Council for TVET continues enhancing skill sets in Guyana

Dec 25, 2017 News

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Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) refers to those industrial or mechanical skill sets and attitudes that are passed on to an individual. These skills allow the individual to find a means of employment.

Unfortunately, TVET is not one of those fields which command reverence like the areas of biochemistry, law or physics. It has a long history of stigma attached to it. This is prevalent in many developing nations like Guyana, for example.
However, international best practices dictate that the best way to overcome this hurdle is through education and sensitization exercises about the power and importance of TVET in the world of business.
According to Chairman for the Council for Technical Vocational Education and Training (CTVET), Clinton Williams, this is an initiative that has been undertaken in Guyana for several years now.
The Council has often emphasised the need for the inclusion of entrepreneurship training as a complementary but compulsory competency component for all Occupational Skill Training Programme curriculum, alongside the traditional Technical Skill Competencies.
But in order to speak about the future of TVET in Guyana, Williams asserts that one must first consider and evaluate the work of the Council which manages this area.
In doing so, one must consider the following: Is our system relevant to the needs of Guyana? Does our system reflect the best practices that have to be recognized and is it applicable internationally? Is our system self-sustainable? And finally, is our system sufficiently geared for continuous reviews via mutual informal interactions among the relevant stakeholders, viz Public and Private Sectors, the Labour Movement, etc?
Speaking with Kaieteur News recently, Williams outlined that the vision and mission of the Guyana TVET System is rooted in Education for Employment. He explained that its mission speaks to the conceptualization, coordination and/or delivery of Modular Competency Based Education and Training, in order to create and sustain a workforce that is accredited to be internationally competitive.
The Government of Guyana has already indicated in its economic development strategy, some degree of prioritizing of these sectors in its overall programme. They include: Agroprocessing; Timber and Wood Products; Mineral Processing (Precious Stones and Jewellery); Information and Communication Technology; Clean Energy; Oil and Gas; Tourism and Hospitality; Maritime, Road, Air and Other Infrastructural Development.

SUPPLY AND DEMAND ISSUES

According to Williams, varying methodologies and mechanisms have been developed and employed by a number of countries in order to comprehensively advance their Demand and Supply System, to optimize their Techvoc Strategies.
In fact, recent Labour Market Intelligence Studies have repeatedly revealed that there exist substantial skill shortages in most if not all of the traditional sectors, not to mention the emerging sectors. Williams said that this situation can therefore be characterized as a National Skill Deficiency Syndrome in the country as a whole.
As a consequence, at the national level, development of and periodic reviews of a credible Labour Market Intelligence Information System, Career Guidance and Job Placement Services for the TVET System must be considered as an immediate priority. Williams stated that one possible solution is to approach a multinational funding agency such as the IDB for funding such an undertaking.
As regards available supply mechanisms, it has also been established that the supply sources to respond to such demand can be best met by or through the intervention of use of Post Secondary Technical Institutions and the Traditional Apprenticeship Skills Programme.
The CVET Chairman said that one example is to equip the Polytechnics with the necessary simulators and other incubators to accelerate the production of fully fledged Entrepreneurs as output from the training facilities, as is the practice in Singapore. He said that another is the establishment of self-sustaining Product Development and Training Facilities as in the case of India, Canada, Brazil, etc.
Already, Williams said that initiatives have been taken to pursue some of the available and potential opportunities using Bilateral Relationships. He said that these include those in India, Canada and Japan.
Williams said it is the intention of the Guyana TVET to further explore the strategies outlined above within the context of the imminent Strategic Management Review to be undertaken by the Council.
Additionally, Williams said that the action programme to be formulated will include those recommendations emanating from the recent CDB-Funded Consultancies in Public Relations, Visibility and Gender mainstreaming together with the suggested Financing strategies. He said that this would allow for streamlining and modification of the generic short to medium term objectives. Some of these include:
· To provide basic Tools and equipment for Labs, Workshops at all the Technical Institutions, the Industrial Training Centres and Practical Instruction Centres, including related training, curriculum and civil works.
· To implement competency based training in all Training Institutions through partnership with external/overseas Polytechnics, Community Colleges, etc
· To provide state of the art technology tools and equipment for Labs, Workshops and Classrooms, Eight Training Institutions including related training, curriculum and civil works; providing basic tools to Ten Practical Instruction Centres that were not supplied.
· To provide TVET Managers with the knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to more effectively manage the TVET System; to provide TVET Instructors with improved pedagogical knowledge, skills and attitudes; to provide TVET Instructors with improved technical knowledge, skills and attitudes; to provide teaching assistants, laboratory technicians, and clerical staff with the knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to make greater contributions to teaching and learning outcomes.
· To promote the use of electronic and informatics technologies which provide interactive, hands-on learning and more effective demonstrations
· To set higher performance standards for Training Institutions and Departments within Technical Institutes; to enable the staff of each Training Institutions to do an internal self assessment and produce a growth plan; to enable inter-institutional visits by members of external review teams; to promote organizational renewal on a regular basis.

APPRENTICESHIP INTERVENTION

Apprenticeships programmes outside of the region have proven successful, showing gains by improving employability prospects and wages for young people, productivity increases for firms, and economic benefits for both.
Apprenticeships can be a powerful tool to strengthen youth’s skills both locally and in the wider Caribbean, since these programmes boost productivity, bring innovation, help to solve the skills gap and give access to a stable career pattern.
According to a recent IDB study, 80% of employers worldwide have expressed satisfaction with these apprenticeship programmes. Moreover, 84% of them would recommend such programmes to other employers and 68% have in fact increased their productivity. Countries with long tradition of apprenticeship models have maintained lower levels of youth unemployment.
An apprenticeship entails four key elements; First, a job with a structured training plan. Second, a combination of training in the work place and related off the job training. Third, a written contract of employment setting out the rights and responsibilities on both sides. And fourth, a recognized certification of acquired qualifications.
According to Williams, the implementation of the apprenticeship model varies greatly across different experiences and countries along several aspects: institutional arrangements, duration, quantity (numbers trained), and quality (skill content); across sectors and occupations within countries, and in terms of provision and financing by employers.
Williams noted that while apprenticeship programmes around the world have various models, they are all guided by 10 core principles and Guyana is no exception.
He said these include: Alignment with country development strategies, Adequate governance arrangements, High levels of employer engagement, Appropriate funding and incentive structures, Curriculum design, Robust curriculum delivery, Assessment methodologies relevant to the occupation, Certification and opportunities for further progression for the apprentice, Suitable support in the form of apprenticeship career services for apprentices and Quality assurance mechanisms.
With these principles in mind, Williams assured that CTVET will continue to do all that is necessary to continue its work in the enhancement of skill sets.

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