2.2.3 International Migration

International migration, which is very likely to increase over the next 10 to 20 years, could provide a partial solution to problems associated with both aging and population growth. Statistics shows that international migration continues to exhibit an upward trend where about 140 million people now live outside their countries of birth. Migration of younger workers would offset the retirement of older workers in countries with aging populations and provide jobs for unemployed youth from developing countries. However, it would also lead to brain drain in developing countries.

2.2.4 Urbanization

Nearly all of the population growth in the next 30 years is expected to concentrate in urban areas. The growth will increase the numbers of those living in urban areas from 2.9 billion in 2000 to 5 billion in 2030. By 2007, however, half the world's population is expected to live in urban areas. Almost all of the 2000-2030 population increase will be found in the urban areas of less developed regions. By 2030, 84 percent of the population in more developed regions will be in urban areas.

2.3 Labor Market

The emerging labor market presents a changing set of circumstances that affect our educational system. First, when market forces define the skills and knowledge that workers need, the profile of human capital required to compete in the labor markets must change to allow individuals to adapt to rapid changes in skill demand. Second, globalization expanded cheaper communication and transfer systems and give customers more choices. Moving into the global economy also raises the standards for goods and services that suppliers have to meet. These higher standards prevail within the suppliers domestic markets as well as across national boundaries and in the end affect the educational system. Third, movement from mass production to the flexible production of goods and services changes the opportunities and ultimately the basis for economic growth.

The present labor market calls not only for employable skills but also for flexibility to adjust, and preparedness to change jobs more than once in a lifetime. The new employee must possess a core of competencies to equip him/her to adapt rapidly to the changing nature of work such as casualization and the rise of the informal economy. If youth are able to function in this labor market, TEVT is one of the avenues where one acquires flexible skills and knowledge to make the transition from education to work and increase their employability in the changing economy.

2.4 TEVT Systems

A key intervention of TEVT institutions is to ensure that young people receive the best education possible to prepare them for a life of productive employment, and to have the entrepreneurial skills not only to develop work opportunities for themselves and others but also to have the commitment and initiative to contribute to the social, economic and environmental well-being of their communities.

In the Asia Pacific region, the countries have accorded varying degrees of attention to TEVT. Korea stands as "a leading example" of how Korean government promotes an extensive TEVT; Japan has a well-developed and well-established infrastructure providing school based as well as enterprise based TEVT. Singapore developed a "comprehensive vocational training infrastructure," the others have either a "fairly developed", "patchy systems", and "prejudice against manual work."

The countries have different school ladder systems: 6-3-3-4 in Japan and Korea; 6-4-4 in the Philippines; 10+2+4 in India; and some others. Generally, TEVT is provided by secondary schools, junior colleges, polytechnics as well as vocational training institutes all of these are being run by public or private agencies. TEVT courses ranged from various fields and are grouped into: engineering and technical, agriculture and forestry, fishery and maritime, health and nursing, business and commerce, service and domestic areas. Some have well-defined occupational knowledge and skills standards while others do not have. They have also various arrangements for accreditation and certification. Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines are three examples of countries have nationally recognized qualifications of skills attainment and skill standards covering a range of qualifications framework. On the other hand, Indonesia and most other member countries have comparatively small skills standards. Most member countries practice program accreditation except for Singapore which does modularized curriculum accreditation.

3. EMERGING CHALLENGES FOR CAPABILITY BUILDING

Regional accreditation serves the purpose of recognizing programs, institutions and even accrediting bodies for performance, integrity and quality that entitles them to the trust and confidence of the educational community, industry and the public. Like any other accreditation body, it provides an opportunity to re-examine the validity of mission, goals and objectives and to demonstrate how these are carried out to attain excellence and quality as demanded by customers.

In this paper, regional accreditation refers to a voluntary endeavor for the improvement of TEVT programs, institutions and accrediting bodies. While the benefits of setting up a regional accreditation system are many, it can not be denied that there are lots of challenges inherent in building this type of infrastructure. The following are the challenges are to be addressed:

3.1 Human Capacity Building

Strengthening the capacity of human resources to undertake regional accreditation and certification activities is one major challenge. Although the leader needs not be an expert on accreditation and certification, a working knowledge and experience must be possessed to be comfortable with the subject and associated issues. In an environment rife with hype and hyperbole, to whom does one listen. Accreditation auditors and trainers should possess the needed scientific skills and competence to assess relevance and appropriateness of standards and to conduct formal survey, re-survey and other types of evaluation. One strategy to address the challenge includes the hiring of a consultant of international caliber that will help in the development of standards and training of accreditation auditors as well as establishing a regional accreditation and certification body.

3.2 Institutional Capacity Building

A regional accreditation body is confronted with the need to promote harmonization and standardization of criteria used for evaluation. An initial action would be a review and strengthening of accreditation structures, systems and procedures in the individual countries. Once done, this would be integrated into a regional accreditation system which seeks to harmonize all national accreditation systems. The challenge of institutional capability building is not only the promotion of mutual recognition of standards and qualifications but also the strengthening of information centers for speedy sharing of information in and outside the region.

3.3 Resources

The challenge of financial realities is often one of the most serious of all. An accreditation system is a highly specialized, knowledge-intensive endeavor involving significant costs. Regional accreditation schemes need substantial financial and human resources that are sometimes beyond the capability of most member countries. It is extremely important to pool resources together and explore alternative sources of funds in order to implement activities in every step of the accreditation process.

3.4 Involvement and commitment

The design of the accreditation structure, setting of standards and development of procedures must be consultative hence it is essential that there is support and commitment from all stakeholders. Stakeholder groups from the education, industry, public sectors and all those to be involved in the process should be convinced on the advantages as well as the limitations of the process.

3.5 Diversity with a common framework

Accreditation and certification systems vary from one country to another. A regional approach should respect this political, cultural and methodological diversity. Currently there is no regional mechanism for competency and comparability of standards and other criteria for evaluation. These disparities constrain the full and effective utilization of existing institutions, limit access to good-quality education and training, and limit the mobility of both students and staff within the region.

3.6 System of Incentives and Awards

A sensible accreditation system should identify a package of monetary and non-monetary incentives to applicant institutions. If properly defined, this would inspire individual institutions to strive further for a higher level accreditation. Otherwise, their enthusiasm for accreditation would wane and later expire naturally.

4.1 Why should CPSC accredit TEVT Institutions?

First, the inter-governmental international organization, CPSC (Colombo Plan Staff College for technician Education), is the center of excellence in technical education and vocational training in the Asia Pacific region. From its inception to the present time, CPSC is the only institution that provides leadership and addresses TEVT-related issues and problems arising within the member countries. With more than 30 years history of training, research, publication, consultancy and information and communication technology, CPSC has to its record an ISO Certification (9001-2000).

Second, as inscribed in Goal 1, Strategy 1.2 of the Corporate Plan 2003-2008, CPSC aims “to assist and enhance TEVT systems of member countries by facilitating capacity building to develop an Accreditation and Certification System in TEVT for Asia and the Pacific”. True to this mandate, the College has been offering regional, in-country and customized programs as well as international conferences to develop advocacy for accreditation and certification. Since then, some member countries responded by crafting and implementing national accreditation and certification systems. But the forces of globalization, advanced technology and changing labor demand necessitates the urgency for regional accreditation, hence this proposal.

Third, CPSC with 19 member countries and a network of linkages is in the best position to act as a regional accrediting body for TEVT institutions in the Asia Pacific region. To be the glue that would bind the member countries even closer together, CPSC should develop a uniform protocol to evaluate TEVT systems not only for quality improvement but also increased opportunities for cooperation and collaboration.

4.2 Purposes of Regional Accreditation and Certification Body

A regional accreditation and certification body is fundamentally based on a demand-driven TEVT system which is flexible and responsive to the economic and social needs of the Asia-Pacific countries. Quality education and training in TEVT must be linked to identifiable job opportunities or to appropriate small-scale activities that have the prospect of generating sustainable income. Thus, its relevance is directly linked and should become more responsive to the needs of industry and socio-economic development in the region.

The regional accreditation and certification body can be centered on institutional accreditation upon the recommendation of national coordinators of accreditation from the country of the applicant institution. However, it is not constrained to undertake specialized accreditation especially in the case where national accreditation system is non-existent.

The two fundamental purposes of accreditation are institutional capacity and educational effectiveness. To fulfill these purposes, CPSC is committed to improve the institution's quality of education and training by ensuring that it follows regional standards prepared by regional accreditation and certification body of CPSC.

4.3 Functions of a Regional Accreditation and Certification Body

4.3.1 Evaluation of Institutional Capacity and Educational Effectiveness

To serve as a licenser by identifying and accrediting institutions which have attained institutional capacity and educational effectiveness;

	to develop self-study and formal evaluation instruments for accreditation of programs, institutions and accrediting bodies;
	to accredit institutions with programs accredited by national bodies of accreditation;
	to act as an interim accreditor of programs of TEVT institutions in countries where there is no accreditation system;
	to recognize national accrediting bodies and coordinate with them in the implementation of regional accreditation framework;

4.3.2 Supporting Workforce Mobilization

To mobilize faculty, students and educators across the national borders and transfer of credit; qualifications should be practically recognized according to job requirements. Quality improvement in support of workforce mobilization hinges on the social and economic merits of globalization, with which TEVT institutions can play its role. Either through recognized institutional capacity or efficient program, TEVT institutions are linked to social and economic progress in the trickled down concept of benefits.

Asia and the Pacific countries are not spared from potentials of the movement of workforce at the transnational level. Not only will they be able to mobilize physical manpower, knowledge transfer of knowledge and skills will also stream inward, laying an open field for practical learning to, from and across borders. Standard-driven TEVT institutions are but just breeding grounds for the skilled manpower of the 21st century.

4.3.3 Supporting Global Labor Market for Asia and the Pacific Countries

To develop a quality conscious system of TEVT where excellence, relevance to global market needs and participation by all stakeholders are prime major determinants; institutions must be able to recognize the support role it has in the increasing global economy.

Information and communication technology bridges the gap between labor market requirements and lapses, as well as limitations of skills. Where accreditation standards for TEVT systems set in, technology comes as a handy tool in elevating business processes and management in TVT systems. It carries with it the principles of voluntarily updating itself to be abreast, to be responsive, to be relevant and to be in accordance, with global standards. Part of this standard is preparing systematic mechanisms to tailor TEVT systems with the required jobs.

Bilateral and multilateral agreements are platforms for labor market activities and exchanges. In pursuit of agreements, labor trends are easily mapped out that a mass requirement for a specific skill in IT in one country could become basis for national educational policy and priority in another country. Accreditation standards will unify perception between what IT skills are required and the level of skill that shall be made available. Global market analysis is linked to educational pursuits.

To act as a clearinghouse, that is the establishment of an accessible information and cooperation agency targeted at meeting the needs and interests of the member institutions and promoting cooperation regarding quality assurance and accreditation. Activities related to this include:

	to develop a web-based e-teaching and learning systems on accreditation and certification training services for member countries;
	to analyze and evaluate standards, criteria and benchmarking procedures used in regional accreditation;
	to develop a computerized accreditation and certification systems;
	to undertake duties that will promote the sharing of information; and
	to establish an e-community for accreditation and certification through computer networks

5. CONCLUSION

A regional accreditation and certification body harmonizes technical education and vocational training systems and standardizes accreditation structures, procedures and processes thereby developing equivalences and facilitating the mobility of workforce across borders.

A number of regional organizations like the South Africa Development Community, European Union Accreditation System, Pacific islands Forum, CARICOM and many others have started to develop or have already developed their regional accreditation and certification systems and/or regional vocational qualifications frameworks.

Several challenges are identified when venturing into a regional accreditation process: human capacity building, institutional capacity building, resources, involvement and commitment, diversity with a common framework and a system of incentives and awards.

Acting to be the main voice for accreditation of TEVT institutions in the region, Colombo Plan Staff College is spearheading the creation of a regional accreditation and certification commission which would facilitate all standardization endeavors: harmonize guidelines, pioneer regional assessment and accreditation structures, systems and procedures and provide a clearing house for all information related to accreditation and certification of TEVT programs.

It is therefore important that member governments through their representatives should give their whole hearted commitment to this undertaking and install framework qualifications and skills standards collaboratively based upon the needs and requirements of the Asia Pacific region without prejudice to the individual nations.

REFERENCES