TVET & THE ROAD
AHEAD FOR GUYANA
By KIANA WILBURG
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 commands 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 sensitisation exercises about the power and importance of TVET in the world of business. This is an initiative that has been undertaken by The Council for TVET 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, one must first consider and evaluate the work of the Council which manages this area. In doing so, one must consider the following: – Is the Council’s system relevant to the needs of Guyana? – Does its system reflect the best practices that have to be recognized and is applicable internationally? – Is its system self-sustainable? And finally, – Is its system sufficiently geared for continuous reviews via mutual informal interactions among the relevant stakeholders, i.e., the Public and Private Sectors, the Labour Movement, etc.? Speaking with the Guyana Inc. Magazine recently, the Guyana Council for TVET sought to first outline that the vision and mission of the Guyana TVET System is rooted in Education for Employment. 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: – Agroprocessing : Fruits and Vegetables; Seafoods, etc. – 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 Varying methodologies and mechanisms have been developed and employed by a number of countries in order to comprehensively advance their Demand and Supply System in order to optimize their Techvoc Strategies. 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. 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. 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. One example is to equip the Polytechnics with the necessary simulators and other in-plant incubators to accelerate the production of fully fledged entrepreneurs as output from the training facilities, as is the practice in Singapore. Another is the establishment of self-sustaining Product Development and Training Facilities as in the case of India, Canada, Brazil, etc. Already, initiatives have been taken to pursue some of the available and potential opportunities using Bilateral Relationships. ► INDIA (Timber and Wood Products) India Plywood Industries and Research Institute (IPIRTI), Bangalore.: A Product Development and Training Proposal was completed and submitted to Compete Caribbean for funding but was not successful. Bilateral Technical Assistance funding should be pursued. ► CANADA (Oil and Gas): Southern Alberta Institute of Technology and College of North Atlantic, New Foundland. : Strategy centered around the transformation of the Coldingen Workshop into a Residential Centre of Excellence for the Sector with funding from Bilateral Technical Assistance supplemented by corporate inputs from the Sector (Exxon, Repsol). Maritime Transportation and Shipping: A model Product Development Shipping Training Facility needs to be pursued along similar lines like the Caribbean Maritime Institute in Jamaica (funded by Canada and/or Norway) ► JAPAN (Information and Communication) : JICA has already been involved in Technology the establishment of a model programme for training in ICT at the Kuru Kuru Residence Facility. This can be easily expanded to become a National Centre of Excellence project in ICT with supplemental inputs from corporate service providers such as Digicel and GT&T. ► BRAZIL/ARGENTINA (Agro-processing and Leather Craft) : We need to rekindle our relationship with SENAI, SEBRAE/ Roraima and Amazonia States in Boa Vista and Manus in order to formulate realistic projects and programmes in this sub-sector. ► CHINA (Precious Stones/Ceramic Craft) : We need to follow up with the Jewellery signing and implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding drafted in 2014 by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission ► CARICOM (Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica) : Assistance in the establishment of a fully fledged Hospitality Institute ► SINGAPORE (Polythechnics, Repositioning) : Outfitting Polytechnics; and Remodelling intensify training and development of fully fledged entrepreneurs as specific outfits 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, those recommendations emanating from the recent CDB Funded Consultancies in Public Relations, Visibility and Gender mainstreaming together with the suggested financing strategies need to be included in the action programme to be formulated. This would allow for streamlining and modification of the generic short to medium term objectives: GENERIC SHORT TO MEDIUM TERM OBJECTIVES/PLANS FOR TVET INSTITUTIONS • Provision of basic tools, equipment and related services for all levels of the TVET System • 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. • Fast-tracking the development and utilization of Competency Based Learning Modules for the TVET System • To implement competency based training in all Training Institutions through partnership with external/overseas Polytechnics, Community Colleges, etc. • Provision of basic tools and equipment for all Practical Instruction Centres and high technology tools, equipment and related services for the post-Secondary Training Institutions, and the Basic Needs Facilities. • 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. • Continuous upgrading of the Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes of TVET Managers, Instructors and Support Staff. • 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. • Upgrading select TVET Institutes to become Centres of Excellence. • To rationalize TVET delivery by upgrading selected institutes’ capacities to specialize in certain programme areas, while still offering less well-endowed programs to local learners; i.e. Oil and Gas, ICT, Agro-processing, Timber and Wood Processing, Mining and Minerals Processing, Maritime Services outside of River Pilotage and Lean Energy. • Facilitation in the use of newer teaching and learning technologies, including Distance Education in some training institutions. • To promote the use of electronic and informatics technologies that provide interactive, hands-on learning and more effective demonstrations to enable TVET staff and students to share training programmes from anywhere in Guyana and from around the world. • Strengthening Workforce Preparedness Programmes within the Secondary Schools System. • To acquaint all students with the world of work; teach entrepreneurism; teach rudimentary work skills; to test students’ aptitudes and provide career guidance. • Strengthening cooperation between the TVET System and Industry and Commerce. • To develop mutually beneficial relationships between Training Institutions and Employers at the Local, Regional and National levels. • Establishment and Maintenance of Accreditation Procedures for all TVET Institutions and Programmes. • 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 youths’ 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. 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. Innovative and effective apprenticeship programmes around the world should be guided by ten (10) core principles identified from among the best case studies worldwide: 1) Alignment with country development strategies 2) Adequate governance arrangements 3) High levels of employer engagement 4) Appropriate funding and incentive structures 5) Curriculum design 6) Robust curriculum delivery 7) Assessment methodologies relevant to the occupation 8) Certification and opportunities for further progression for the apprentice 9) Suitable support in the form of apprenticeship career services for apprentices 10) Quality assurance mechanisms