Section 3 | RULES OF THE GAME As described above (see section 3.3 above), the Ministry of Education has committed to creating an e-learning network for professors and university students to improve access to digital learning materials as well as digital skills. This could make a substantial impact, if coupled with high-speed broadband throughout the country to improve upload/ download times and make web-based learning tools a feasible option. It would also embed opportunities to learn and exercise advanced digital skills for well-educated young women, potentially expanding their post-graduation career opportunities. Initiatives to address the top of the digital skills pyramid should combine advanced technical skills with employability skills, hands-on work experience such as internships and apprenticeships, and networking events from career fairs to tech expos in order to counterbalance existing gender-based educational and occupational segregation. TVET Although underutilized—official data report less than 1 percent of male or female students pursuing post-secondary technical and vocational education and training (TVET)224—TVET is an important part of the educational system in Myanmar and has particular relevance for closing the gender digital divide. TVET includes digital and soft skills identified by key informants and focus groups as barriers to digital inclusion, particularly for girls and young women who cannot afford alternatives such as private ICT training. However, as with higher education, women are overrepresented in TVET areas such as language training while underrepresented in skill areas such as light mechanics and information technology.225 This phenomenon is due at least in part to structural gender-based channeling by educational institutions. For example, Department of Social Welfare training courses for women are offered primarily in areas traditionally considered to be the work of women, such as sewing, planting, laundry, and so forth. The training programs need to better respond to particular demands for skills or incorporate practical business skills. New TVET reform enjoys support from many donors and development partners, including the World Bank and ADB; bilateral donors such as Switzerland, Germany, South Korea, Singapore, and the European Union; and multilateral agencies like UNESCO, ILO, and to a lesser extent UNDP. avenues for income generation are opening up, for example, as tourism expands in Myanmar; and training programs can be designed to prepare poor women to take up these opportunities in remote and rural areas where many tourist sites are located.226 224 225 226 Myanmar Ministry of Education, National Education Strategic Plan 2016–2021. ADB, Technical Annex on the Higher Education Subsector. ADB et al., Gender Equality and Women’s Rights in Myanmar,108–109. Ending the Gender Digital Divide in Myanmar: A Problem-Driven Political Economy Assessment | 66