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Renewed Focus by HEART/NTA on Regional Vocational Training

By: , April 7, 2014

The Key Point:

Education Minister, Hon. Rev. Ronald Thwaites, says there is renewed focus by HEART Trust/NTA to provide vocational training for persons in other Caribbean countries and beyond, as it does for Jamaicans.

The Facts

  • Rev. Thwaites said one of the challenges to providing training for some regional territories’ workforces is the degree of difficulty encountered by training institutions in securing accurate job market data projections, to tailor courses accordingly.
  • CANTA, which established in November 2003, comprises national training agencies and other TVET apex bodies in CARICOM states.

The Full Story

Education Minister, Hon. Rev. Ronald Thwaites, says there is renewed focus by HEART Trust/NTA to provide vocational training for persons in other Caribbean countries and beyond, as it does for Jamaicans.

He underscored this point while addressing a reception hosted by the Education Ministry at the Cardiff Hotel and Spa, Runaway Bay, St. Ann, on April 3, for representatives attending a two-day meeting of the Caribbean Association of National Training Agencies (CANTA) in Jamaica.

Rev. Thwaites said one of the challenges to providing training for some regional territories’ workforces is the degree of difficulty encountered by training institutions in securing accurate job market data projections, to tailor courses accordingly.

He pointed out that stakeholders in some territories were only able provide “intuitive projections” in this regard.

“I find that our young people are generally filled with the career possibilities of the past, rather than acquainted with the opportunities of the future. How we can fully understand what it is that we need to instruct in order that we may go forward as individuals and nations, is very significant and is still wanting,” he contended.

Pointing out that the Government of Jamaica fully supports the efforts of CANTA to have a Caribbean Vocational Qualifications (CVQ) developed and recognized regionally and internationally, Rev. Thwaites said the organization’s two-day meeting, on April 3 and 4, was “most timely”.

“It coincide(d) with the implementation of the Ministry of Education’s policy thrust to infuse Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) universally in the secondary school curriculum, as well as to establish post-secondary TVET institutes and workforce colleges,” he informed.

The Minister said the Ministry’s position is that basic TVET training should be commence at the “early stages” of education, adding that the HEART Trust/NTA will be helping to institute that undertaking in Jamaica’s education system.

CANTA, which established in November 2003, comprises national training agencies and other TVET apex bodies in CARICOM states.  It is endorsed as the implementing arm of the CARICOM Regional Coordinating Mechanism for TVET.

Last Updated: April 7, 2014

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