New NTVQF tourism and hospitality trainers and assessors

The Bangladesh Skills for Employment and Productivity Project, In collaboration with the Bangladesh Technical Education Board and the National Hotel and Tourism Training Institute (NHTTI), assessed the competence of 30 TVET trainers and assessors in three tourism and hospitality occupations (tour guiding, food and beverage service and housekeeping) on July 2, 3 and 4, 2015 in the capital.

News | 17 August 2015
Candidates were found competent against industry endorsed and BTEB-approved competency standards, and have now become the first group of trainers and assessors trained and certified under the new National Technical and Vocational Qualification (NTVQ) Framework. They are now qualified to train and assess graduates of NTVQ programmes and people with previous experience in tour guiding, food and beverage servicing or housekeeping. All 30 candidates attained Level 1 under the new NTVQ Framework.

The tourism and hospitality sector in Bangladesh is a key focus of the Government of Bangladesh and the ILO because of its forecasted potential. The total contribution of travel and tourism to GDP was BDT627.9bn (4.1% of GDP) in 2014, and is forecast to rise by 6.5% pa to BDT1,252.8bn (4.4% of GDP) by 2025, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council.

A number of different training methods currently exist to train potential workers in the sector. Many of these require significant amounts of time and money. In addition, many do not address the competencies needed by the industry and none offer national recognition for the newly acquired skills.

Under the NTVQF’s new system of competency based training and assessment being promoted by the government with support from the ILO, trainees undergo programmes based on industry-driven standards. They are trained only in the skills that employers need. This needs-based approach, rather than the traditional set curriculum-based approach, cuts down the duration and cost of training programmes. Once deemed competent, trainees are issued nationally recognised NTVQF certificates.

Competency based training and assessment is one of the TVET reform initiatives being introduced by the government to reform the current skills development system. The objective of reform is to make skills in Bangladesh nationally recognised, accessible to all, high quality and directly linked to jobs.
The ILO is currently working with the Government of Bangladesh to reform the skills development system through two major initiatives; a CAD19.5 million grant from government of Canada for the Bangladesh Skills for Employment and Productivity (B-SEP) Project, and a Euro 14 million grant from the European Union for the TVET Reform in Bangladesh Project.

See the National Skills Development Policy (English/Bangla) here