Labour minister Lyonpo Dorji Wangdi said the ministry would introduce competency based training (CBT) in all VTIs from August this year to produce high skilled workers imbibed with relevant skills required in the job market. “Institutes will be imparting practical skills based on the needs of country’s economy,” he said, adding that existing VTIs offered courses, which were traditional both in terms of module and equipment. “Graduates were taught more theory than practical lessons,” he said.

Moreover, the service centre was supposed to equip graduates with field experience in masonry, carpentry, plumbing, welding and electrical after spending two years in VTIs. Field experience was offered after recognising that VTIs lacked skills with regard to employability, said labour ministry officials.

“But we can’t have anyone saying that these institutes churned out half-baked graduates without field experience under the new curriculum,” the minister said. “There is no room for errors this time.” He stressed the futility of the centre with the new curriculum, therefore, his decision to close it down.

“The competency-based training curriculum is also about building a strong linkage between industry and the institutes through apprenticeship programmes for trainees to build field experience, which we don’t have at present,” he said.

Along with the service centre, Lyonpo Dorji Wangdi said the zorig chhusum internship service centre in Thimphu, which started a year ago, will also close down.

The construction service centre’s principal, Karma, said about 680 VTI gradates were trained in the centre, of which, only 60 percent were employed. Graduates in the service centre were receiving a monthly stipend of about Nu 3,000 apart from what they earned from departmental construction work. There were also more than 1,500 unemployed VTI graduates in the market as of 2008.

“After joining the service centre, some graduates failed to see the urgency for getting employed because a stipend along with free accommodation was provided for a group of them,” said a ministry official. “So far, the centre and the VTIs were feeding graduates fish instead of showing them how to fish. “ The service centre in Thimphu has been experiencing admission pressure every year, said labour officials.

With such a move, the other problem they foresee facing the ministry was the future of some 21 full time CSC staff and about another 65 VTI graduates. The labour minister has already received flak from some labour officials.

The service centre has until December 2010 to find placements for the present batch of 65 graduates with the centre on the verge of closing soon. “There have been disagreements but I had to make the decision,” the minister said.

Lyonpo Dorji Wangdi said about 15 employees were instructors, who were needed at the VTIs. “Other civil servants will remain in the ministry,” he said.

With a new VTI in Sarpang and a zorig chhusum institute in Tsirang, there will be a total of 10 VTIs in the country.

He also said the hydropower projects will generate huge employment opportunities, for which VTIs needed to equip graduates with the right skills through this transformation of curriculum.

“VTI trainings will be in accordance with the job market analysis intended to solve job and skills mismatch,” he said. “CBT will transform the human resource quality and the economy.”