The Education Ministry is in the process of reforming Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET). A policy is being formulated to guide reform in the administration, operations, stakeholder involvement, funding and certification within the Council for TVET.
A release from the Govern-ment Information Agency (GINA) said that the policy document has as its vision statement ‘Education for Employment’ while its mission statement is ‘conceptualisation, coordination and/or delivery of modular competency based education and training, in order to create and/or sustain a workforce that is accredited to be internationally competitive’.
Earlier this year in March, a two-day stakeholder consultation was held to examine and amend the draft policy document. On Monday, a follow up three-day workshop began at the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD), facilitated by consultants from Dunn, Pierre Barnett and Associates Ltd., a Jamaican consulting firm.
University of Technology, Jamaica – Senior Director, Planning and Operations, Denise Stephenson-Hammil, the lead facilitator, indicated that the workshop will have two phases to plan Guyana’s national TVET policy; these would be the analysis and the actual planning phase. This would see the stakeholders examining the internal and external situation and operational environment of TVET in Guyana, with particular emphasis on the key stakeholder groups which includes employers.
Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand acknowledged that there is need for a more proactive movement in the area of TVET. She said that the ground work has been laid for TVET to take off as the government has built institutions.
According to GINA, the minister outlined the outcomes anticipated from offering TVET at the secondary level. These include students having a deep interest in pursuing further studies, students certified as being competent (a Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ) type competency in a specific area), students being able to continue their studies in the institutions built to facilitate TVET, and that they leave certified and competent at that level, and are absorbed into the workforce of the country so that they can contribute to Guyana’s continued development.
GINA said that the Minister implored that the workshop not be a talk shop, but that the discussions be practical regarding the local situation.
“For me, I am not happy with where we are with TVET, and that is not to lay blame at anybody’s door…I think that’s why we’re here today to move forward, but we are much better than this and we can be much better than this,” she stated.
She also encouraged the workshop participants to examine how the most vulnerable groups, particularly females, could be attracted to TVET.
Chairman of the Council for TVET, Clinton Williams propounded that the rate of any country’s economic development is linked to its productivity, and international competitiveness, and its capacity to build and sustain a competent workforce.
Williams highlighted that the Council is in the process of introducing several innovative mechanisms for TVET nationally which include the implementation of competency based education and training programmes at formal and non-formal institutions, a national strategy for assessment and certification; and quality assurance guidelines for Guyana to be recognised as an accreditation body for the CVQs.
GINA said he pointed out that sectors that contribute significantly to Guyana’s GDP have been experiencing skill shortages due to skills poaching and migration. He disclosed that it is against this background that a survey will be conducted by the Council in collaboration with the National Bureau of Statistics. Arrangements are also being finalised for the implementation of a comprehensive Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)-funded labour market intelligence survey. The latter will assess the manufacturing, forestry, hospitality, commerce and engineering and construction sectors.
ACEO-Technical, Patrick Chinedu focused on the TVET Guyana Vision 2020 framework, and emphasised that 80 percent of jobs in the world today involve TVET skills. He also recognised the need for stigma to be removed from TVET. Chinedu was referring to the view that the students who do not perform well academically pursue TVET programmes. It is therefore important to note that pursuing TVET programmes require a strong background in Maths, Science and even English Language.
Chinedu outlined several concepts that should be considered; an integrated system that offers the opportunity for lifelong learning, the establishment of a centralised unit that can oversee all TVET training in Guyana, setting up a system that is based on competencies and occupational standards set by or in collaboration with industries, catering for varying learning abilities and potential, integrating concepts of internship and entrepreneurship, and stipulating safety, quality and excellence.
He said that the key areas in the policy are governance and management of TVET, curriculum and syllabus development, delivery and assessment of TVET programme, financing TVET, monitoring and evaluation, the legal framework and policy implementation plan.
According to GINA, the motto for the proposed plan is ‘Skill is Wealth’ in this regard 15 action plan points were outlined. These include safety, student recruitment, retention and completion, governance, financial support and its sustainability, human resource development and sustainability, process and procedures (written and communicated), environmental concerns, students and staff wellness, records input, storage and retrieval, awareness and information creation, dissemination and marketing, TVET employers’ alliance, and the introduction of TVET at the nursery and primary levels.
The other two consultants from Dunn, Pierre Barnett and Associates Ltd. were Executive Director, Paulette Dunn-Pierre and Chief Technical Director, Clover Barnett.
