The document summarizes the results of an experts meeting that discussed integrating transferable skills into education and training in Mongolia, including defining transferable skills, assessing their inclusion in curricula and teaching, and potential partnerships to further their promotion; working groups suggested strategies like developing a common definition, integrating skills into teacher training, and improving coordination between stakeholders. Next steps include disseminating results and exploring a working group on transferable skills in Mongolia's TVET sector.

1. Report of Experts Meeting on Inte-
grating Transferable/
Soft Skills in Education
and Training (Ulaanbaatar, 26
March 2014)
In cooperation with:

2. Content
1. Background
2. Meeting Summary
3. Working Group Results
4. Conclusion & Next Steps

3. Background
3
1
The experts meeting on “Integrating Transferable/Soft Skills in
Education and Training” was organized in Ulaanbaatar on
26 March 2014 as follow up to the
collaborative research work on “Transferable Skills in
Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET)”
that UNESCO Bangkok Asia Pacific Regional Bureau for Edu-
cation and the GIZ Regional Cooperation Platform for Voca-
tional Teacher Education in Asia (RCP) launched in 2013.
Mongolia was one of the thirteen countries that
conducted case studies on the topic with UNESCO Beijing
support.
In Mongolia, where the rapid economic transition has been
taking place, there is a growing concern about a mismatch
between what education and training systems offer and the
demands of the labor market; and acquisition of transferable/
soft skills is increasingly being recognized as an integral aspect.
Against this background, the objectives of the experts meeting
organized by Vocational Education Training Partnership (VETP)
together with UNESCO Beijing and GIZ project “Cooperative
Vocational Training in the Mineral Resource Sector” were as
follows:
1. Introducing the current global discussion on the concept of
transferable/soft skills and the role in TVET
2. Sharing findings from relevant studies and initiatives on
transferable/soft skills in Mongolia
3. Discussing possible strategies and partnerships to further
promote transferable/soft skills in education and training in
Mongolia.
Experts Meeting — Integrating Transferable/Soft Skills in Education and Training
Pathways to Skills — Foundation, Transferable/Soft
and Technical/Vocational Skills
Source: UNESCO (2012): EFA Global Monitoring Re-
port 2012. Youth and Skills. Putting Education to
©UNESCO

4. Meeting Summary
4
2
WELCOME REMARKS
Dr. Juergen Hartwig, Programme Director of the GIZ project “Cooperative
Vocational Training (CVT) in the Mineral Resources Sector”, gave some
greeting words to the audience and shared some background information
on the cooperation with UNESCO and VETP regarding the organization of
the workshop.
Mr. Begz (Sc. Dc.), Director of Institute of Educational
Research, wished all participants a productive and successful meeting.
The Institute of Educational Research took a major part in the study done
on transferable skills in Mongolia supported by UNESCO Beijing and coor-
dinated by Ms D. Bujinlkham, a TVET expert.
.
Ms. Tungalag Chimid, TVET Expert of VETP, concluded the welcome
remarks with the introduction of the agenda and participants.
Experts Meeting — Integrating Transferable/Soft Skills in Education and Training
CVT Project Webpage (VETP Website)

5. 5
UNDERSTANDING DIFFERENT SKILLS
Ms. Miki Nozawa, Education Program Specialist at UNESCO Office
Beijing, presented an abstract of the EFA (Education for All) Global
Monitoring Report (GMR) 2012 which focused on the topic ‘Youth and
Skills’.
The report was dedicated to EFA Goal 3:
Ensuring that all learning needs of all young people and adults are met
through equitable access to appropriate learning and life skills
programmes.
In the GMR 2012, skills are classified into the following three main types:
1. Foundation Skills — include literacy and numeracy skills necessary
for young people to stand a chance of getting jobs that pay decent
wages. They are a prerequisite for continuing in education and training,
and for acquiring other skills that enhance the prospect of getting good
jobs.
2. Transferable/Soft Skills — include the ability to solve problems, com-
municate ideas and information effectively, be creative, show leader-
ship, and demonstrate entrepreneurial capabilities. People need these
skills to be able to adapt to different work environments and so improve
their chances of staying in gainful employment.
3. Technical and Vocational Skills — many jobs require specific tech-
nical know-how, from growing vegetables to using a sewing machine,
using a computer, or serving as a nurse.
Experts Meeting — Integrating Transferable/Soft Skills in Education and Training
2
“Young people continuing in education at […]
need to learn transferable skills, such as the
ability to solve problems, take the initiative and
communicate with others. These skills will give
these young people the confidence to face the
world of work, and adapt their skills from one
workplace to another, keeping up with changing
technologies and different work environments.”
Miki Nozawa, UNESCO Office Beijing, Educa-
tion Program Specialist
Presentation ‘Understanding Different
Skills and Pathways’ (English)
EFA Global Monitoring Report 2012
(English)

6. 6
TRANSFERABLE SKILLS IN TVET:
A REGIONAL SYNTHESIS
Ms. Barbara Trzmiel, in charge of TVET at UNESCO Asia-Pacific Regional
Bureau for Education (Bangkok), provided a brief overview of the joint re-
search study conducted by UNESCO Bangkok and the GIZ Regional Co-
operation Platform (RCP). The objective of the study was to capture a re-
gional picture of transferable skills in TVET, based on findings from thir-
teen studies in Asian-Pacific countries (Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei,
Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Republic of Ko-
rea, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam) guided by a set of research ques-
tions. Special attention was given to policies and practices dealing with
vocational teacher education.
For transferable skills to be developed in TVET practice, the following key
issues need to be considered at policy level:
 Clear definition and guidance from the policy level
 Closing the gap between policy and practice (e.g. employer surveys
and further research)
 Transferable skills need to forma an integral part of national TVET
curricula
 TVET teacher capacities developed through pre– and in-service
training, as well as out-of-school training and retraining opportunities
 Context-related ways of measuring and assessing transferable skills
 Sharing and dissemination of good practices in teaching/learning
practice at international and regional levels
Experts Meeting — Integrating Transferable/Soft Skills in Education and Training
2
"There are different understandings and conceptuali-
zations of transferable skills across countries but in
general, transferable skills refer to a number of im-
portant competencies that can be learned and that
everyone requires to successfully adapt to changes
and to lead productive lives. Discussions are ongoing
with regard to competencies that fall under the um-
brella of transferable skills and terminology used to
refer to them.”
Barbara Trzmiel, UNESCO Bangkok
Presentation ‘Transferable Skills in
TVET’ (English)
In many countries of the region, tradition, beliefs and
values play a key role and are often considered as
part of transferable skills.:
Soft Skills Life Skills
Key Skills Cross-cutting Skills
Employability Skills 21st Century Skills
Generic Skills
Core competencies Globalization Skills
Non-cognitive Skills
Cross-curricula competencies
Transversal Skills

7. 8
TRANSFERABLE SKILLS IN
MONGOLIAN TVET SECTOR
As part of the UNESCO-RCP joint regional research, Ms D. Bujinkham, a
TVET expert, and a group of researchers at the Institute of Education
Research under the leadership of Dr D. Benz, conducted a study on
transferable skills in TVET in Mongolia. Mr. Luvsanvandan, Researcher on
Higher and Vocational Education at the Institute of Educational Research,
presented main findings of the study.
The purpose of the study was to analyze the current understanding of
transferable skills in TVET schools in Mongolia and to analyze implications
for future training of TVET teachers.
The study comprised the following two components:
1. Analysis of Mongolian TVET legal and policy documents with regard to
transferable skills
2. Survey among Mongolian TVET teachers on the knowledge and
perception of transferable skills
The review of TVET related documents showed that the reforms of the
Mongolian TVET sector since 1990 have been focusing on structural
optimization, improvement of intersectoral coordination led by
competency based demands and the preparation of workers to meet the
requirements of the labor market. This said, the development and
application of transferable skills so far has not been clearly reflected in
key TVET policy documents and current training content.
Experts Meeting — Integrating Transferable/Soft Skills in Education and Training
2
“The majority ( 54%) of the teachers involved in
the survey became a teacher after graduation
from higher education institutes, 20% of the
teachers having work experience in enterprises,
and 17.83% graduated from vocational educa-
tion schools”
Luvsanvandan, Researcher on Higher and
Vocational Education Institute of Educational
Research

8. 9
The TVET teachers who participated in the survey responded that the key
difficulties and challenges to teach transferable skills are as follows:
 No common understanding of transferable skills
 No reflection of transferable skills in curricula
 Absence of methodology to assess transferable skills
 Insufficient textbooks and training material in Mongolian language
Experts Meeting — Integrating Transferable/Soft Skills in Education and Training
2
Presentation ‘Transferable Skills in Mongolian
TVET Sector’ (English)
Presentation ‘Transferable Skills in Mongolian
TVET Sector’ (Mongolian)

9. 7
TRANSFERABLE SKILLS IN
MONGOLIAN SECONDARY & HIGHER
EDUCATION
Ms. Bayartsetseg (PhD), Head of Higher and Vocational Education
Research Sector at the Institute of Educational Research, outlined briefly
policy developments related to transferable skills in Mongolia, mainly fo-
cusing on general secondary and higher education.
The key facts are summarized below:
 In policy papers of the Mongolian laws on higher as well as primary
and secondary education, work competencies needed for entering the
labor market and making a living are stated.
 The term ‘transferable skills’ was firstly introduced into Mongolian
education studies in 2002; based on the European understanding of
the concept of transferable skills.
 The curricula of some accredited Mongolian universities and
secondary schools don’t contain the concept of transferable skills at all.
 In contrast, some foreign universities such as the Cambridge University
have defined and covered transferable skills as a special and separate
topic in their curricula.
 According to a study of job announcements of big Mongolian
organizations and companies, the following requirements which refer to
transferable skills are commonly mentioned:
- Ability to use computer programmes
- Ability to speak and write in English
- Ability to communicate in proper manner
- Ability to work in groups
Experts Meeting — Integrating Transferable/Soft Skills in Education and Training
2
“A definition of ‘transferable skills’ needs to be
integrated in the Mongolian Education Law and
has to be covered separately in education policy
papers as well as school documents.”
Bayartsetseg, Institute of Educational Re-
search, Head of Higher and
Vocational Education Research Sector
Presentation ‘Transferable Skills in Mongolian
Secondary and Higher Education’ (Mongolian)

10. 10
EMERGING SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
NEEDS IN THE MONGOLIAN CONTEXT
Mr. Ellinger, Consultant to the GIZ Project “Cooperative Vocational
Training (CVT) in the Mineral Resources Sector”, presented the results of
a baseline survey undertaken by the CVT project to assess the quality of
TVET in the partner TVET Schools.
In total, 39 companies of the advisory boards of 5 TVET institutions were
among others asked to share their satisfaction with the quality of
graduates and trainees of long-term technician education as well as short-
term skills trainings (STST).
Major weaknesses of trainees and graduates of long-term education
according to quantitative data are as follows:
 Reading drawings
 Managing tools and machinery
 Controlling work results
 Planning independently
 Reliability/Responsibility
 Leadership
Qualitative information collected in the frame of the survey further revealed
the following weaknesses:
 Working attitude/ethics (“thinking while working”)
 Communication
 Motivation (“lazy”, “lack of interest in work’”)
 Language skills (English)
 Application of learnt contents
Presentation ‘Assessment of the Quality of TVET in the
partner TVET Schools of the CVT Project’ (English)
Experts Meeting — Integrating Transferable/Soft Skills in Education and Training
2
“There is a high demand for graduates/trainees
who can train themselves”
Monika Ellinger, GIZ/CVT Project,
Consulatant

11. Working Group Results
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3
OBJECTIVE
The working group session served the following two purposes:
1. Enabling the reflection and discussion of the inputs provided
2. Brainstorming of potential strategies and partnerships to promote the
integration of transferable skills in the Mongolian education and training
sector
MAIN RESULTS
The following strategies were suggested by the participants to overcome
the challenges regarding the development of transferable skills of TVET
students:
 Development of a common understanding and definition of what is
implied in the term ‘transferable skills’
 Introduce transferable skills as a separate topic in legal and policy
documents (General Education and TVET)
 Integrate transferable skills in the education of as well as pre– and in-
service trainings for TVET teachers
 Revision of the curricula, textbooks and training material used for the
teaching of TVET teachers
 Development of methodology to assess transferable skills (incl.
certification, individual assessments, company surveys and tracer
studies of graduates)
 Improvement of communication between Ministry of Education and
Ministry of Labor
 Improvement of coordination through setting up of working groups to
encompass policy makers, employers, research institutions, TVET
schools, professional associations, graduates from TVET schools and
relevant NGOs
Experts Meeting — Integrating Transferable/Soft Skills in Education and Training

12. Conclusion & Next Steps
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4
CONCLUSION
The inputs and ideas shared in the experts meeting proved that a range
of measures are already being implemented to promote the concept of
‘transferable skills’ and to adapt it to the Mongolian context.
However, to leverage the efforts taken and to achieve a better impact,
more cooperation and continuous communication between the relevant
stakeholders is needed.
In this regard, the experts meeting hosted by VETP together with
UNESCO and GIZ/CVT project made a first attempt to facilitate the
information sharing on transferable skills.
NEXT STEPS
Below are outlined activities which will be taken by UNESCO,
GIZ/CVT project and VETP as follow-up to the experts meeting:
 UNESCO and VETP to collaborate on disseminating UNESCO's forth-
coming regional synthesis on Transferable Skills in TVET among part-
ners in the education and TVET sectors in Mongolia through the
VETP homepage with its Mongolian abstract to be prepared by VETP.
 GIZ/CVT project will extend its cooperation with UNESCO, especially
with focus on the implementation (teaching, assessment, etc.) of trans-
ferable skills
 VETP will check the feasibility of setting up a working group on
‘Transferable Skills in Mongolian TVET’
Experts Meeting — Integrating Transferable/Soft Skills in Education and Training

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Telephone: +976 70001531
E-mail: info@vetc.mn
Website: www.vetp.mn