1. Addressing the Challenges for Skills Development Through International Partnerships Dudley College, UK and Technical Industrial Institute, Yemen Sanjeev Ohri, Director of Worldwide Operations

2. Overview Project started September 2010 Covers Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Thematic areas include quality assurance and employer engagement Partnership intends to introduce a quality assurance unit at the Technical Industrial Institute, Yemen

3. Case Study Aim of the project was to establish a quality assurance unit at the Technical Industrial Institute (TII), Yemen Visit to Egypt – Both organisations met in Egypt to prepare project plan To achieve this, delegates from TII visited the UK, where Dudley College shared good practice relating to quality assurance, employer engagement and curriculum development Delegates then returned to Yemen to implement the lessons learned Alongside this, Dudley College trained Yemeni college inspectors in Quality Assurance

4. Lessons Learnt Be flexible – be prepared to alter plans in response to unexpected circumstances Be committed – the project is part of a long term strategy for Yemen and the Middle East – Dudley College is in this for the long haul Be adventurous – Dudley College wanted to work in Yemen because it could see the opportunities beyond the challenges Be responsive – the project lead to spin-off work, particularly with regard to training Yemeni college inspectors Two way learning process Do not make assumptions Continual communication Expectations Support mechanisms – BC

5. Future Plans Next stage of the project will be for Dudley College to visit TII and carry out a mock inspection based around OFSTEDs Common Inspection Framework We are also producing a guide to employer engagement to share lessons learned over a decade of change in the UKs vocational education system and a shift towards working more closely with employers The partnership has also lead to Dudley College training college inspectors from across Yemen, a programme that has been highly successful. We will continue to support this.

6. Sanjeev.ohri@dudleycol.ac.uk