Technical and Vocational Education Training in Brunei Darussalam——Pathway to Higher Educations

In the 21stcentury educational landscape,higher educational institutions(HEI)play a crucial role in the shaping of social and economic strategies of a developing country.HEI’s main role is to develop and train the workforce for the middle to higher level employment.Technical and vocational education(TVE)on the other hand,plays the role in filling the major work force at the lower or blue collar level and at the same time,providing pathways and opportunities for them to pursue further educational needs.In Brunei Darussalam,HEI works closely with TVE to ensure there is a continuation pathway for TVE to HEI although there are fundamental differences in the philosophy,pedagogy and assessment measures.In Universiti Teknologi Brunei(UTB),the design of the curriculum has always been outcome based;heavily related to skills and practices of the job market,similar to TVE’s teaching and learning philosophy.In this study,we are looking at the brief development of TVE and HE across the world and Brunei,the qualification framework of Brunei and curriculum design of UTB.The study will highlight how UTB provides a smooth transition for TVE feeders to the university to support the value of practical learning in workplace settings,combined with conceptual learning in an academic setting.The primary role of UTB is to assist graduates in the transition to professional practice.