries, sectors and research institutes; ambassadors of the ASEAN member states, China, the Republic of Korea and Japan; and representatives of universities, vocational training schools, associations and businesses.

At the opening ceremony, the ASEAN labour and education ministers launched the Roadmap of ASEAN Declaration on Human Resources Development for the Changing World of Work, along with the ASEAN Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Council.

Human resources development is one of Vietnam’s priorities and the high-level conference viewed it as a highlight in its ASEAN Chairmanship Year 2020. It was also the first conference seeing the participation of ASEAN labour and education ministers.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam speaks at the conference (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Addressing the event, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam said the world has witnessed major changes such as digital transformation, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, non-traditional security issues and the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic.

Human resource development in the revolution has been discussed at various global and regional forums, he noted.

The Deputy PM underlined that new mechanisms are needed to help all labourers grab opportunities and come to know their responsibilities to acquire new knowledge and skills, stressing that human resources development is among the three key priorities of the ASEAN Community stated in the ASEAN Charter.

Efforts in the field must be further promoted to ensure the successful implementation of the ASEAN Declaration on Human Resources Development for the Changing World of Work, he reiterated.

In his remarks, ASEAN Secretary-General Dato Lim Jock Hoi affirmed that to raise the regional educational quality, attention must be paid to both general education and vocational training, along with fostering digital skills to maximise workers’ capacity in the current technological era.

Promoting life-long learning to enhance adaptiveness

The conference included four thematic sessions, namely partnerships for human resource development; human resource development in the post-pandemic era; the leading role of the private sector in human resource development; and education and training systems ready for the future to enhance skills in the 21^st century.

Participants at the virtual conference's venues (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Vietnamese Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung said human resource development is one of the long-term targets and a guideline for the development of the ASEAN Community as stated in the ASEAN Charter.

In a changing world, ASEAN always considers humans as the centre of the development process as the growth and sustainable development are to develop humans and for humans, he said.

Regarding efforts to develop human resources for the ASEAN Community, Vietnamese Minister of Education and Training Phung Xuan Nha said the ASEAN Qualifications Reference Framework (AQRF), which was adopted by ASEAN economic ministers in 2014, is a joint endeavor of the member states to create a foundation to compare and collate degrees and qualifications./.