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Projects and Activities
Vietnam
- Aquaculture Training Project
- Business Management in the Aquatic Resource Sector - Level II
- Tra Vinh Improved Livelihoods Project
- Vietnam Fisheries Engineering - Level I
- Vietnam Inland Waterways
- Vietnam - Canada Community College Project (VCCCP)
- Vietnam Port Development
- Vietnam Fisheries Technology
1. Aquaculture Training Project
Countries:
Funding Agency:
Participating Colleges:
Approximate Value of Services (in Canadian Dollars):
Province, VietnamMinistry of Fisheries, HaNoi, VietNam
Project Timeline:
teaching materials development, technical study tour
development of teaching materials
curriculum development
- Description of Project and Results Achieved:
- The goal of the project is to enhance the capacity of the Fisheries Technical Vocational College No. 4 to serve its HRD and economic development mandates in the Vietnamese fisheries sector..
The purpose of the project is to implement an integrated series of technical assistance and training activities leading to the design and delivery of new training programs in aquaculture and to integrate the Fisheries Technical College No. 4 into the regional aquaculture network.
- Nature of Services (planning, management, technical assistance, training, procurement, etc.):
- At project inception the DCI had almost no resources, bare classrooms with open windows, no teaching aids, no electricity in most classrooms. It was using outdated teaching methods and materials and none of the subjects were written down. Teachers were in need of upgrading in curriculum development, teaching methodology, materials development, and technical subjects.
The project took a train the trainer approach in all of its activities. The focus was on promoting sustainability by training teachers and administrators in the range of skills necessary for successful program development and delivery. In addition to providing classroom and field training the project utilized a 'learning-by-doing' approach by working with the teachers in the practical application of the learnings. Teachers were thus involved in the development of curriculum and production of teaching materials, student handbooks, instructor's handbooks, etc. Working groups were established on curriculum review and development, materials development and instructional methodologies. In addition the project set up teaching groups to promote and disseminate learnings in teaching methodologies, curriculum development and needs assessment to additional target groups including field sites and research centres.
Teachers were trained in the following areas:
Teaching materials development, Instructional methodologies, Audio-visual production, Curriculum development and syllabus production, Computers, Evaluation, English Language, Needs assessment, extension course development, and in specific technical disciplines. The project also identified teacher-training needs that could best be met by third party training at outside institutions, and specified and organized the training programs to address those needs. Teacher training was conducted both in Vietnam at College No. 4 and in Canada at MI.
Gender issues were addressed in specific workshops and in content review and augmentation.
The project contained a large element of equipment specification and acquisition. This was carried out in coordination with administrators and head teachers from the DCI. It included classroom facilities and equipment, audio-visual equipment, library resources, laboratory facilities and equipment, and miscellaneous supplies and resources.
Technical study tours were organized in Canada and within the SE Asia region for teachers and administrators from the college and from the Ministry of Fisheries.
2. Business Management in the Aquatic Resource Sector - Level II
Countries:
Funding Agency:
Participating Colleges:
Approximate Value of Services (in Canadian Dollars):
Name of Developing Country Partners:
Hai Phong (No.1); Dinh Bang Village (No. 4); Ho Chi Minh City (No.2)
Project Timeline:
- Description of Project and Results Achieved:
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The project goal is to build the human resource development capacity that will enable Viet Nam to ensure that the aquatic resources are managed, under the evolving free market system, in a way that does not compromise the future sustainability and diversity of the fisheries sector.
The project purpose is to assist the Ministry of Fisheries and its Technical Colleges of Fisheries to increase their productive capacity to implement new training programs in market-oriented business management for the aquatic resources sector.
- Nature of Services (planning, management, technical assistance, training, procurement, etc.):
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The project is designed to assist:
The Ministry of Fisheries adopt the policies that are needed to guide the capacity building activities included in the project; the administration, faculty and staff of the three technical colleges of fisheries take ownership of the responsibility to implement the new policies; Instructors take ownership of the curriculum development process and new content on business management in a free-market economy;
The ministry and colleges commit faculty resources to training in Canada; and Canadian partners commit faculty resources to technical assistance in Viet Nam;
Vietnamese colleagues will develop the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to draft and implement policies relating to institutional reforms that result in increased capacity of the colleges to design and deliver courses and programs that are relevant to the social, economic, political, ecological and technological environments in Vietnam; and
To begin to reduce gender inequality, priority is needed for the education and training of women.
3. Tra Vinh Improved Livelihoods Project
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Funding Agency:
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Approximate Value of Services (in Canadian Dollars):
Name of Developing Country Partners:
Project Timeline:
- Description of Project and Results Achieved:
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The main purpose of the project is to contribute to increasing the living standards and the productive capacity of the rural poor in Tra Vinh through an integrated set of agriculture and rural economic development activities.
- Nature of Services (planning, management, technical assistance, training, procurement, etc.):
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The focus of the project will be on increasing income-earning opportunities and on-farm and off-farm employment for the poor. It will increase productivity and improve food security through activities, which support crop diversification, the intensification of agriculture and the development of rural enterprises. Community development initiatives to respond to household and community needs will also be undertaken to promote increased rural economic development opportunities. Small-scale infrastructure support will also contribute to creating an enabling environment for sustainable rural economic development.
4. Viet Nam Fisheries Engineering - Level I
Countries:
Funding Agency:
Participating Colleges:
Approximate Value of Services (in Canadian Dollars):
Project Timeline:
- Description of Project and Results Achieved:
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The project goal is to enhance the capacity of the Hai Phong Fisheries Technical College No. 1 in the design and delivery of relevant programming in the areas of fish harvesting and post-harvest technology, thereby improving economic returns from a renewable natural resource and raising nutrition and income levels of the poorest section of Vietnamese society.
The project purpose is to assist the Hai Phong Fisheries Technical College No.1 to redefine goals for institutional realignment and program development in marine engineering.
- Nature of Services (planning, management, technical assistance, training, procurement, etc.):
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The following activities took place:
Eastern College's international liaison person completed a three-week fact-finding mission with the Ministry of Fisheries officials and a visit to Hai Phong Fisheries Technical College No. 1 and Workers Vocational School leading to the design of a Newfoundland study tour based on the history of the college system;
A student in fisheries-related training to Eastern College/Marine Institute completed a three-week visit to Hai Phong Fisheries Technical College No. 1 to learn about the Viet Nam fisheries and make a visual presentation on the Newfoundland fishery with emphasis on the traditional role of women in the fishery;
Three persons from the Ministry of Fisheries participated in a one-month study tour of Eastern College and Marine Institute to explore the process and procedures used to amalgamate vocational school and community colleges;
Training needs analysis of marine engineering relevant to the Viet Nam fisheries competed by Hai Phong Fisheries Technical College No. 1 during delivery of a one-month technical assistance by an Eastern College faculty member; and
Three-weeks of technical assistance by one faculty and one student from Eastern College to assist Hai Phong marine engineering instructors to develop marine engineering curriculum.
5. Vietnam Inland Waterways
Countries:
Funding Agency:
Participating Colleges:
Approximate Value of Services (in Canadian Dollars):
Name of Developing Country Partners:
Project Timeline:
- Description of Project and Results Achieved:
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The project goal is to promote improved governance.
The project purpose is to strengthen the capacity of VIWA to efficiently and effectively manage and develop inland waterways as a safe, accessible, and economically and environmentally sustainable mode of transport.
- Nature of Services (planning, management, technical assistance, training, procurement, etc.):
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This project will promote the human resource development aspects. It will being the process of building institutional capacity in those areas addressed by the technical assistance and consulting work, by identifying gaps in the skills and knowledge necessary to support the transition of VIWA to a market-oriented organization. The following principles underpinned the design and implementation of this project:
A training program needs analysis to determine current skill knowledge levels of staff versus future needs, both general and technical in nature;
A training program to address the gap between current skills/knowledge and future requirements - all training was competency based with competencies derived from an occupational task analysis;
Training investment integrated and complemented the training initiatives being funded by the World Bank and other agencies;
Where experiential training was considered to be necessary, this was achieved through operational attachments to similar functional units in other jurisdictions. Training providers in Vietnam were used to the fullest extent possible; and
Canadian training expertise addressed specific technological, operations or regulatory requirements as necessary.
6. Vietnam - Canada Community College Project (VCCCP)
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Funding Agency:
Participating Colleges:
Approximate Value of Services (in Canadian Dollars):
Project Timeline:
- Description of Project and Results Achieved:
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The goal of the VCCCP is to contribute to poverty reduction in Tra Vinh province through the development of a workforce with skills relevant to local and regional employment and self- employment opportunities. These skills include technical expertise related to agricultural production, extension, and small-scale processing. As recognized by the Tra Vinh People's Committee (TVPC) the institution central to achieving this goal is the Tra Vinh Community College (TVCC), established under the auspices of the project.
The TVCC is a unique institution in Vietnam. While there have been tremendous economic and social changes in Vietnam since the implementation of the doi moi policy of renovation, the public formal and non formal skills training system has remained relatively unchanged from the structure that was designed to serve state owned enterprises and collectivized farms. The TVCC, however, is designed in response to the customized demands of rural communities in Tra Vinh province.
More than any other skills training institution in Vietnam, the TVCC emphasizes accessibility. Special support is provided to students in order to qualify and subsequently succeed within training programs at the college. This is particularly important for Khmer students who often struggle linguistically in their basic education program and, as a result, find access to employment or self-employment skills training severely restricted. Furthermore, the TVCC offers outreach formal and non-formal training at four of its current extension centres in the Duyen Hai, Tieu Can, Cau Ke and Cau Ngang districts. The TVCC is planning, in the short- term, to extend its services to the Tra Cu and Cang Long districts with the outreach services of Chau Thanh district to be met by the TVCC campus in Tra Vinh town. Non-formal outreach skills training are the only avenue for improving income generation -especially for Khmer and women in rural areas who are unable to access the formal skills training system. Furthermore, the non-formal programs are certified by the TVCC, which provides value to rural learners, service providers and employers.
For example, the certified completion of customized courses creates for rural learners greater access to micro-credit and employment opportunities. Using a lifelong learning model, completion of learning modules at rural extension centres count towards the certification of short- and long-term MOLISA vocational programs (and even college and university level certification in selected programs such as Agriculture and Aquaculture). This model, unique to the TVCC, allows learners open entry and exit to skills training programs and serves to motivate rural learners traditionally shut out of the formal education and training system.
Relevance to learners and their communities is a central attribute of TVCC's outreach programming. Employers and other key stakeholders determine learning outcomes. In outreach programs, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) and the Department of Fisheries (DOF) play a central role in determining the overall thrust of the sector's extension training. However, it was noted in the project as a lesson learned that the participation of the learners was vital to ensuring extension training relevance. Significant effort was extended to create an enabling environment where farmers felt comfortable in voicing their opinions in a participatory process. Generally, the poorer the learner the more reluctant the active participation in the process. The project was very careful to empower farmers within the Party-approved and legal avenues-primarily the Farmer Association and Women's Union at the provincial, district and commune levels. Significant time and effort was required before learners were able to effectively articulate their needs and only then was the training system adjusted to a truly demand-driven process.
As per the Tra Vinh People's Committee's (TVPC) original design, the TVCC has serves as a central coordinating institution for outreach training in Tra Vinh, drastically improving service delivery efficiency. Other Vietnamese skills training institutions are focused on specific economic sectors (i.e. industry, construction, transportation, commerce, etc.). The TVCC outreach programming is unique in that its mandate is not restricted by sector but is required to meet all the skills training needs within the province's geographic area. Significantly, the TVCC operation is financially and legally responsible to the TVPC and not the central sectoral ministries (i.e. industry, construction, etc.). As a result, the TVPC is able to coordinate extension-training services and reduce duplication.
For example, the TVCC agriculture, aquaculture and post harvest learners conduct their practical field placements as extension trainers in rural districts as per the needs of the DARD and Department of Fisheries. Training conducted by the TVCC outreach centres is coordinated with other extension training. Most importantly, outreach training in Tra Vinh is able to utilize the facilities, equipment, modularized learning resources, certification processes and technical and pedagogical skills of the TVCC at a very low marginal cost. The result has been a model for a vastly improved outreach skills training system in terms of both effectiveness and efficiency.
Another lesson learned is that although agriculture (predominately rice production) consists of close to 80 percent of the provincial economy, the real demand for training lies in areas outside rice production. Rice production in Tra Vinh, like other costal areas in the Mekong, is severely hindered by soil made relatively unproductive by silt and salt. The potential to increase production in a sustainable fashion through technology transfer is insignificant compared to other relatively untapped sectors such as aquaculture, fisheries, post harvest processing, animal husbandry, dairy, fruit and vegetable production and processing. In these sectors, markets are strong both domestically and internationally but the quality to date is very disappointing. In addition, tremendous opportunities exist for commercial service off-farm income particularly in the Chau Thanh and Cang Long districts nearer to larger populations. Despite the opportunities in the new sectors, the rural poor (including the landless poor) in these districts still see the key to increasing their incomes and social condition as an increase in traditional production yields. While the project maintained its participatory processes for assessing training demand, it was recognized that significant effort was required to demonstrate the potential of non-traditional modes of income generation. Furthermore, the TVPC recognized the need for the project to be more active in mitigating risk and helping poor households make the transition to more non- traditional agricultural methods.
While women in formal education and training programs enjoy strong participation rates in formal vocational and college level programs at the TVCC campuses, women and girls face many barriers to their full participation in the economic and social development of their communities. Many rural girls drop out of the basic education system by grade eight or earlier. Households headed by single women are most at risk of falling into poverty, as they are unable to access education and training because of family duties, geographic remoteness and/or the lack of academic pre-requisites. Furthermore, women and girls are often restricted in their employment and education opportunities in larger population centres for fear they will fall prey to "social evils". In some employment and self-employment sectors such as aquaculture production women face social taboos and superstitions that rigorously restrict their participation.
The project developed over 30 formal training programs. Programs are based on local and regional labour market analyses and reflect employment and self employment opportunities in the following critical sectors: agriculture, aquaculture, post harvest, mechanical, electrical, business administration, and garment. Programs have certification levels at six months, one year and two years. Most programs have options up to the college (3 year) and the agriculture and aquaculture programs are finalizing articulation programs to allow TVCC vocational and college learners to progress to the Bachelors level.
The TVCC is now able to develop curricula in accordance with both national standards set by MOET and MOLISA and the skills requirements of local and regional employers. Management is able to develop its own strategic plan and monitor results. The teacher-training unit is able to plan and deliver professional development (pedagogy and technical).
In accordance with the project's sustainability and risk management strategy, the nature of the consortium's relationship with the TVCC and TVPC has changed substantially since the beginning of the project. Initially, the Canadian inputs assumed a more prescriptive role. This was required because the community college concept is not well understood in Vietnam. However, as understanding grew, more Vietnamese concepts were merged with existing processes and the "Vietnamese Model" community college emerged. The Vietnamese partners have a tremendous sense of project ownership from the project's inception -fostered by their CDN$2.7 million in-kind contribution for the college site, facilities and human resources.
However, as the TVCC's management capacity and conceptual understanding of a community college in Vietnam grew, the consortium's inputs grew more consultative in nature. Approaching the final year, the TVCC has taken the lead role in AWP development and Canadian inputs at a technical or project management level are focused on ensuring compliance with the contribution agreement and the JPSC.
7. Vietnam Port Development
Countries:
Funding Agency:
Participating Colleges:
Approximate Value of Services (in Canadian Dollars):
Name of Developing Country Partners:
Project Timeline:
- Description of Project and Results Achieved:
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Simulation services to support the design of the proposed waterway in the Bassac River, Vietnam.
- Nature of Services (planning, management, technical assistance, training, procurement, etc.):
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Development of Design Vessel.
One (1) design vessel was modeled in accordance with specifications identified by both NavSim Technology Inc. and CMS. CMS sub-contracted with NavSim Technology Inc. who was responsible for the modeling and verification efforts. The model will be inserted into the BoatCruiser fast-time simulation.
Modification of BoatCruiser.
CMS sub-contracted with NavSim Technology Inc. to modify BoatCruiser so that it was suitable to perform the proposed work. The modifications included: improved data logging; tuneable artificial pilot; and improved weather modeling. Once the modifications to the BoatCruiser were accomplished, CMS acquired a copy of BoatCruiser from NavSim for the purposed of conducting the proposed work.
Model the Waterway.
CMS created a hypothetical waterway with two possible change configurations. The waterway was designed to illustrate the capabilities of fast-time simulation, and approximated the conditions found in the Bassac River.
Model the Natural Conditions.
CMS entered the various environmental conditions as required for the test scenarios.
Develop and Execute the Test Program.
CMS identified a test program consisting of multiple scenarios under various conditions in order to extract data necessary for an operational analysis of the waterway. The definition of the test program included the determination of test methods that were used and included both objective and subjective measures.
Data Analysis and Report Writing.
CMS analyzed the data collected from an operational viewpoint and delivered a written report to BAE-Newplan Group Inc. outlining the results of the study.
8. Vietnam Fisheries Technology
Countries:
Participating Colleges:
Approximate Value of Services (in Canadian Dollars):
Name of Developing Country Partners:
Project Timeline:
- Description of Project and Results Achieved:
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Project Purpose:
Enhancement of the capacity of the Hai Phong Fisheries Training College in the design and delivery of relevant programming in the areas of fish harvesting and post harvest technology, thereby improving economic returns from a renewable natural resource and raising nutrition and income levels of the poorest section of Vietnamese society.
- Nature of Services (planning, management, technical assistance, training, procurement, etc.):
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