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This case study of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Taiwan is part of a project initiated and supported by Education International to research how TVET can contribute to social justice, social inclusion, and sustainable development in different countries.

Education International, the global union federation that represents organisations of teachers and other education employees, regards TVET as crucial to global development. The aim of this project is to support Education International and its affiliates in developing strategies that will support strong, quality public TVET as the anchors of their local communities and industries in contributing to sustainable and socially just economic and social development.

The present report brings together three separate studies. The first study relied on public documents, such as official reports and scholarly papers, to develop an understanding of Taiwan’s TVET within its broader context. To complement its findings, the report includes the results of a web-based survey of 1,757 Taiwanese vocational education actors. The survey used multiple-choice items and open-ended questions. In addition, the report also relies on the perspectives of 20 teachers and professors, whose interviews provided context and clarifications.

The report begins with a broad overview of Taiwan’s economic, political, and social context, then concentrates on its educational system, describing its recent enrolment figures and the relation between regular and vocational streams, and public and private institutions. An exploration of Taiwan’s TVET system follows. In it, the report examines Taiwan’s dual-stream system, the role played by holistic education, the recent expansion and privatisation of Taiwan’s TVET, and its recent challenges. Finally, the report turns to its actors, teachers, professors, administrators, and students from private and public education, to clarify how actors perceive the system’s goals, accomplishments, outcomes, and challenges.