The 8th Education International (EI) World Congress meeting in Bangkok, Thailand from 21st to 26th July 2019:
(1) Affirms the importance of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) to both individuals and society;
(2) Recognises that TVET’s links to the labour market make it particularly vulnerable to policies of commercialisation and that TVET teachers are often faced with inadequate funding, infrastructure, salaries, support and contracts;
(3) Believes that access to public TVET plays a crucial role in supporting social justice and sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development and that building strong public TVET institutions requires investing in TVET teachers, education support personnel, and the establishment of real career pathways;
(4) Contends that TVET must lead to certification and integration into a specific sector of activity. Initial vocational training, which should already result in certification and lead to a diploma, is the first and fundamental stage of lifelong vocational training. Qualification is an essential issue. Diplomas and certifications constitute legal recognition and carry a normative value of knowledge and know-how acquired.
(5) Welcomes EI’s research on the global trends in TVET and its preliminary case studies and calls for these reports to be disseminated widely throughout EI;
(6) Encourages the establishment of a capacity-building process to help TVET teachers organise around their issues on a regional basis;
Congress, furthermore, mandates the Executive Board:
(7) To call on governments to elevate the status of the TVET sector and its workforce.
(8) To ensure that TVET is an integral part of EI’s research, campaigns, advocacy and capacity-building strategy over the next four years and to work closely with TVET unions in the development and implementation process.