4.1 Introduction

This chapter focuses on the strategies adopted in teacher professional development at the national, institutional and individual levels. In Sect. 4.2, we adopted an ecological approach to view the sustainable development of TVET teachers’ professional competencies as a dynamic and interactive process facilitated by multi-layered factors working together. It is an integration of and interaction between the efforts made at the national, institutional, and individual levels. These efforts, in turn, determine what strategies, resources, technologies and modes of learning to be adopted. It is the interplay of all these factors that sustains and advances TVET teachers’ professional development. In this section, we also propose a teacher training model to facilitate TVET teacher professional development. A review of strategies implemented at each of the above mentioned three levels in different TVET intuitions around the world is conducted in Sects. 4.3, 4.4 and 4.5 respectively.

4.2 TEVT Teachers’ Professional Development: An Ecological Approach and a Training Model

4.2.1 Proposing an Ecological Approach to Promoting TVET Teacher’s Professional Development

Theories on adult learning, cognitive apprenticeship, situated learning, learning communities, and lifelong learning have indicated that the professional development of teachers’ competencies involve not only teachers’ personal efforts for their academic growth, but also supportive efforts from governments and institutions. With a strong focus on teachers’ professional development, UNESCO stated in its Incheon Declaration that the educational system needs well-qualified, trained, adequately remunerated, and motivated teachers to ensure quality provision (UNESCO et al., 2015). It stressed the critical role of competent teachers in TVET education in its Strategy for TVET 2016–2021. This includes teachers’ role to equip all youth and adults with practical and entrepreneurial competencies to adapt to the ever-changing labor market, which ultimately leads to sustainable societies. UNESCO’s strategic plan of teacher development is primarily focused on five areas: (1) monitoring international normative instruments relating to the teaching profession, (2) assisting Member States in developing and evaluating teacher policies and strategies, (3) developing capacities for enhancing the quality of teaching and learning, (4) enhancing the knowledge and evidence base for the implementation and monitoring of the teacher development agenda in Education 2030 Framework for Action, and (5) advocating the advancement of high-quality teaching and learning (UNESCO, n.d.).

To support the sustainable development of TVET teachers’ teaching competencies, the handbook proposed an ecological approach to view teacher development as a concerted efforts made at the national, institutional, and individual levels. As illustrated in Fig. 4.1, the three levels of efforts are interconnected and interdependent. Only when working together, teachers’ professional development can be sustained.

Fig. 4.1
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An ecological approach to TVET teachers’ professional development

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Figure 4.1 illustrates the relationship between national, institutional, and individual efforts. National efforts including policy and strategy making and financial support provide the necessary macro environment in which both institutional and individual efforts can be nurtured or inhibited. Figure 4.1 also shows that TVET institutions can act as an agent between national policy makers and individual teachers, interpreting national policy orientations on one hand and directly engaging TVET teachers in their professional development on the other. More importantly, an ecological view does not see such interaction as a linear process. Rather, it is relational and multidirectional with all components feeding into one another. For example, ideally, what has been achieved at the institutional and individual levels, through the support of national policies and strategies, should, in turn, inform the national policy making process, making national policies and strategies more targeted to institutional and individual changes and needs. Such a cyclic improvement sustains teacher professional development and makes it relevant to industry and student needs.

4.2.2 Proposing a Training Model for TVET Teachers’ Competency Development

The conceptual model of training transfer in Human Resource Development (HRD) indicates that learners are only able to transfer their learning into their own practice after going through a dynamic and complex process of training and application (Baldwin & Ford, 1988). This handbook proposed a training model for developing TVET teachers’ professional competencies based on the model of transfer. There are three phases in this model, consisting of training design, implementation, and evaluation through reflection. Training design involves needs analysis, teacher analysis, and the formulation of training plans. The implementation phase refers to the process of delivering training. The evaluation phase includes both the assessment of training outcomes and the identification of areas for further improvement. Such an evaluation is often done through various forms of reflection. Figure 4.2 shows the specific steps within each phase.

Fig. 4.2
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The proposed training model for developing TVET teachers’ professional competencies

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4.3 National Efforts for TVET Teachers’ Professional Development

Integrating goals of sustainable development of education into national priorities and strategic plans can ensure coherent action at the national level (UNESCO, 2020). Similarly, for TVET, governments need to invest in national efforts to promote its sustainable development. National efforts can be directed to promoting TVET teachers’ sustainable development including developing or revising relevant standards and norms, creating training programs, sponsoring teaching competitions, and providing incentives for teacher development (Morgan & White, 2014).

4.3.1 Standard-Based Strategies for Teacher Professional Development

According to Bergmann and Mulkeen (2011), the term “standard” in the context of education means a norm, a requirement, or a quality measure. They argued that a “standard” is an expected quality in the educational system that is commonly referred to, but not mandatory, for all cases. Standard-based strategies for professional development of TVET teachers refer to the issuing of standards that serve as a foundation for TVET teachers’ professional development. They will provide guidance for setting goals of teachers’ professional development, formulating training curricula, ensuring effective and consistent implementation, and creating evaluation criteria to measure the outcomes and impact of professional development programs. Chapter 3 of this handbook discusses four essential roles of TVET teachers in teachers by profession, vocational practitioner/skill trainers, digital citizens, and lifelong learners. This discussion led to the proposal of a framework for TVET teachers’ competency development, which can serve as a reference for developing TVET professional standards.

Many countries have updated their standards of professional competencies for TVET teachers in the information age to maintain the on-going development of teachers’ competencies. In 2020, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) amended its Regional TVET Teachers Standard to encourage positive responses to the opportunities and challenges that digitalization presents in its Member States. The standards serve as a universal tool for recognizing TVET teachers’ competencies in the digital age, designing effective and feasible TVET teachers’ training plans, and developing reliable measurements for evaluating the performance of TVET teachers.

In Australia, there has been a major push for the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in the delivery of vocational education and training (VET). ICT is considered as part of flexible delivery and a growing shift away from rigid classroom timetables and blocks of time to better meet employer and learner needs (Bound, 2011). ICT is perceived to be able to help teachers become better designers and facilitators of effective teaching and learning. In 2020, the National Center for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) published a study that identified key features of quality teaching in VET and teacher capability frameworks and professional standards in Australia. The study outlined the behaviors, values, skills, and knowledge required for VET teachers at various stages during their careers and the benchmarks to measure their competencies (Misko et al., 2020). Based on the above frameworks and standards, Innovation and Business Skills Australia (IBSA) developed the VET Practitioner Capability Framework to evaluate teacher proficiency by identifying the extent to which the objectives set in teacher performance and professional development plans are met. The recently mandated Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (TAE) update had some deleterious consequences for the VET teaching workforce. Some respondents reported that the additional requirements and costs of regular qualification upgrades were an imposition on providers, especially on small organizations and those relying on volunteer teachers and teachers from equity groups, contributing to teachers exiting the system (Misko et al., 2020).

The European Center for the Development of Vocational Training, the official agency for developing and implementing EU vocational training policies, stated in its report that the professional development of teachers and trainers is one of the priority areas for European cooperation in education and training. The emphasis was kept on the quality of initial education, early career support for new teachers, and on raising the quality of continuing professional development opportunities for teachers, trainers, and other educational personnel. The qualification requirements and training for VET professionals seemed to vary considerably for each country. Therefore, coherent competency frameworks for teachers, trainers, and leaders should be developed to help advance the development of vocational teaching and training in Europe. Such frameworks should define the basic skills and competencies that VET teachers and trainers need to acquire. The development of European Qualification Framework (EQF) and the National Qualification Framework (NQF) are two such examples. They can be seen as a positive move towards effective competency framework building that recognizes the values in developing the professionalism of both individuals and their communities (Frimodt, et al., 2009). The frameworks also included the core activity and competence areas of the VET professions as well as skills and competencies that have emerged more recently such as the role of instructors and trainers in counselling both students and their parents. Furthermore, the frameworks increased the transparency of the profession, making it more socially acceptable and desirable. They also facilitated the development and quality of training in VET where structural support from a training organization did not exist. For example, trainers in small and medium sized enterprises often carry out their training in isolation, without the benefit of the support from a pedagogical leader or counselling services (Volmari et al., 2009).

In 2015, the Ministry of Education of China issued the Professional Standards for Secondary Vocational School Teachers, which provided guidelines for pre-service teacher education, admission, training and evaluation of teaching (Ministry of Education of China, 2013). The Standards for Digital Campus Building for Vocational Schools were published in 2020 which clarified requirements for teachers’ information literacy and guided the development of TVET teachers’ professional competencies in the digital age.

4.3.2 Program-Based Strategies for Teacher Professional Development

Program-based strategies for teacher development refer to the implementation of national TVET educational reform programs or professional development programs, with the aim to support the continuing development of TVET teachers. Such programs can include training programs for the development of TVET teacher competencies, programs for TVET curriculum and education reform, and programs for promoting innovative teaching in TVET education. Canadian provincial government has been encouraging post-secondary vocational education institutes to engage in applied research in support of business development. Vocational educators are also required to serve on committees and in leadership roles (Hoekstra & Crocker, 2015). With an aim to select outstanding teachers who adopt innovative teaching approaches in all disciplines from all vocational institutions each year, the Chinese Ministry of Education launched the “National TVET Innovative Teaching Team” program in September 2019. The program called for the widespread support of professional development in all vocational schools to encourage continuous development of teachers’ professional competence.

4.3.3 Competition-Based Strategies for Teacher Professional Development

Competition-based strategies for teacher development refer to the sponsoring of national competitions to encourage practice and reflection on high-quality vocational teaching, inspire innovations in vocational teaching, and discover exemplary cases of professional development. Since 2010, the Chinese Ministry of Education has held an annual national competition to encourage all vocational institutions to use ICT in teaching, enhance vocational teachers’ teaching competence and information literacy, and promote teachers’ comprehensive capabilities, professional skills, and innovative teaching and training practice. The competition has evolved into a multi-tiered system of competition at the institutional, provincial/municipal, and national levels, which has significantly contributed to the development of vocational teachers’ teaching competence in China. The integration of ICT in teaching has helped vocational teachers enhance their professional competence. Vocational teachers have been encouraged to compete with their counterparts at different levels to employ ICT in their curriculum design and instructional practices to improve learning processes and outcomes (Wang, 2021). Such a competition process has led to the improvement of TVET teachers’ professional competencies as they can incorporate best practices learned through the competition into their classrooms. Institutions also support their teachers to participate in the various levels of this national competition. The teachers can, for example, join teams in their own disciplines, observe and learn from other teams, share best practices, and reflect on their current practice and disciplinary requirements. Despite being hampered by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021, this competition still attracted 240,000 teachers from over 5000 vocational institutions across the country.

4.3.4 Award-Based Strategies for Teacher Professional Development

Award-based strategies of teacher competency development refer to the establishment of national teacher development award scheme which aims to honor teachers who have made significant achievements in educational reform, student development, and teacher professional development. China’s National Teaching Achievement Award, for example, is the most prestigious award to recognize efforts on educational reform and best teaching practices across the country. It intends to identify the most original, innovative, and research-informed instructional design and practices that have a significant impact on enhanced teaching and learning outcomes (Ren et al., 2014). The Chinese Ministry of Education made a major adjustment to its National Teaching Achievement Award in 2014, adding the category of “Vocational Education Teaching Achievement Award” to the previous “Higher Education Teaching Achievement Award.” This national award, offered every four years, recognizes outstanding teaching achievements in vocational education and forecasts the future direction of vocational education development (Zheng & Huang, 2019). The National Teaching Achievement Award is offered based on three criteria: (1) originality in the context of Chinese TVET, (2) effective implementation for at least two years, and (3) national influence (Zheng, 2019).

In German, the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations (BDA) offered the German Employers’ Award for Education to honor outstanding institutions for their achievements in educational activities (BDA, 2020). The prize is selected by a panel of educational experts from business, sciences, foundations, and government. It is awarded in the categories of early childhood, school, vocational and tertiary education and is endowed with 10,000 euros each. Although the award is for institutions rather than individual teachers, its selection criteria take into account the participating institution’s performance in its teacher participation in professional development, the application of digital media and technology in teaching, and graduates’ employment rate. These criteria aim to promote the connection between vocational teaching and industry, and to enhance teachers’ teaching competencies and practical vocational skills.

4.4 Institutional Efforts to Promote TVET Teachers’ Professional Development

Institutional efforts in supporting TVET teachers’ professional development involve not only implementing the national plan for vocational teachers’ professional development, but also developing concrete strategies based on local demands for skilled workers, current professional development status, and institution-industry collaboration, and so on. The institutional efforts are critical in bridging the gap between national initiatives and individual faculty development. Generally speaking, vocational institutions offer a variety of training opportunities to support and guide their teachers’ ongoing professional development. Those institutional efforts include

inter-institutional or collaborative training programs organized by vocational institutions and industry. Unlike government-supported training, institutional programs are typically organized by school administrators, who maintain a better control and flexibility in selecting training teams, creating training content, and assessing training performance. The advantage of institution-sponsored professional development is that it allows the tracking of teachers’ development since their onboarding and can therefore, timely and effectively adjust trainings based on the specific needs of the teachers.

4.4.1 Inter-institutional/institution-Industry Partnerships

TVET teachers’ multiple roles (see discussion in Sect. 3.2.1 in Chap. 3) require that their professional development should not only focus on the continuing improvement of their domain knowledge and expertise in the subject matter, but also update occupational knowledge and practical skills. Periodically updating content used in professional development is critical for responding to new demands brought about by digital transformation in the industry.

In Singapore, Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) developed a “No Shelf Life” approach to promote a borderless culture and environment for TVET teacher development (NYP, 2005). It is important to embrace the notion of lifelong learning as the shelf life of skills is diminishing due to new development of technology and ever-changing industry needs. NYP has been sending their teachers to top universities abroad for further study and encouraging engagement in industrial projects. Rotating every 1 or 2 years, 20% of their academic staff must participate in industry Research and Development (R&D) projects. The department heads are in charge of faculty development in their departments, determining training plans for technology adoption, and improvement of teaching competencies, and R&D skills so that teachers are prepared to adjust or advance as curricula change. Their teachers must have at least a bachelor’s degree and 3–5 years of work experience in industry. They bring a wealth of knowledge, work experience, and collaborative relationships and projects with industries. These teachers with both extensive theoretical knowledge and practical industry work experience promote the implementation of the “teaching factory” concept. Teachers in NYP serve in a variety of capacities as teachers, engineers, administrators, and mangers. A significant aspect of the “teaching factory” is carrying out R&D projects in collaboration with industry, integrating teaching practices with industry R&D projects. Thanks to the collaborative partnership, teachers can communicate with industry and students have the opportunity to participate in industry R&D projects. Collaborating with industry also helps enhance teachers’ understanding of the cutting-edge technology in industry, push administrators and teachers to proactively prepare for new curricula, enable rapid design and development of new courses, and develop teachers’ professional competencies and research capabilities (Xu, 2017).

In higher vocational education in Slovenia, curricula are designed and delivered by both lecturers and in-company trainers. Lecturers must have a qualification including a relevant master’s degree, three years of work experience, and relevant professional achievements such as experience on an examination committee and a (co-)author of an education program or textbook. Teachers are employed by vocational institutions and paid by the education ministry. Based on the number of learners enrolled in the programs, they can be employed on a full-time or part-time basis. They can be promoted to supervisors, advisors, or institutional heads. Promotions are usually proposed by the school council. The education ministry evaluates proposals and awards promotions/professional titles. These titles, once acquired, are permanent. Teachers are entitled to 15 days of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) every three years. CPD is not compulsory. The education ministry and the employer/school both contribute a portion of the funding of CPD. Schools can also collaborate with public or private providers of CPD in offering CPD programs to faculty. In-company mentor training is also promoted primarily through the European Social Fund (ESF) projects. The project provides 50 h of free training for mentors attending upper secondary courses, and 60 h for mentors participating in work-based learning (WBL) in higher vocational courses. Those courses cover topics such as pedagogy/andragogy, youth psychology, communication skills, workplace health and safety, and learning monitoring and assessment (CEDEFOP, 2021).

In Australia, vocational teachers, trainers, and assessors are educated and trained through the TAE10 Package, which consists of a number of relevant certifications (10 programs). VET staff working in international education can earn a Graduate Certificate through the TAE 10 package, complimented by a Diploma in the same area. Graduate Certificate and Diploma certifications are available from the TAE 10 package for staff working in learning management (Hugh & Pam, 2013).

4.4.2 Institutional Professional Development

Institutional professional development opportunities are offered in alignment with national and regional initiatives for educational reform and the development of vocational teachers in China. Based on the analysis of institutional professional development efforts, many workshops, seminars, guest lectures, and teaching demonstrations have been offered at different institutions to support their teaching reforms and teachers’ professional development while integrating internal and external training resources (Diao & Yang, 2021).

Training programs at various institutions in China have been well-received due to its flexible delivery formats (Jing, 2017). Special attention should also be taken while inviting specialists for training and sending faculty to practice in industry. In comparison to higher education, vocational education involves stronger technical and practical skills, which requires extensive institution-industry collaboration by inviting industrial technical specialists from industry to support vocational teachers’ professional development. Those experts, who come from the industry front lines, are intimately familiar with industry needs, workflow, key procedures, development trends, and new standards expected of employees and can thus, help vocational institutions keep their instructional content up to date.

Vocational institutions can conduct research in their partner industries, participate actively in their everyday activities, study the most up-to-date industrial technology, so as to integrate such knowledge into their teaching. Practical experience gained from industry can assist vocational teachers in improving their hands-on skills and learning how to use various tools and technological equipment (Liang, 2014).

When designing training plans and programs, vocational institutions should pay attention to teachers’ long-term development. The achievements of professional development gained through training should be reflected in daily teaching practice beyond the training phase. Most of the current professional development training programs are delivered as one-off, isolated events, without explicit alignment between different programs as far as training objectives and program activities are concerned (Diao et al., 2021). Therefore, building a comprehensive training system to provide systematic support for sustainable development of vocational teachers is crucial. Such a system is particularly needed today as new concepts, methods, and technologies are emerging almost every day in a time of digital transformation. The outbreak of the pandemic has brought attention to the unpredictability of societal changes that can disrupt our education system without a warning. Training in vocational education should be constantly updated to support teachers’ emerging needs. In addition, vocational institutions should also consider revision of training content and delivery approaches to their training programs. The integration of ICT in vocational education has enabled many innovative training contents and delivery approaches for teacher development. Professional development can now be delivered anytime anywhere due to the advancement of online learning. Lastly, establishing centers for faculty development can promote further development. Targeting on specific challenges teachers encounter in different phases in their career development, the teaching centers can organize customized training to advance faculty’s professional competencies in terms of theoretical perceptions and pedagogical approaches and practices (Diao et al., 2021).

4.4.3 Research-Based Strategies for Promotion of Teachers’ Competencies

From an action research perspective, another important approach to promoting teachers’ professional development is to encourage them to participate in research-based projects relating to institutional initiatives on educational reform and teacher development. Participation in those initiatives can lead to an in-depth understanding of vocational faculty’s own teaching practices and an increased awareness of responsibilities, thus contributing to better learning outcomes. In 2015, the Ministry of Education of China released a policy on promoting educational reform and learner development in vocational education. According to the policy, teaching reform in vocational education should be informed by teaching related research. Vocational institutions should establish special projects to research on key issues and challenges in educational reform and learner needs. The policy also encourages joint research efforts from both vocational institutions and industry (Tan, 2018). Research projects on vocational education reform should focus on problems experienced during the reform process with theoretical and practical implications. It was stressed in the policy that these research projects should be guided by theories relating to education reform, with a strong emphasis on project outcomes being highly facilitative of teaching practice.

4.5 Teachers’ Individual Efforts for Professional Development

As an external driving factor, the national and institutional efforts provide guidance for the development of pedagogy, delivery approaches, and evaluation of vocational teacher development. However, the sustainable development of vocational teachers’ competencies depends more on the individual efforts, driven by their career commitment and lifelong learning beliefs, to develop themselves through various learning opportunities. The development of information technology has empowered teachers’ self-development potential and provided many opportunities for teachers’ self-development such as via Open Educational Resources (OER) and the building of teachers’ learning communities.

4.5.1 The Use of OER in Vocational Teachers’ Self-development

The term Open Educational Resources (OER) first came into use at a UNESCO conference in 2002 to embrace concepts such as “open courses” and “open teaching–learning resources.” Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) later defined OER as “open educational resources are digitized materials offered freely and openly for educators, students and self-learners to use and reuse for teaching, learning and research” (OECD, 2007). Hewlett Foundation’s definition of OER has been widely recognized and they defined OER as “teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use or re-purposing by others. Open educational resources include full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge” (Atkins et al., 2007). The General Conference of UNESCO made the following recommendation on OER at its 40th session in November 2019. OER are “learning, teaching and research materials in any format and medium that reside in the public domain or are under copyright that have been released under an open license, that permit no-cost access, re-use, re-purpose, adaptation and redistribution by others” (http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=49556&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html).

The OER movement has empowered researchers and educators to become more innovative in their teaching and learning, through its openness and flexibility (Sandanayake, 2019). The use of OER can provide access to various resources and assist faculty to create their own self-sustained online repository, as well as bringing together resources from academia and industry. UNESCO (2019) also stressed the importance of adopting OER and they stated that in-service and pre-service teachers should have the capability of accessing, using, adapting, creating, and sharing OERs. Teachers should be able to find and evaluate appropriate OERs that suit their specific languages, disciplines, subject-matters, educational levels, students’ demography, and more (Perifanou & Economides, 2021). For vocational teachers, they need to develop expertise and skills to better take advantage of existing OERs for improving their teaching as well as for their own professional development.

4.5.2 Personal Efforts Within Teachers’ Learning Communities

Learning communities are an important approach to promoting teacher development at vocational institutions. They are a valuable venue to foster teacher collaboration, share teaching innovations, and drive teaching excellence. For a long time, teachers’ professional growth and development have been primarily dependent on the individual efforts of teachers. However, professional development cannot rely solely on individual efforts as learning involves other social factors. Therefore, it becomes crucial to build a cooperative and collaborative learning platform to promote teachers’ growth and address the challenges of individual learning such as social isolation (Yang, 2017).

A learning community in TVET is a group consisting largely of vocational teachers. With a purpose to promote teacher professional development, student growth, and educational reform, the learning-centered community creates a diversely multi-channel, collaborative, and supportive network among teachers, vocational institutions, industries, and societies. Theories on social learning, cooperation and collaboration, learning organization, constructivism, and team coordination have provided the theoretical bases for such communities.

In view of the above characteristics of learning communities, this handbook makes the following four recommendations for developing learning communities in TVET (Wang, 2007). First, a learning community should be led by prominent teachers. Vocational teachers’ learning communities are a voluntary learning group to share and discuss teaching and learning issues and practices. With a goal to discuss/resolve academic challenges confronted in teaching practice, this learning community is non-administrative and complementary to the conventional teaching groups who meet to prepare for teaching, conduct research, or develop curricula. The learning community selects its leaders based on their academic influence, and the community is effectively governed through shared responsibilities.

Second, best practices in teaching and research should be shared within the community via a variety of activities. As part of the teacher development initiatives, the learning community sees that front-line teachers within the learning community propose topics or issues for discussion or advice. Discussions within the community are often facilitated by the community leader with other community members participating voluntarily. This is also a process in which community leaders improve their academic knowledge and capacity while discussing solutions or providing advice/guidance. Eventually the collective wisdom from the learning community contributes to advice or suggested solutions.

Third, the collective wisdom of the learning community should facilitate the integration of research into teaching and vice versa. The learning community, led by prominent teachers and industry experts, can provide directions for teachers’ professional development, and ensure that teaching and research complement each other. The learning communities discuss, analyze, and investigate real-world problems relating to market demands and market prospects. Results from their analyses are shared by industry experts, resulting in new knowledge, solutions, technologies, or concepts developed within the community.

Fourth, learning communities can contribute to the development of an institutional teacher training system that integrates teaching, research, and continuing development. Such a system should place an emphasis on strengthening teaching and research incentives, performance evaluation, and communication to maximize the use of institutional teaching and research resources. The support system ultimately leads to the effective development of TVET teachers’ learning communities.

4.6 Concluding Remarks

In this chapter, we adopted an ecological approach to understanding the dynamic and interactive nature of teacher professional development. Guided by this approach, our review of the efforts made at the national/international, institutional and individual levels reveals that teacher professional development is multifaceted with different components constantly interacting with one another. It has been the interplay of these components that motivates the constant growth of TVET teachers’ professional competencies. Furthermore, the discussion throughout this chapter also indicates that in the time of digital transformation, technology plays a crucial intermediating role in driving professional development for TVET teachers forward.