ASIA-PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION


2nd Meeting of APEC Human Resource Development Ministers


(Seoul, 26 September 1997)

Joint Ministerial Statement



We, the Ministers responsible for human resources development from Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Chile; the People's Republic of China; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Japan; the Republic of Korea; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; the Republic of the Philippines; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; Thailand; and the United States of America, met in Seoul on 25-26 September 1997 for the 2nd APEC Ministerial Meeting on Human Resources Development (HRD). The APEC Secretariat was also present.

Our meeting, the second among human resources development Ministers, was convened in response to an invitation made by the Labour Minister of the Republic of Korea during the 1st Ministerial Meeting on HRD in Manila on 10-11 January 1996. This builds on the Jakarta Framework for human resources development, the Bogor Declaration, the Osaka Action Agenda and the Leaders' Meeting in Subic. The meeting was convened with the goal of reviewing current activities and setting the future direction and strategies for human resources development in the Asia Pacific Region.

We are honored that His Excellency, President Kim Young Sam of the Republic of Korea opened the conference and extended the warmest welcome to all the participating delegates. We support his view that exchanges and cooperation among the APEC member economies in the area of human resources development are becoming a vital force for expanding the growth potential of our economies and improving the quality of life of our citizens. We are reminded of his proposal to launch an APEC Industrial and Technical Training Program for human resources development. We note his call to study the establishment of an APEC HRD university from a long-term point of view. We welcome the President's proposal to inaugurate the APEC Youth Skills Camp in view of our interest in youth education and training.

We commend the members of the HRD Working Group for their progress in the five areas highlighted for accelerated action at the first HRD Ministerial Meeting, and for their achievements in joint activities under the eight medium term priorities overall. We also welcome the efforts of the HRD Working Group to focus and strengthen management capacity for their activities.

We note the report of the representative of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) outlining its concerns and perspectives on human resources development activities. We acknowledge the ABAC's recommendation that greater private sector participation is needed in designing human resources development programs, to raise efficiency as well as to foster the linkages between learning and work.

 We commend the Youth delegates for their success in creating the electronic sourcebook on work, study, and exchange opportunities in the APEC region. We note that this product has attracted the interest of other APEC Ministers and working groups, and we encourage the members of the HRD Working Group to consider maintaining it as a useful approach for fostering cooperation in the APEC region.

We discussed a broad range of issues relating to human resources development under the main theme, "The Strategy for Developing Human Resources under a New Environment and Challenges", and three sub-themes.

FOSTERING THE LINKAGES BETWEEN LEARNING AND WORK

We agree that lifelong learning and school-to-work transition are essential to creating an adaptable workforce as well as providing individuals with relevant skills. These strategies can enable all the member economies to improve the quality of life for individuals, enhance continuing employability, improve economic growth and development, improve labor market efficiency and build a quality workforce for the 21st century.

We acknowledge the importance of ensuring a positive initial experience within an educational environment. A solid academic foundation, incorporating high levels of literacy, numeracy, other basic skills and proper values and attitudes towards life and work, is the basis of all future learning.

We agree that the HRD Working Group should, through its networks, strengthen its efforts to:

- Improve access to quality education and training opportunities, including through the use of new technologies;

- Ensure access to labor market information to help people make informed choices about careers, employment, and education and training;

- Ensure that the collaboration of all relevant parties, such as students, employers, workers, teachers, parents/guardians and all levels of government, should be an underlying principle of these strategies. The cooperation of stakeholders allows for agreement on the skills and competencies to be acquired whether in school or the workplace, and what each partner is responsible for providing;

- Make effective connections between learning, training, and work experience to ensure the quality and relevance of the skills and knowledge acquired. A well integrated approach to learning, training and work experience will enhance labor market efficiency by providing a pool of qualified workers with strong basic skills; and

- Explore a variety of pathways to acquiring skills and knowledge, such as youth internships and mentoring, in the transition from school to work and lifelong learning.

 We direct the HRD Working Group to conduct best practice workshops for the purpose of examining these issues.

IMPROVING SKILLS DEVELOPMENT THROUGH COOPERATION AND PARTICIPATION

We recognize that skills development is one of the most important instruments for adjusting to the changes in the labor market and economic environment. Additionally, skills development could contribute significantly to overall economic well-being and human welfare through its impact on economic growth and development.

In response to the Leaders' Meeting in Subic, we agree on the need for skills development for youth in the Asia Pacific region. We realize that a better educated and trained workforce is vital to improving productivity and rapidly adapting to a changing economic environment. We note that many member economies are reassessing their training systems as they prepare for the 21st Century. In this light, we note the proposal for the establishment of education hubs.

We encourage the HRD Working Group to:

- Find effective training methods for new workforce entrants and improve the skills of those already in work;

- Collect and share information and experiences in skills development;

- Continue to enhance the participation of the private sector in skills development;

- Develop methods to retrain instructors, teachers, and administrators; and

- Develop effective means of catering to the skills development needs of people with disabilities.

More specifically, we direct the human resources development WG to:

- Enhance the curriculum development capabilities of member economies; and

- Undertake collaborative research on lifelong learning systems.

 In addition, we urge member economies to place a strong emphasis on vocational education and training and to accelerate joint efforts. We welcome and support the creation of closer links between skills development institutions within APEC economies. This should take into account the related work of other international organizations.

ENHANCING LABOR AND MANAGEMENT PARTICIPATION
IN HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT

We share the view that the roles and contributions of labor and management in attaining APEC's objectives of promoting sustainable economic growth and the overall well-being of the people in the Asia-Pacific region are important.

We recognize that human resources development should be a concern not only for governments, but will be most effectively achieved when labor and management participate in this process, and when all sectors of society work together.

We direct the HRD Working Group, under the existing networks, to develop a project in which representatives of labor, management, and government from member economies can exchange views on best practices on training, skills development, the use of technology, and other human resources development related issues in the workplace, avoiding duplication of work undertaken in other forums.

The HRD Working Group, in undertaking this task, should acknowledge and respect the diversity of economic situations, practices and arrangements in individual member economies.

PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN AND YOUTH

As Ministers responsible for human resources development, we are mindful of the Leaders' call for an emphasis on participation of women and youth.

Given the importance of issues relating to women's participation raised in discussions of this meeting, we call on the HRD Working Group to cooperate to the extent possible with the organizers of the proposed APEC Ministerial Meeting on Women's Concerns to be held in Manila in 1998.

Bearing in mind that "today's youth are APEC's future," we commend the human resources development Working Group for facilitating the involvement of youth. We encourage the continued involvement of youth in human resources development activities.

CLOSING

We welcome the generous offer of the United States to host the 3rd APEC HRD Ministerial Meeting by the year 2000.

We express our thanks to His Excellency, the President and the people of the Republic of Korea for hosting this meeting and providing a valued opportunity for us to come together to discuss the important issues on human resources development in the 21st Century.