Key words: Industrial Revolution 4.0; training cadres.

1. Issues raised to the cadre training system in the FIR

The FIR is a smart production revolution based on new technological breakthroughs in such areas as artificial intelligence, robotics, Internet of Things (IoT), 3-D printing, nanotechnology, biotechnology, materials science, energy storage and quantum computing, etc. on the basis of digital revolution. It will affect strongly and comprehensively all areas of social life, including the training and education system. The educational philosophies of nations will have many changes. School administration, models of class organization, the roles of teachers and students will change because of the appearance of many new concepts such as virtual classrooms, virtual teachers and virtual devices. That context requires the training and fostering work in the country to have strategic vision to prepare for major changes, meeting the demand of the new situation. At the 8th Plenum of the Party Central Committee (11th tenure), the Party promulgated Resolution No. 29-NQ/TW on “fundamental and comprehensive renovation of education and training, meeting the requirement of industrialization and modernization in a socialist-oriented market economy and international integration”. This creates the foundation for the national education and training system in general and the work of training and fostering cadres in particular to undertake comprehensive and thorough reform.

The FIR will have impacts on the cadre training in such aspects as the training goals; methods of institutional administration; models of teaching-learning organization; roles and teaching methods of teachers, and curriculum contents. The details are as follows:

First, the goal of training cadres, especially the contingent of leaders, managers at all levels is to train competent cadres who are able to work in the creative and competitive environment. Any changes of the institutions must equip cadres and learners with new capacity and skills such as the ability of practical summarization, task organization, analytical and synthetic thinking; multi-dimensional information processing, etc.

Second, the FIR requires changes in training methods, especially which strong application of information technology. However, conditions for these changes in training institutions have currently been limited, the renovation of teaching-learning method has been slow; infrastructure of information technology has been outdated. At present, the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics has issued and implemented the Regulation on the construction of standard political institutions, creating the basis for political institutions to receive more attention and investment in infrastructure to comform to the FIR.

Third, it requires changes in institution administration. In the near future, the promotion of IT application, virtual reality (VR) technology in training cadres will be a prominent trend. For example, teachers can instruct students to wear VR glasses to experience a simulated battle in a history lesson. In addition, they can input management data under their responsibility in the computer system of institutions to analyze information and recommend solutions, etc. This impact requires the changes of institution administration method, leading to direct influence on the management officers, staffs and teachers. This contingent needs to be professional, highly creative, having modern training methods with strong IT application. In institutions, there will be changes in scale and structure of teachers (both in qualification and skills); the amount of time for academic and theoretical subjects will be increasingly reduced; instead, subjects on developing capacity and skills of organizing the implementation of political tasks will be developed.

Fourth, the FIR requires improvement of the quality of the teaching staff. No matter how modern science and technology develops, the role of a teacher cannot completely be replaced. In recent years, the teaching staffs in institutions for training cadres has been standardized in qualification with the majority having master and doctoral degrees. However, practical knowledge and capacity of scientific research of a part of them remain limited. Under the current technological development conditions, students themselves can search for knowledge and skills on the Internet. Therefore, if lecturers do not regularly practice and improve their knowledge, their key role will gradually be lost, which becomes a big pressure on the teaching staffs.

2. Some solutions for improving the quality of cadre training in the condition of the FIR

In order to improve the quality of cadre training, meeting the demand of industrialization and modernization in a socialist-oriented market economy and the FIR, it is necessary to implement the following solutions:

First, mechanisms and polices on education and training should be renovated and perfected strongly

It is necessary to continue perfecting mechanisms and policies in conformity with the reality of teaching staffs, learners and the reality of institutions for training cadres. In which, regarding teaching staffs, it is imperative to build standards of professionalism, teaching skills, skills of IT application in designing lectures and moral, political standards. We should strongly renovate the work of recruitment, use and training of teaching staffs. Salary policies for teachers should be renovated to attract highly-qualified persons with pedagogical skills and methodologies to work in the system of cadre training.

Mechanisms and policies for training and fostering institutions in general and political schools in provinces and centrally-governed cities in particular should be renewed; political schools entitled to similar policies as those of local Party Committees.

Second, it is necessary to renew the institution management and promote the IT application in management

It is required to perfect the mechanisms and management apparatus in institutions for cadre training towards clarifying the functions, tasks, powers attached to responsibilities; reducing the intervention of governing bodies in the institution administration; standardizing and professionalizing the contingent of managers.

The IT application in management, construction of a modern, unified IT infrastructure within the whole system of cadre training from the central to local levels should be promoted. Data integration centres and centres for management and operation of cadre training should be established step by step.

Electronic libraries, multimedia classrooms, etc. need to be built; creating a friendly, disciplined and political-oriented training environment in political schools.

Third, training activities should be renewed

To meet the increasing demands of learners (cadres), agencies and organizations using cadres (Party, State and mass organizations) and working environment (Party bodies, State agencies, socio-political organizations); activities for cadre training must be fundamentally renewed. The training program needs to be flexible towards the output standard. At the same time, evaluation and summarization should be done regularly after the training and retraining process; well coordinating institutions for cadre training with agencies and units employing cadres. 

Students should be classified according to their specialization, field of work, title and job placement to arrange suitable classes and lecturers. Teaching staffs should regularly renew lesson plans and design lectures suitable to the level of learners; and relating to reality during the teaching process.

Examinations, tests, evaluation should be renovated towards diversifying forms of tests and examinations; combining the assessment via scores with evaluation of the learning process, in which the practice and self-cultivation of students are appreciated.

Practical research activities should be intensified for teachers and learners to study a certain issue in the locality related to the learning subject; resolving simulated situations that may happen in reality with the equipped knowledge and skills, thereby enhancing the connectivity between theory and practice in training cadres.

Fourth, the capacity and quality of teaching and managing staffs should be enhanced

To meet the requirements of cadre training and fostering in the environment of the FIR, the teaching staff must have new and creative abilities and new qualities obtained in activities of training, self-training professional knowledge and must use modern teaching methods. To that end, it is necessary to organize training and fostering courses on pedagogic profession, scientific research methodology and soft skills for teaching staffs. Lecturers must self-study to improve their knowledge, forming sufficient intensive and extensive knowledge background to meet the professional discipline that they are in charge of and have the ability to apply and provide lectures to many different learners. This does not mean lecturers “know all” or “know everything” but rather is the knowledge foundation for orienting students to relate and apply theories in their practical work.

The contingent of managers also needs to be standardized and capable to work in a highly creative and accountable environment, determined to propose and implement new renovation solutions.

Favourable conditions should be created for the managing and teaching staff to study and learn experiences in local and international areas to broadern their practical knowledge and working skills.

Fifth, scientific research and practical review should be promoted

In order to improve the quality of  cadre  training, it is necessary to strengthen the link between teaching, scientific research and practical review.

Central research institutes and academies having experience and scientific methodology should design programs to help institutions for cadre training, political schools in province and cities under the jurisdiction of the central government via forms of linked and coordinated research and summarization. Research and summarization works must be applied in the work of cadre training as well as the leadership and management of political system at grassroots level.

It is necessary to set up a mechanism for cooperation among research institutes, academies and cadre training institutions nationwide on scientific research to share experiences, research methodologies and application of research results in cadre training.

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References:

1. Dam Quang Minh - Pham Hiep: “Industrial Revolution 4.0 and the risk of “losing” the traditional university”, Electronic Tuoi Tre Newspaper, September 7, 2016.

2. Klaus Schwab: Speech on “Industrial Revolution 4.0” at the World Economic Forum, Davos Switzerland, January 20, 2016.

3. Nguyen Thai: “The Fourth Industrial Revolution”, Baotintuc.vn, January 20, 2016.

4. Dr. Nguyen Hong Minh: “Industrial Revolution 4.0 and issues for vocational training system today”, Journal of Vocational Science, vol. 40+41, January and February 2017.

5. Alvin Toffler: The third wave, Thanh nien Publishing House, 1993.

Dr. Luong Trong Thanh

MA. Ta Van Hung

Thanh Hoa Provincial Political School