press release OVEC Joins Chevron and Kenan to Develop New Vocational Teacher DNA
“The chance for OVEC and Chevron Enjoy Science Project to hold vocational teacher trainings and communicate modern education methods from abroad to OVEC for use at affiliated vocational educational institutes nationwide is a significant activity of the project. We aim to develop professional labor force skills with public-private cooperation from Chevron Thailand Exploration and Production, Ltd. and Kenan Institute Asia,” said Dr. Suthep Chittayawong, the Secretary-General of the Office of Vocational Education Commission.
This cooperation meets the current needs of vocational education by developing courses consistent with the government’s Thailand 4.0 policy, in tandem with the development and training of expert educators, or what can be considered ‘upstream’ development, as well as promoting teachers to improve educational processes at a vocational level for both Vocational Certificates (VC) and High Vocational Certificates (HVC). This will give students greater understanding and enjoyment in learning, which will result in a greater supply of highly-skilled labor being fed into the system. At the same time, it may attract more children interested in entering vocational training. OVEC is also conducting ‘downstream’ development by holding short-term summer vocational course training projects in cooperation with organizations to develop students’ skills with real-world training.”
“OVEC hopes that the cooperation with Chevron Enjoy Science Project in developing upstream personnel and engineering good vocational education teacher DNA, as well as complementing skills downstream, will be able to help the country reach its ‘Thailand 4.0’ goals, and may be a starting point for new start-ups,” added Dr. Suthep.
“The cooperation between Chevron Enjoy Science Project and OVEC aim to develop vocational labor skills that are sufficient and able to meet the needs of the industrial sector,” said Artit Krichphiphat, Business Support general manager,Chevron Thailand Exploration and Production, Ltd., “thereby increasing the competitiveness of Thailand. The main concept is a focus on developing education in the subjects of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, at a vocational education level. One key part of the program is the practical training of teachers to create a new vocational teacher DNA. These are the people who will play a key role in educating and creating a new strain of vocational students who have the skills to meet the needs of the various industrial sectors for which Thailand is a key manufacturing base, such as the automotive industry, micro-electronics industry, etc.”
At the same time, the project will also provide state-of-the-art equipment and teaching materials from It’s About Time® which are recognized by educational institutions worldwide to help students gain a better understanding and have more enjoyable time learning STEM subjects.”
A distinctive feature of the It’s About Time® tools is that they comprise an international-level STEM curriculum for vocational students, employing inquiry-based learning through the use of projects or posing questions as a foundation, while applying scientific principles to daily life through implementation of the engineering design cycle to trial ideas and find success. The curriculum emphasizes students as the center of learning, helping them to have fun, participate, and build 21st century skills like teamwork, creative and analytical thinking, and presenting and learning from hands-on practice.
“The project administrators Chevron and the Kenan Institute Asia, as well as OVEC, agree that improving education in STEM subjects at the vocational education level is vital,” said Piyabutr Cholvijarn, president of Kenan Institute Asia. “This means equipping teachers with the skills and teaching methods to enable students to find information through inquiry, as well as adapting courses to be consistent and procure educational tools that enable teachers to give students an understanding of the learning process and the source of ideas through real and practical applications rather than rote memorization, and to create positive attitudes towards learning STEM subjects. This is the motivation to hold science teacher trainings and equip vocational education institutions with tools and science education materials.”
“The goal of this cooperation is to benefit more than 60 vocational education institutions, hold practical trainings for more than 1,800 teachers, and develop the skills of more than 138,000 members of the labor force and vocational students,” said Artit.
Three TVET Hubs have already been set up as part of Chevron Enjoy Science Project, in partnership with Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna in Chiang Mai, Rajamangala University of Technology Srivijaya in Songkhla, and the Labor Training Development Center in Chonburi. Further three locations are in the process of opening in the next two years, and will be located in provinces that are key manufacturing bases in each industry under the project’s five-year operations plan.
