FROM PREJUDICE to FROM PREJUDICE to PRIDE OF PLACE  Addressing the negative perceptions of TVET in Jamaica Janet A. Dyer HEART College of Hospitality Services

TVET Transformation Man can adjust by tinkering, but he cannot transform. Nothing less than transformation can provide answers to the dilemmas within which we are currently trapped. Michael Manley Politics of Change 1972

TVET and Jamaica  Slow economic growth, high percentage of unskilled population and increasing rates of workforce migration have had a great influence on the country’s policy in terms of TVET,

TVET and Jamaica  TVET has now developed into a standard bearer for the Caribbean and other developing countries of the world and is embodied in the operation of the HEART Trust/NTA., a statutory organisation that was established in 1982 by the National Government.

TVET and Jamaica  The provision of training in Jamaica is focused on imparting occupational skills to the individual and linking education individuals to the labour market by preparing them for effective engagement in the workforce.

TVET and Jamaica  Increasing access to certification services by certifying members of the Jamaican labour force through assessing and recognising prior learning and filling in training gaps,

TVET and Jamaica  Providing comprehensive, relevant training to individuals entering the workforce is an important goal pursued by the Jamaican TVET system.

TVET and Jamaica  While TVET continues to attract large numbers of young people, it suffers from negative perceptions which impact on its viability as an educational pathway  Consider this: Research suggest that the TVET is portrayed as a low status, low quality education pathway

What exactly is TVET ? Participants at the World Congress on TVET, held in Seoul, South Korea, in 1999, decided that the best, most comprehensive term to use is Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET). This is reflected in the name of the UNESCO- UNEVOC International Centre in Germany, which was established in 2000 as a direct result of recommendations arising from the 1999 Seoul congress.

What exactly is TVET? TVET is concerned with the acquisition of knowledge and skills for the world of work. Throughout the course of history, various terms have been used to describe elements of the field. These include:  Apprenticeship Training,  Vocational Education,  Technical Education,  Technical-Vocational Education (TVE),  Occupational Education (OE),  Vocational Education and Training (VET),  Career and Technical Education (CTE), etc. Several of these terms are commonly used in specific geographic areas

Economic Imperatives for TVET: 1.Absorb individuals at any and all General Education Level(s) and capacitate them to be productive members of the society, be all inclusive… Implications for Practice: The design and delivery of TVET offerings must recognize and address to the authentic realities of the targeted populations.

Economic Imperatives for TVET: 2. Ensure the learning outcomes from investments in TVET will add real value to the economy; Consider this: The youth who enrolls in training, but leaves without acquiring the Desired Competences, has no advantage over the youth who has not enrolled.

Economic Imperatives for TVET : 3. Ensure the learning outcomes from investments in TVET will add real value to the economy; Implications for Practice: Adopt a training framework, which recognizes and values LEARNING as the key ingredient for moving trainees from Current to Desired Competency.

Economic Imperatives for TVET? 4. Plan and lead with deliberate developmental intentions; Consider this: Fact : limited General Education (GE) grounding limits the acquisition of learning in specialized technical and vocational areas. Research indicates: a significant % of the youth population seeking admissions into TVET programmes do not have the “required/requisite” GE competencies to be admitted.

Economic Imperatives for TVET 5. Train and capacitate individuals to be competitive in the globally economic environment; Implications for Practice: In every occupational area, target learning outcomes that are at least on par with global standards, but we must emphasize teaching-learning strategies which are culturally and contextually relevant.

TVET Realities in Jamaica  TVET continues to attract large numbers of young and not so young people  Remains the key route through which young Jamaicans attempt to acquire needed skills for entry into the labour market  The development and implementation of a TVET Policy providing an opportunity to a high quality route to TVET certification

TVET Realities in Jamaica  Whilst the industry attracts a significant amount of young Jamaicans, for TVET to have the desired impact, identification and understanding of the underlying factors which continue to portray the it as a low status pathway to education must be addressed

Perceptions/Findings TVET are for individual who are academically weak and that a significant amount of TVET trainees are high school dropouts Parents,Policy makers, trainees suggesting that TVET has a low return rates as persons accessing TVET are poor and cannot afford college education

Perceptions/Findings  Some Respondents believed limited higher level employment for TVET graduates as employers required academic standings  Volatility of income in some TVET related skills, seasonal and unpredictable making them less attractive

Perceptions/Findings  Scepticism among trainees that master craftsmen are hiding valuable skills  Employee expectations, graduates struggle to meet the demands of professionalism and employability skills  Inability of employers securing evidence of competence from informal TVET trainees

Addressing Perceptions  Implementation of TVET Policy. Engineered to endure the effectiveness of TVET – Any campaign must coincide with programmes to improve quality provisions of training – Co-ordinated system of Career guidance and counselling for young people in TVET

Addressing Perceptions  Harnessing the skills of Master Craftsmen and Experts for effective delivery of training  Expanding engagements and Integrating the industry/private sector to deepen their understanding of TVET and labour market demands

Addressing Perceptions  Build on Local, National and International partnerships to increase support for learners during and after training.

Recommendations  Conduct promotional campaign to improve perception of TVET – Promote vocational pathways as viable education options for young people – Provide access to vocational training at an early age to improve understanding of training pathways and possible Careers

Recommendations  Develop Career Advice and guidance System – Train teachers that they are able to understand and communicate different options to young people – Collaborate with think tanks and associations, re-introduction of career guidance and counselling framework to improve understanding and transferability between learning pathways

Recommendations  Capacity Training for Master Craftsmen to be introduced – Training master craftsmen in standard delivery format to stem inconsistency in training approach and improve pedagogy – Integrate master craftsmen in formal training system

Recommendations  Improve the Links Between Industry and Training – Address gaps between supply and demand of skills in the various sector – Develop common platform for employers engagement – Develop necessary links between industry and training to improve labour market information to drive training

CONCLUSION  The continued promotion and awareness of TVET will be pivotal to the support and inclusion of the informal section which makes up a large portion of Jamaica’s economy.  With the integration of the informal sector the development and viability of TVET in Jamaica will regain it “Pride of Place”

Michael Manley (1972): When one considers the magnitude of the economic and attitudinal restructuring that our conditions demand, it becomes clear that the politics of conservatism and tinkering are not only irrelevant to our situation, but represent an intolerable default of responsibility. Man can adjust by tinkering, but he cannot transform. Nothing less than transformation can provide answers to the dilemmas within which we are currently trapped. (Excerpted form: Politics of Change