Shaping the Decision to Enroll in TVET
Buying training is often like buying a new house: you get something valuable but you live with the consequences for a long time. Despite this, many people enroll in TVET courses without proper perspective. Part of the blame goes to the individual trainee himself, to common perceptions of TVET, to how schools market their courses and indeed how the TVET sector sees itself in relation to the labor market.
The Person Himself
Many trainees of TVET enroll in TVET as a last recourse (perhaps because they did not pass the college entrance test or perhaps because they do not have the money to enroll in bachelor's degree courses) and thus think little about whether the course fits their aptitudes and interests; whether there is demand for the graduates of that course during the next several years (and thus ensure that they have consistent career paths); whether their physical conditions are suited for the rigors of the job that will result from the course; and whether the career path that the course will open to them is really what they like in the long haul. Often, trainees enroll simply because of some good news they heard, read or have seen in the media or some success story they heard from their friends. There is nothing wrong with considering these indicators (actually even some analysts of TVET use these signals, but they always validate them with solid market data) but in the end, one has to think with a career, not just a job, in mind.
Common Perceptions
The mind of the person doesn't exist in a vacuum. When the decision to enroll in a course is made, it is always the result of inputs that entered the mind from the outside, and this outside information is often shaped and colored by common perceptions. The media is an influential force here but so are the unwritten rules of culture ("a medical doctor should be more intelligent than an expert mechanic"; "you should enroll in welding because you are not good in class"), peers ("all my friends are into computer programming") and family ("your father provided well for you because he is an electrician in the Middle East and he wants to recommend you to his company after you graduate"). The problem with common perception is that it is highly circumstantial and often does not see much beyond the curve. It is pragmatic, and is nothing but the collective interpretation of diverse perceptions. When seen this way, the trainee might be alarmed to realize that what he has been told or what is commonly thought of is built on shaky, if not dangerous, assumptions.
Marketing
How schools market their courses can sometimes forcefully influence the decision of a person to enroll. We are not talking here about misleading advertisements or false promises. Often schools invest in their course offerings for the long-term, and often, once their systems are in place, they tend to ignore shifts in market requirements or new realities in the workplace. Thus, a school with registered courses along certain qualifications will continue to market those courses even if demand for graduates of those courses have already declined or have already shifted to something that might still bear some semblance to it but has now significant changes in the core. This could be corrected by keeping the curriculum (and the trainers, equipment and tools) updated but in many cases, this is not what happens. In a country like the Philippines (as in some other Asian countries), training institutions often utilize training inputs for as long as they can. In many cases, the only source of career information a trainee gets is the school. If the school markets this or that course, that is where the trainee will enroll complete with all the inadequacies it acquired through the years.
Collective Esteem
Each sector has its own collective esteem. Doctors see themselves as a group in relation to say, engineers or mechanics, in some way. The same is true with the TVET sector of a certain region or area in relation to the industry and to the training public. If it sees itself as a minor supplier (whether in terms of volume or quality) of the labor force, then its policies, expectations and programs will be shaped that way. If it sees itself as an important creator of production, services and goods, then its actors will reflect that view. All these, in ways that often run in the subconscious, are what the trainee will get and will shape how he decides.
With these, it is always important that the trainee get his information from multiple sources, often differentiating the claims from the facts, the short-term from the long-term, the substance from the hype. Also, it is important for the TVET sector managers and policy makers to continue to provide career information independent of interests of individual schools, to provide these in ways the reaches those who need them and to communicate them in ways that they can understand.
Some books from Amazon.com that might be helpful:
The Career Adventure: Your Guide to Personal Assessment, Career Exploration, and Decision Making (4th Edition)
Making Career Decisions that Count: A Practical Guide (3rd Edition)
Turning Points: Your Career Decision Making Guide (3rd Edition)
Drinking from the Fire Hose: Making Smarter Decisions Without Drowning in Information (Portfolio)
The Person Himself
Many trainees of TVET enroll in TVET as a last recourse (perhaps because they did not pass the college entrance test or perhaps because they do not have the money to enroll in bachelor's degree courses) and thus think little about whether the course fits their aptitudes and interests; whether there is demand for the graduates of that course during the next several years (and thus ensure that they have consistent career paths); whether their physical conditions are suited for the rigors of the job that will result from the course; and whether the career path that the course will open to them is really what they like in the long haul. Often, trainees enroll simply because of some good news they heard, read or have seen in the media or some success story they heard from their friends. There is nothing wrong with considering these indicators (actually even some analysts of TVET use these signals, but they always validate them with solid market data) but in the end, one has to think with a career, not just a job, in mind.
Common Perceptions
The mind of the person doesn't exist in a vacuum. When the decision to enroll in a course is made, it is always the result of inputs that entered the mind from the outside, and this outside information is often shaped and colored by common perceptions. The media is an influential force here but so are the unwritten rules of culture ("a medical doctor should be more intelligent than an expert mechanic"; "you should enroll in welding because you are not good in class"), peers ("all my friends are into computer programming") and family ("your father provided well for you because he is an electrician in the Middle East and he wants to recommend you to his company after you graduate"). The problem with common perception is that it is highly circumstantial and often does not see much beyond the curve. It is pragmatic, and is nothing but the collective interpretation of diverse perceptions. When seen this way, the trainee might be alarmed to realize that what he has been told or what is commonly thought of is built on shaky, if not dangerous, assumptions.
Marketing
How schools market their courses can sometimes forcefully influence the decision of a person to enroll. We are not talking here about misleading advertisements or false promises. Often schools invest in their course offerings for the long-term, and often, once their systems are in place, they tend to ignore shifts in market requirements or new realities in the workplace. Thus, a school with registered courses along certain qualifications will continue to market those courses even if demand for graduates of those courses have already declined or have already shifted to something that might still bear some semblance to it but has now significant changes in the core. This could be corrected by keeping the curriculum (and the trainers, equipment and tools) updated but in many cases, this is not what happens. In a country like the Philippines (as in some other Asian countries), training institutions often utilize training inputs for as long as they can. In many cases, the only source of career information a trainee gets is the school. If the school markets this or that course, that is where the trainee will enroll complete with all the inadequacies it acquired through the years.
Collective Esteem
Each sector has its own collective esteem. Doctors see themselves as a group in relation to say, engineers or mechanics, in some way. The same is true with the TVET sector of a certain region or area in relation to the industry and to the training public. If it sees itself as a minor supplier (whether in terms of volume or quality) of the labor force, then its policies, expectations and programs will be shaped that way. If it sees itself as an important creator of production, services and goods, then its actors will reflect that view. All these, in ways that often run in the subconscious, are what the trainee will get and will shape how he decides.
With these, it is always important that the trainee get his information from multiple sources, often differentiating the claims from the facts, the short-term from the long-term, the substance from the hype. Also, it is important for the TVET sector managers and policy makers to continue to provide career information independent of interests of individual schools, to provide these in ways the reaches those who need them and to communicate them in ways that they can understand.
Some books from Amazon.com that might be helpful:
The Career Adventure: Your Guide to Personal Assessment, Career Exploration, and Decision Making (4th Edition)
Making Career Decisions that Count: A Practical Guide (3rd Edition)
Turning Points: Your Career Decision Making Guide (3rd Edition)
Drinking from the Fire Hose: Making Smarter Decisions Without Drowning in Information (Portfolio)
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