Members of the UNEVOC Network, called UNEVOC Centres, all have a position within their country that allows them to cooperate with other TVET stakeholders, both nationally and internationally. Currently, the UNEVOC Network consists of 290 UNEVOC Centres, based in 167 UNESCO Member States.

To ensure the good quality of interaction, the Network is made up of:

UNEVOC Centres: active members that have, in their constituencies, access to expertise and experience, and that are able and willing to share it with others. The Centres  fall into four categories:

• Centres located at the national Ministry – of Education, Training, Youth and Skills Development, primarily responsible for national policies (design and formulation);
• National bodies dedicated to TVET development – such as National TVET authorities, National TVET Commissions, and National TVET Boards, working with governments for national policy dialogue;
• Universities, research or teacher training institutes which promote research within their institution along with training opportunities for students and teachers at a tertiary level;
• TVET teaching and training institutions at the secondary or post-secondary school level, whose main purpose is to provide TVET teaching and training.

UNEVOC Centres are actively engaged in sharing knowledge with the Network.

TVET institutions that become members of the UNEVOC Network (UNEVOC Centre) are admitted to an international knowledge network of TVET institutions, acquiring

• access to international expertise and mutual assistance for institutional capacity development,
• benefit from mutual learning through the various forms of cooperation, institutional mechanisms and platforms afforded by UNESCO-UNEVOC to its members, and
• competence to benchmark their own practices.

This also implies that the TVET member institutions have a strong motivation to share and contribute their own expertise, and to learn from colleagues and partners in other countries and regions.

The overall mission of a UNEVOC Centre is to contribute to the improvement in the standards and quality of TVET in the country. In close cooperation with their national TVET institutions, and with support from the UNEVOC Network, a UNEVOC Centre provides an environment for exchange and mutual assistance among TVET officials and policy-makers, academics, teachers and practitioners, TVET experts and stakeholders in the country. It contributes to the national agenda on TVET, and to the formulation of national policies in TVET and alignment of other national strategies and education-sector-strategic plans and international goals. It facilitates the information flow and disseminates the work of UNESCO in TVET in the country. It also contributes to the regional and international debate on TVET.

The Coordinator of the UNEVOC Centre is the primary point of contact for UNESCO-UNEVOC, and also for other UNEVOC Centres. The Coordinator of the UNEVOC Centre ensures their institution’s interaction within the UNEVOC Network by disseminating TVET information and documentation and by contributing to the online services of UNESCO-UNEVOC as appropriate. The Coordinator of the UNEVOC Centre is also responsible for reporting to their institution about their engagement in the Network’s activities.

The success of a UNEVOC Centre’s cooperation within the Network will largely depend on the dynamic leadership role of its Coordinator. Among the essential attributes of the Coordinator of the UNEVOC Centre are a thorough understanding of the national TVET system and policy framework, an awareness of international developments and goals in TVET, the ability to spot opportunities to benefit from the UNEVOC Network, and the ability and skills to mobilize resources from the government, private sector, bilateral donors and UNESCO. In addition to the international dimension, the Coordinator of the UNEVOC Centre should not only be knowledgeable about TVET, but also have easy access to main stakeholders of TVET at the national level, including policy-makers, social partners and industries.

Joining the UNEVOC Network provides a number of privileges and benefits.

The UNEVOC Network provides a platform and gives assistance to members to:

• participate in the various services and activities of UNESCO-UNEVOC to strengthen policy development and institutional capacities,
• contribute to the global debate on TVET,
• have access to worldwide TVET information and know-how,
• improve the information and knowledge base for decision-makers,
• learn from each other’s experiences and sharing promising practices,
• better understand needs and priorities,pool resources and develop synergies,
• expand institutional and professional networks,
• facilitate regional and international partnerships in TVET.

UNESCO-UNEVOC: an international hub of the network that manages, coordinates, and provides tools and instruments to facilitate knowledge-sharing across the network. It is located in Bonn, Mr Shyamal Majumdar being its Head.

Cluster Coordinating Centres (CCCs): regional and subregional hubs that stimulate networking and improve the mutual flow of information between UNEVOC Centres in the region or the cluster and UNESCO-UNEVOC.

UNESCO groups its Member States into five regions: Africa, Arab States, Asia and Pacific, Europe and North America, and Latin America and the Caribbean. In these regions, the UNEVOC Network is grouped in clusters to facilitate its coordination. The UNEVOC Network, therefore, is coordinated by UNESCO-UNEVOC with the support of a number of UNEVOC Centres that are designated as Cluster Coordinating Centres (CCCs). Such a structure is suitable for eliminating the disadvantages of being either overly centralized or overly decentralized.

Source: www.unevoc.unesco.org