Ulaanbaatar
Consultative meeting takes place on vocational education and labor market
Economy
Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. There has begun to be an imbalance in the labor market of Mongolia. Due to the incapacity to meet market demands, certain sectors have already had a shortage in workforce. Minister of Education and Science L.Enkh-Amgalan highlighted the situation at a consultative meeting that was organized under the topic, ‘Vocational education and the cooperation of employers’.
Currently, around 2.5-3 years are required to train new graduates that obtained vocational education, which requires about MNT 5-8 million in financing from the side of the employers. As vocational education and training are not able to properly equip students in its current state, it is necessary for a cooperation mechanism to be created between private entities, employers, and educational institutes. The vocational education system will be developed based on public-private partnership in the future, mentioned the Minister.
At the meeting, MP Kh.Gankhuyag introduced a bill on making amendments to the Law on Vocational Education and Training. During his presentation, he said, “Only some 30 percent of the students graduating from vocational schools are becoming employed according to their profession. The bill aims to create a system based on the labor market demands, and define how the state will cooperate with private entities.”
By deep processing 60 percent of cashmere, Mongolia is able to make sales of about USD 670 million. In order to do this, however, 3,600 specialists will be required. This shows the importance of public-private partnership in preparing the type of specialists that are in demand, highlighted President of the Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry O.Amartuvshin. One of the possible ways of achieving it is the example in Germany, with a dual vocational education and training system.
During the event, Program Manager for GIZ Beate Dippmar highlighted how Chambers have an important role in the vocational education system in Germany. For instance, they are in charge of advising entities, determining the content of training and assessments, monitoring training being conducted at entities, and connecting entities.
The consultative meeting was attended by over 170 participants both in-person and online. Currently, a total of 42,594 students are studying at 76 vocational education and training centers in the country, specializing in 185 professions.
