The Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC) is the government agency concerned with technical and vocational training in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia since 1400 AH / 1980 AD. TVTC specializes in the development of national human resources through training, which contributes to filling the labor market's needs of manpower since the issuance of the Council of Ministers' resolution approving the organization of the Corporation by Resolution No. M/30 dated 10 Shaaban 1400 AH. The Council of Ministers Resolution No. (268) dated Shaban 14, 1428 AH was issued to reorganize it and define its tasks and objectives.
TVTC provides technical and vocational training programs for males and females according to the quantitative and qualitative demand of the labor market. It offers many training programs in its training facilities, including technical colleges and institutes, as well as in strategic partnerships institutes and international technical colleges. In addition, it offers training programs in private training facilities, and flexible community support programs. The total number of TVTC facilities reaches 283, covering all parts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
According to the results of the Global Knowledge Index issued by the United Nations Development Program and the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation, the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation ranks 9th globally for the year 2021, after it was ranked 12th in 2020, 86th in 2019 and 117th in the year 2018. The Global Knowledge Index seeks to provide an approach for countries to advance forward-thinking strategies in promoting strong knowledge economies, as it measures knowledge at the global level, as a comprehensive concept that is closely related to sustainable development and various dimensions of contemporary human life.
Majors and training programs
TVTC offers more than (250) majors and training programs, including:
1. Training programs in the TVTC’s units such as colleges and institutes, institutes of strategic partnerships and the international technical colleges.
2. Training programs in private training facilities.
3. Flexible supportive social programs.
TVTC is continuously expanding training programs to meet the needs of the labor market, based on the Kingdom vision 2030.
Beginnings
Some researchers believe that the beginning of technical and vocational education was in the Hijaz, where multiple factors influenced the course of the educational movement in general, and technical and vocational education in particular. In 1328 AH / 1908 AD, an industrial school was opened in Makkah Al-Mukarramah, to which teachers were sent from Istanbul. One of the most important government schools that combined public education and technical education during the unification period of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was the Rasheediyya School, which was established between 1301-1303 AH / 1881-1883AD. It used to teach the subjects of measurements, compound numbers, fractions, calligraphy, drawing, bookkeeping principles, arithmetic, flat and stereoscopic geometry, trigonometry, Islamic sciences, Arabic language, sociology, carpentry, blacksmithing, and Shoe manufacturing. Technical and vocational education was also started by establishing an Industrial school in Jeddah during the reign of King Abdulaziz in 1369 AH. The period of study there was three years after the primary school, then the study was altered to a five-year system after the primary stage, and it was called industrial secondary school. Then it was followed by the four-year system after primary school, and it was called the industrial intermediate school. The first industrial secondary school in the Kingdom was opened in 1380 AH / 1381 AH, and it was called the College of Industries.
TVTC establishment and development
The beginnings of technical and vocational training in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia go back to an early stage, as it was divided between three government agencies at that time:
• Secondary technical education (industrial, agricultural, and commercial) was correlated with the Ministry of Education.
• Vocational training (vocational training centers) was related to the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.
• The Institutes of Technical Assistants were linked to the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs.
Due to the government's interest in preparing the workforce in technical and vocational fields and the increasing need to qualify Saudi youth in technical and vocational fields, it has been decided that all areas of technical and vocational training will be under one organization. Therefore, Royal Decree No. (30 / M) dated 8/10/1400 AH was issued to establish the General Organization for Technical Education and Vocational Training, which includes technical institutes and vocational training centers under its umbrella.
Accordingly, the organization began to carry out its tasks by developing programs and human resources in line with the country’s responsibility to meet the needs of the business sector. As a result, the urgent need to create highly qualified national cadres capable of advancing the requirements of the ambitious development plans of the Kingdom was apparent. This need has been culminated in the issuance of High the Royal Order No. (7 / H / 5267) dated 7 / 3 / 1403H, which supports the decision of the Supreme Committee for Education Policy No. (209) dated 10/29/1402 AH, which included the need to support technical education at the level of technical colleges to open other disciplines for higher education in a field where the country's needs have grown and become urgent. The Royal Order confirmed that the responsibility for expanding this pattern lay on TVTC, which achieved several positive aspects, including:
1. The academic curriculum should not be dominant, and thus technical colleges maintain their special mission of preparing cadres for the labor market and its requirements.
2. The implementation of training programs in TVTC is to be in three vocational levels: vocational and industrial training (second and third levels) and technical training (fourth level). These levels reflect the TVTC's output of various qualifications. Besides, the majors - at these levels – are integrated, which helps a lot to take advantage of the widely available capabilities.
3. The relationship between technical colleges and the labor market should not recede, and the gap between training programs and the nature of the need in the work sector should be bridged and reduced.
4. TVTC should unify the curriculum, the qualification level, and the requirements of the training programs, and rely on unified bases and coordination based on vocational standards prepared by specialists in the labor market.
The royal endorsement for the bachelor’s program No. (1194) / dated 06/10/1409 AH stipulated that “TVTC shall develop the Technical College in Riyadh and extend the study period to four years in order to grant a bachelor’s degree in technical engineering.” TVTC expanded its applied technical bachelor's program in training plans due to the need of the business sector for high rehabilitation to build leadership potentialities in technical and vocational fields.
In the year 1418/1419 AH, TVTC established a Center for Community Service and Continuous Training. Its mission stems from the desire to harness the financial and human capabilities of the Corporation to serve the needs of the various work sectors, as this achieves a better investment for technical and human resources and linking educational and training units to those sectors. Also, the Technical Trainers and Multimedia Center Institute was established in Riyadh, and it was one of the most important training and development facilities in the field of preparing technical trainers to meet the needs of vocational training units in all disciplines. It provides two types of programs: preparatory programs and developmental programs.
By establishing technical colleges, TVTC developed technical and vocational training tracks in a progressive system to technically prepare the qualified workforce with different levels to meet the local market's need for skillful technical and vocational working hands with varying skill levels. According to the idea of joining technical and vocational training fields under one umbrella, the Council of Ministers Resolution No. (3108), dated 4/3/1426 AH, was issued to affix the vocational training sector for girls to the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation and establish technical colleges for girls, focusing on vocational training programs for women and enabling them to get a suitable job after graduation.
In 1428 AH, the Royal Order No. (268) was issued on 8/14/1428 AH to restructure TVTC according to the orientations of the Kingdom. TVTC continued in developing training programs to focus on skills and operating efficiency. It attracted the best international expertise in technical training to operate international colleges and strategic partnerships institutes, help existing colleges to improve the quality of training, and make optimal use of the available human and financial resources to contribute to providing distinguished quality training. And due to the importance of integration between education in its various levels and technical training, the Council of Ministers issued a resolution (469), dated 7/20/1438 AH, that The Minister of Education chairs TVTC's Board of Directors.