Bhutan Education and Skills Training

The project aims to support a reformed technical and vocational education training (TVET) system in Bhutan to equip graduates with the knowledge and skills that meet labour market needs and contribute to the country’s sustainable socio-economic development. In Bhutan the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic exacerbated skills shortages and youth unemployment (22.6% in 2021) with women comprising the majority of the unemployed and under-represented. The BEST project works with key national government agencies including the Ministry of Education and Skills Development (MoESD) to help implement Bhutan’s 2021 National TVET Reform Plan. This Plan aims to have 20% of high school graduates enter the TVET stream each year and produce work-ready men and women graduates with skills that meet labour market needs and contribute to socio-economic development thereby helping to alleviate poverty. Project activities include: (1) developing recruitment strategies and systems for bringing students into TVET; (2) delivering leadership and governance training to TVET agencies and TVET institutions; (3) developing industry-responsive courses aligned with the TVET reform agenda and labour market needs; (4) providing training to curriculum developers at the Department of Technical Education and TVET institutions; and (5) establishing partnerships between industry and TVET institutions. The BEST project activities integrate gender equality and women’s empowerment through access to education and employment and promote gender-sensitive environmental mainstreaming practices in education. The project expects to benefit approximately 16 000 Bhutanese youth (men and women) in technical training institutions.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) increased enrolment of students (men and women) in the TVET programs in Bhutan; (2) strengthened competencies of work-ready trainees graduating from TVET institutions; and (3) increased economic opportunities for graduates (men and women) of TVET institutions in Bhutan.