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| From left to right: Consultant with the Caribbean Education for Employment Programme (C-EFE), Brenda Cooke; CARICOM Representative, Dr. Morellea Joseph; Consultant with C-EFE, Robert Gregory; Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Yolande Howard and Chairman of the TVET Council, Dr. Hensley Sobers.(A. Miller/BGIS) |
By re-inventing Barbados and the region’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system, it is anticipated that this will help to redevelop and modernise the Caribbean’s workforce for the 21st century.
Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Yolande Howard, described it as "[a workforce] that is the engine of social and economic growth and competitiveness for our country and region".
Mrs. Howard made these remarks yesterday at the Consultative Review of Recommendations for a Regional TVET Strategy for Workforce Development and Economic Competitiveness which took place at Hilton Barbados.
The consultative review was being held to give local and regional TVET stakeholders an opportunity to discuss the recommendations on the revised Regional Strategy for TVET for workforce development and economic competitiveness.
She described the regional strategy, which was first created in 1990, as still relevant today, since it complemented the Barbados Human Resource Development Strategy (HRDS) 2011-2016 – an initiative being implemented by the Ministry of
Education and Human Resource Development and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.
Stating that two of the five strategic goals outlined in the HRDS specifically addressed education and training, she added that Barbados’ HRDS defined the necessary critical strategic interventions, outputs, outcomes and indicators for human resource development.
Moreover, she explained that an improved internationally-recognised national qualifications framework would be responsive to the requirements of the competitive and productive sectors.?? She added that the framework would also include mechanisms for the development of competency-based certification.
Mrs. Howard further stated that a demand-driven education and training programme would incorporate systematic needs assessment mechanisms, including appropriate strategic measures to meet the needs of marginalised youth, and would ensure private sector involvement in the provision of training.