Four CARICOM Member States are participating in the pilot phase of the Digitalisation of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Delivery Project. This crucial effort is poised to transform how the people of the Caribbean Community access instructional programmes or courses that focus on the skills required for a specific job function or trade.
The project seeks to establish a regional digital platform that supports the digitalisation of TVET delivery across CARICOM Member States. In this pilot phase, the specific technical and vocational institutions participating are the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology in Barbados, the New Life Organization in Grenada, the HEART College of Hospitality Services, HEART College of Beauty Services and HEART College of Construction Services in Jamaica and the Youth Training and Employment Partnership Programme (YTEPP) Limited in Trinidad and Tobago.
According to the Project Manager and Deputy Programme Manager of Education at the CARICOM Secretariat, Dr. Denise Stoney-James, the project’s implementation involves “developing regional guidelines for digitalising TVET delivery and training. It includes converting at least three occupational programmes for online delivery and a pilot and rollout of a software solutions platform to support end-to-end TVET digitalisation.”
She stated, “We will also train a cadre of TVET instructors, assessors and verifiers, and monitors in Member States to serve as “Train-the-Trainers”. They will support the continuous availability of competent instructors, assessors, and validators for online TVET qualifications in Member States and the creation of digital TVET teaching and learning content.”
In addition, the project will enhance TVET delivery through institutional capacity development (monitors, instructors, assessors, and verifiers) in online pedagogy training – a combination of teaching methods (what instructors do), learning activities (what instructors ask their students to do), and learning assessments (the assignments, projects, or tasks that measure student learning).
The Project Manager emphasised that the initiative aims to develop an incentive programme to target women and representatives from marginalised groups. It will increase enrollment by improving access and participation for both groups through TVET curriculum revision and TVET qualification development for online delivery modes. This aspect is supported through the Trilateral Technical Cooperation between the CARICOM Secretariat, Brazil with the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (“Agência Brasileira de Cooperação” – ABC), the European Union (EU) and Germany, through the German Cooperation for Sustainable Development – GIZ.
Transforming access to Vocational Education and Training
The TVET Delivery Project is a crucial element of the CARICOM Human Resource Development (HRD) 2030 Strategy, which was approved by CARICOM Member States in 2017. The CARICOM Secretariat is implementing the project in collaboration with the Caribbean Association of National Training Authorities (CANTA), National Service for Industrial Training (SENAI), ABC, the European Union and the German Cooperation for Sustainable Development through GIZ. The project aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4: “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”.
The project started on 1 March 2024, with completion expected within 24 months.
