JIS: The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information is working to strengthen its collaboration with training institutions and industry players to increase the talent pool of trained, competent and certified persons who are ready for employment in various sectors.

 

This is according to Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr. Grace McLean, who said this strong partnership is necessary, “so that our young people can obtain practical work experience”.

 

“We are encouraging and pursuing more public-private partnerships as we work collaboratively to meet the needs of industry and to support national development,” she said in a speech read by Chief Technical Director in the Ministry, Barbara Allen.

 

The speech was delivered during a forum on ‘Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Action 2019’, hosted by the Vocational Training Development Institute (VTDI), at The Knutsford Court Hotel in New Kingston, on Tuesday (March 19).

 

Dr. McLean noted that Jamaica is among the many countries that have moved to positioning TVET into the mainstream of the education system and setting it as a priority on the education agenda.

 

She said Jamaica is seeking to strengthen its policy and regulatory frameworks for TVET, while at the same time taking steps to strengthen partnerships with prospective private-sector employers

 

“By placing TVET in the mainstream of education policy, with an emphasis on practical application and extensive curriculum reform, we are effecting a significant paradigm shift,” she said.

 

The Acting Permanent Secretary noted, however, that one of the major hurdles the Ministry still faces is to re-educate the society to be more embracing of TVET as a valid career path, “and just not something that young people should fall back on in the event of underperformance in other areas”.

 

In the meantime, Managing Director, HEART Trust/NTA, Dr. Janet Dyer, stressed that TVET is the driving force for economic development.

 

“It is, therefore, very important for us to host such a function of this nature. It is expected that TVET in Action as a national imperative, will reveal the quality outcomes needed for the changing technological workforce,” she said, in a speech delivered by Senior Director, National Council on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (NCTVET), Nicole Manning.

 

Themed ‘Fostering National Development Through Partnerships’, the event aimed to promote the VTDI as the premier tertiary arm of the Heart Trust/NTA, which seeks to offer unique TVET programmes at the higher level, with a view to making a meaningful contribution to the Jamaican economy.

 

It also sought to develop greater awareness of the importance of TVET to national and regional development, promote the TVET programmes of the VTDI to a wider cross-section of employers and industries, create partnerships with employers for internships and employment opportunities for students, and strengthen students’ opportunities for employment.

 

CAPTION ONE: Fourth-year student at the Vocational Training Development Institute (VTDI), Felisha Rose (right), explains the concept behind a model for a smart house design to (from left) Chief of Party, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Advance Programme, Alejandro Paredes; Senior Director, National Council on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (NCTVET), Nicole Manning; and Chief Technical Director in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Barbara Allen. Occasion was a forum on ‘Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Action 2019’, hosted by the VTDI at The Knutsford Court Hotel in New Kingston, on Tuesday (March 19).

 

CAPTION TWO: Lecturer in the Construction and Engineering Technology Department at the Vocational Training Development Institute (VTDI), Trecha Bennett-Miller (left), provides details on the creation of a 3D model of a house design done by first-year students of the institute to (from second left) Chief of Party, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Advance Programme, Alejandro Paredes; Senior Director, National Council on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (NCTVET), Nicole Manning; and Chief Technical Director in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Barbara Allen. Occasion was a forum on ‘Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Action 2019’, hosted by the VTDI, at The Knutsford Court Hotel in New Kingston, on Tuesday (March 19).