Australia supports Vietnam in implementing its National Qualifications Frameworks

A four-day Australia - Vietnam technical exchange on capacity-building for national qualifications frameworks kicked off in Hanoi today in a bid to support the final stage of the development of Vietnam’s National Qualification Framework and its implementation. This is a project funded under the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA) agreement as part of the Economic Cooperation Work Programme (ECWP) Capacity Building for National Qualifications Framework: Phase III projects.

In his opening speech at the technical exchange this morning, Australian Ambassador HE Mr Hugh Borrowman said: “the development of human capital is a key feature of Australia’s engagement in Vietnam and one which must adapt according to the changing human resource needs of Vietnam. The National Qualification Framework will help Vietnam to strengthen quality assurance in education and to better meet its human resources development goals”. This phase of Capacity Building for National Qualifications Frameworks is part of a series of activities aimed at enhancing the mobility of skilled labour through improved transparency of education systems to facilitate comparisons of education qualifications across ASEAN Member States.

The Australian Government first introduced the Australian Qualifications Framework in 1995 to ensure that qualification awards across the country are consistent and represent the same high standards of education. Globally, the Australian Qualifications Framework is seen as a mature and sophisticated framework having evolved to meet the needs of the Australian education and training sector, and underpinned by a comprehensive national quality assurance system which aligns with international good practice. At the exchange, experts from Australian Government Department of Education and Training are providing technical support and hands-on policy and operational assistance to Vietnam on the development and implementation of its recently developed National Qualifications Framework.

The exchange involves representatives from the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA), and the Australian Government. Participants will also make a site visit to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, a local vocational and training college and a local university to get different perspectives on National Qualifications Framework implementation. Senior MOET and MOLISA officials will visit Australia later in the year to build on the positive technical exchange outcomes to date.

Media contact: Ms. Vu Binh Chau, Tel: 04-37740216, e-mail: [email protected]