The BRICS TVET Cooperation Alliance Conference, hosted by the Ministry of Education of China, was convened in Beijing on April 27th. It was a virtual/hybrid event attended by more than 100 participants, including policymakers, diplomats stationed in Beijing, vocational educators and industry and business representatives. They jointly witnessed the inauguration of the Alliance.

Mr. Tian Xuejun, Vice Minister of Education of China, addressed the Conference via a pre-recorded video. He commended the joint efforts of BRICS countries leading to the establishment of the Alliance. He sees the Alliance as a significant driver for vocational education reforms by creating a platform for dialogue and information sharing to promote substantive cooperation. Minster Tian put forward three suggestions: 1) practice inclusivity for every BRICS country and every member to take ownership, follow the principles of openness and collaboration, 2) align closely with the industry to ensure the constant adaptation of vocation education for nurturing a highly skilled workforce relevant to the needs of social-economic development, 3) deploy state-of-the-art solutions incorporating digital and green technologies to enable innovative delivery models, speed up the reform of the TVET talents training programs, and create a sharing mechanism of digital resources.

The Alliance is strongly endorsed by BRICS policymakers. Mr. Victor Godoy, Minister of Education of Brazil, Mr. Bugaev Alexander, First Deputy Minister of Education of Russia, Mr. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship of India and Dr. Blade Nzimande, Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation of South Africa all indicated their full support through their video congratulatory remarks. They applauded China for taking the lead to establish the Alliance and hosting its inaugural conference. They prepared to encourage members from their home country to actively participate in the Alliance’s various activities and partnership building.

The BRICS TVET Cooperation Alliance is established under the guidance of BRICS vocational education policymakers. It has 68 founding members, including vocational education associations, vocational education institutions, research organizations and businesses.

(Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China)