International seminar on competency standards for national qualification systems « Government of Timor-Leste

On July 11-12, 2024, the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Culture (MESCC), through the General Directorate of Higher Education and Science and in partnership with the University and Institute Coordination Committee (CUIS), organized an international seminar on the National Qualification System of Timor-Leste (SNQ-TL), at the Novo Turismo Hotel in Dili.

The event, themed “Development and Validation of SNQ-TL Competency Standards”, brought together national and international experts in the field of human resource training and integrated system development to meet the needs of the job market.

The workshop aims to discuss, develop and validate the competency standards of the Timor-Leste National Qualification System determined by the Review Committee in previous stages. The working committee responsible for this review covers two departments, the academic department and the technical and vocational department, focusing on analyzing the qualification levels and learning areas, and finally decided to reduce the qualification level from 10 to 8 levels and simplify the learning areas into three: knowledge, ability, autonomy and responsibility.

The opening ceremony was delivered by Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao, who stressed the importance of “training and training human resources and developing skills for the political and economic success of the country”. The Head of Government stressed that the mission of universities is to train future generations of leaders who will govern the country and encouraged educational institutions to continuously improve interventions so that the education system, from basic to higher education, can play this role, as education is not just a service, but a profession and/or mission of service and care.

On the second day of the workshop, participants participated in a discussion and validation session on the competency descriptors defined for SNQ-TL Level 8, divided into two groups: higher education and technical and vocational education and training (TVET).

The event was attended by the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Culture, José Honório, directors and technical staff of MESCC, as well as representatives from various institutions such as INDMO, ANAAA, SEFOPE, CCI-TL, and deans/rectors of educational institutions of higher.