ACC Participated in the 11th ASEAN Skills Competition

On 23 September 2016, the 11th ASEAN Skills Competition was kicked off in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. With the theme “Skills for a Brighter Future”, the Competition will conclude on 28 September 2016. Representatives from 10 ASEAN countries competed in 25 skill areas. On the sidelines of the Competition, several forums were held. From 24 to 25 September 2016, representatives from the ASEAN-China Centre (ACC) participated in some events of the Competition. ACC’s partner in the area of vocational education, Zhejiang Yalong Educational Equipment Joint-Stock Co. Ltd has provided equipment and technical standards in 3 skill areas.  

Representatives from ACC toured the competition halls and attended the ASEAN Vocational Skills Forum held on 24 September 2016. The Forum was attended by around 120 persons including government officials, professionals, scholars, representatives from vocational institutes and enterprises from ASEAN and China. 

Mr. Pang Chau Leong, Director General of the Department of Skills Development, Ministry of Human Resources of Malaysia, on behalf of the organizer of the Competition delivered a remark at the Forum. He expressed his appreciation on the strong support from the parties concerned including Yalong Company. He said that the Competition would be helpful to speed up the development of skills of the workforce and enhance the industrial competitiveness of ASEAN countries. He hoped the Competition would make great achievements. 

Ms. Huang Ying, Director of General Affairs and Coordination Division of ACC spoke highly of the importance of the Competition in her remarks. She also highlighted the efforts and achievements made by ACC in promoting ASEAN-China vocational education exchanges and cooperation. She said that with the establishment of the ASEAN Community and China’s economic transformation and industry upgrading, both ASEAN and China are having high demand for qualified vocational professionals, thus there is more room for both sides to expand vocational education cooperation. She commended Yalong Company for its active involvement in ASEAN-China vocational education exchanges and cooperation and reaffirmed ACC’s commitment to strengthen the collaboration with its partners from all walks of life of both ASEAN and China to continue with more innovative and pioneering efforts to further elevate ASEAN-China functional cooperation. 

Mr. Phouvieng Phoumilay, Deputy Director General of Technical and Vocational Education Department, Ministry of Education and Sports of Lao PDR said that Lao PDR attached great importance to vocational education and had drafted Vocational Education Plan 2016-2020. He looked forward to strengthening cooperation with relevant agencies and hoped the Chinese enterprises including Yalong Company could continue to provide their support to Lao vocational education development. Mr. Chen Jiquan, Chairman of Yalong Company introduced Yalong’s values and vision as well as the training courses it had conducted for the vocational institutes of ASEAN countries. He also expressed his willingness to make use of Yalong’s advantages to continue supporting the development of skilled technicians of ASEAN countries. Experts in vocational education from Indonesia and the Philippines also shared their experience and provided suggestions on the skills development of ASEAN countries.