STEPHENVILLE, NL – College of the North Atlantic (CNA) has continued its international partnerships, and welcomed two groups of delegates from Binh Thuan Community College (BTCC) in Vietnam as they explored Newfoundland and Labrador (NL).
The trips were part of four planned study missions for the Vietnam Skills for Employment Project (VSEP) – a five-year project funded by Global Affairs Canada, which focused on increasing the skill level of the workforce through the modernization of Technical Vocation and Education Training (TVET) and training systems. It also concentrated on ways to help revise the country’s current hospitality, tourism and culinary arts program curriculum from supply curriculum to a demand-driven one.
The first group included eight delegates, led by Vice-Rector Truong Van Chinh, along with five management personnel from student affairs, academic affairs, scientific research and international collaboration, educational testing and quality assurance centre, library equipment and information centre, a secretary of youth union and an English language instructor.
As part of the journey, the delegates visited Port aux Basques, Bay St. George and Corner Brook campuses, and met with several of CNA’s team, including Office of Alumni and Advancement; Industrial Trades; Workforce Innovation Centre (WIC); Industry and Community Engagement (ICE); and, Contract Training and Continuous Education. They toured the west coast campuses to learn about communication and marketing best practices to connect with students through job fairs and exchange student programs, as well as how to adopt methods to track and build relationships with alumni. The end goal is to allow BTCC to enhance its brand name and student recruitment activity.
The second delegation came to the province shortly after the first, and included nine senior government representatives, who attended presentations on industry and community engagement, distributed and blended learning, quality assurance associated with the co-op model, as well as the accessibility services model.
The delegation met with Advanced Education, Skills and Labour (AESL) Minister Bernard Davis and Deputy Minister Bob Gardiner. The group exchanged ideas with CNA Executive team members, as well as Academics and Student Services; Alumni and Advancement; and, Distributed Learning. They also had the opportunity to tour the Avalon region and explore the local culture and cuisine.
Elizabeth Vincent, CNA’s Director of International Business Development, worked closely with both delegation groups. She noted the VSEP, which started in 2014, will be completed in 2020.
“It has been a wonderful partnership with BTCC,” said Vincent. “CNA is proud to partner with BTCC to help expand and improve technical and vocational education and training in Vietnam, and reinforcing the notion that together we are preparing world-ready students and world-ready staff.”
BTCC Vice-Rector Truong Van Chinh says their experience on this tour was focused and insightful, along with witnessing the serene beauty of Newfoundland and Labrador.
“We are extremely honoured to have the opportunity to be a part of the VSEP project and visit CNA campuses to observe different classes, tour labs and attend presentations,” said the delegation official. “It was an amazing first-hand experience to explore all the modern teaching aids and methods used at CNA. As this is the final component, we are really thrilled to adopt all the things we have learned over the past four years and look forward to empower our students and staff with world class standards.”
VSEP supports the Ministry of Education and Training’s (MOET) three major policy initiatives related to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET): the Education Development Strategy (2001-2010), the Education for All Action Plan (2003-2015) and the Higher Education Reform Agenda (2006-2020).
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Media Contact:
Michelle Barry
Communications Specialist
College of the North Atlantic
709-643-7721
michelle.barry@cna.nl.ca