Education Minister Kay McConney has complimented the Caribbean Association of National Training Authorities (CANTA) for remaining responsive in the development of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) across the region, but is appealing to that body to continue its efforts at being proactive.
Addressing delegates at the official opening of the 32nd Meeting of CANTA, at Hilton Barbados, Needham’s Point, St. Michael, on Monday evening, Minister McConney stressed: “The role that CANTA must play in helping our region to make the necessary transitions must not only be a role that is responsive but especially a role that is proactive.
“We will not only expect our national training authorities to facilitate change. We will expect you to be at the vanguard of policy development and of the regional movement for change initiated, and leading technical and vocational education and training initiatives at all levels.
She continued: “As the body which serves as the implementing arm of the CARICOM Regional coordinating mechanism for TVET, and with responsibility for overseeing the implementation of the Caribbean Vocational Qualifications (CVQs) across CARICOM member states, CANTA is in the business of strengthening regional economies; that’s your business and you are in the business of human capital development.”
The Minister had earlier noted that the region was at a significant point in a global shift in relation to technical and vocational training, where structural changes in its education systems and labour market would dictate a rise in competency-based approaches. To this end, she remarked: “It’s not just about qualifications; it’s about once you have done qualifications well, where will it take our countries and where will it take the region.”
She added that for a significant part of the region’s population, the work done by CANTA, through CVQs, had the potential to close the gap between “learning and livelihood and between learning and earning”.
Ms. McConney, who also bears responsibility for Technological and Vocational Training in Barbados, said it was a gap that could only be filled by people applying high quality, relevant skills to opportunities that finance their lives, that fuel their economies and that raise global competitiveness.
However, the Education Minister noted more was required to raise the awareness of CARICOM citizens and governments to allow them to both understand and support CANTA’s work.
She noted that technical vocational and educational training, like CVQs, would enable access to certification and also build the capacity for both strong economies and top tier enterprise, be it enterprise as workers or enterprise as entrepreneurs.
“This is so that our individuals and our regions can meaningfully make a contribution nationally, regionally and internationally,” she added.
Ms. McConney also stressed that the region’s people must be encouraged to develop new approaches and new appreciation for the changes expected in the thinking and approaches to education which are driving the reforms in education/training around the world, and which CANTA is seeking to facilitate.