The Lao People's Democratic Republic continues to strengthen its capacity to develop and enhance its National Competency Standards, helping facilitate migrant workers' mobility in the region.
A second "Mutual Recognition of Skills Capacity Building Workshop for Bricklaying and Plastering for Lao PDR", held in Vientiane on 26-27 July 2024, reviewed the assessment procedures for bricklaying and plastering in Lao People's Democratic Republic.
Organized by the ILO's Improved Mechanisms for Skills Recognition and TVET Digitisation in ASEAN project, the workshop provided capacity-building support to Lao People's Democratic Republic on aligning the assessment procedures to international standards through a gap analysis exercise.
Once all the gaps have been addressed, the Lao People's Democratic Republic will be able to implement the MRS process with Thailand, focusing on bricklaying and plastering. The MRS initiative, supported by the Government of the Republic of Korea through the ILO/Korea Partnership Programme, aims for a freer flow of skilled migrant workers within ASEAN enabling better access to decent work and equal opportunities.
Taking part were technical experts from the Skills Development Institute (SDI) under the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare (MOLSW) in Lao People's Democratic Republic and the Department of Skill Development (DSD) under Thailand's Ministry of Labour (MOL). Together with ILO experts, the experts from Thailand provided observations and recommendations for improvement upon witnessing the theoretical and practical skills testing demonstration, including preparation of testing venue, principles of marking and assessment criteria.
"During this second capacity building workshop, we witnessed the dedication of the experts from both the Skills Development Institute and the Department of Skill Development as we increase the readiness of Lao People's Democratic Republic to carry out the MRS process. These efforts take on added importance as we move closer to the adoption of the ASEAN Declaration for Skills Mobility, Recognition and Development for Migrant Workers at the 44th ASEAN Summit in October," said Akiko Sakamoto, Senior Specialist in Skills and Employability at the ILO.
© Skills Development Institute, MOLSW 
