Practitioners Urged to Attain Certification in Early Childhood Competencies

Assistant Chief Education Officer in the Early Childhood Unit of the Ministry of Education and Youth, Evadne Vennor, is encouraging practitioners to become trained in the levels one and two competencies in the Early Childhood Care and Development programme, which is being offered through the National Council on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (NCTVET).
“Training is integral to the whole development of the transformation in Education, hence the emphasis on our practitioners to be trained in levels one and two competences offered by NCTVET. The practitioners have access to training at certified institutions at HEART Trust/ NTA to attain certification in early childhood competencies,” Miss Vennor told JIS News in an interview.
The early childhood unit is a partner with NCTVET, and the Early Childhood Commission has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to maintain standards.
Miss Vennor said she considered the programme offered through the NCTVET as flexible, as people were able to access training fulltime as well as part- time.
“Persons with or without early childhood knowledge or experience can access training. The benefits therefore are, capacity building, making them more marketable and with the Caribbean Single Market and Economy coming into play, they can work in any of the islands once they have the competencies,” she pointed out.
She added that other benefits include achieving personal development, building self esteem and self confidence, and practitioners will also be able to meet the standards required by the early childhood commission in the education transformation.
Another benefit of having levels one and two training in early childhood care and development, is that practitioners will be able to develop mastery in the involvement with children and improve the quality of their delivery.
“It is useful to note that the early childhood commission will have oversight responsibility for the early childhood sector and that includes the early childhood unit. So our officers and our practitioners eventually will be deployed to the early childhood commission,” she said.
“Hence the standards set by the commission will have to be met and one of the requirements is that practitioners must enter with level two certification from NCTVET,” she continued.
Training is offered fulltime at accredited training institutions such as Garmex Heart Academy, Rockfort Heart Academy, Stony Hill Heart Academy and the Portmore Heart Academy. The period to complete the programme is dependent on the different modules the practitioner has chosen.
“It will determine whether a person stays for a year or two years. If we look at a level one programme, which is designed to provide persons with broad based knowledge and practical skills, they have to complete the modules that will enable them to function in the assessment before they are certified. So there are several modules that they have to complete,” Miss Vennor told JIS News.
Some of the topics covered in the early childhood training include child development, nutrition, child safety and record keeping.
“With the early childhood commission having to regulate the early childhood sector, which takes in all age groups from zero to eight, it means that people will have to comply with the requirements of becoming certified practitioners,” Miss Vennor emphasised.