Status of competency based education and Technical and Vocational Education and Training – Belize

Submitted by: Employment training and education services (ETES)
Ministry of education and sports – Belize
Competency - based Curriculum Design
TVET Council, Barbados - Ministry of Labour and Social Security,
Barbados, 19 to 23 November 2001

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INTRODUCTION

The Government of Belize (GOB) recognises that there is a dice need to provide more cohesion and rationalization within the TVET sub-sector through the introduction of effective national planning and coordination. In view of this, on January, 2000 GOB submitted an application which was approved a year later for assistance from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) in strengthening the technical and vocational training system within Belize.

The objective of the project is to enhance the quality and capacity of the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) sub-sector of Belize to satisfy the skilled manpower needs, at the intermediate level, of the various contributing economic sectors and to increase the access to a wider cross section of the population.

The project will assist in addition to the provision of new and enhanced physical facilities, open- entry/open-exit modularised programmes to facilitate the training/retraining and certification of the existing employed labour force, the self employed, secondary school graduates, and unemployed who possess the necessary entry prerequisites. The competence and certification provided would enhance the earning capacity and social well being of those graduating from the programmes to be provided by facilitating upward mobility in jobs and greater success in their entrepreneurial endeavours, all leading to a reduction in poverty levels.

EDUCATION AND TRAINlNG SECTOR REVIEW (1)

Overview

During 1999, the Ministry of Education and Sports (MOES) commissioned several studies involving the primary, secondary and TVET sub-sectors. These studies have informed the development of the Education Sector Strategy 1999-2003.

The education sector of Belize, like others of the Region, comprises pre-school; primary; secondary and post-secondary/tertiary levels with TVET being integrated at both the secondary and the post-secondary levels. For the purpose of this paper, emphasis will be place on the current situation of TVET.

TVET

TVET, which represents a broad mix of programmes, intended to prepare students for entering and progressing in the world of work is offered at the secondary and post-secondary level of the system. Non- formal TVET is provided for out-of-school youths and adults through institutions and programmes operating outside the formal school system by several Governmental agencies and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs).

MOES provides TVET through the Technical High and Secondary School and Centres for Employment Training (CETs). The Ministry of Human Development, Tourism and Youth through the Youth Department operate several non-formal programmes for out-of-school youths. The Belize Organization for Women and Development (BOWAND), Belize Enterprise for Sustained Technology (BEST), Youth Start Plan and the 4-H Club are some of the primary NGOs, which offer non-formal vocational education for out-of-school youths.

The Non-traditional Skills Training for Women Project and the Youth Start Plan, promote the participation of women in areas of technical and vocational skills where females have traditionally been under represented. The existing CETs, currently provide training to participants from these non- traditional programmes, and is expected that this relationship will be strengthened by the project, which is expected to contribute significantly to promoting gender equity in TVET.

Through the six Technical High Schools and the technical departments of secondary schools, MOES provides technical education in a wide range of technical specialties, such as Building and Construction Technology; Home Economics; Food and Nutrition; Clothing and Textiles; Mechanical and Electrical Technology; Business Education etc., all leading to the CXC Examinations. These secondary TVET programmes provide a foundation for career development and do not produce persons inmediately ready for the workforce. A 1999 Baseline Survey conducted for MOES concluded that the programmes in the technical schools lack focus and resources to produce persons who are capable of performing satisfactorily in the workforce. (2)

There is currently a high demand for TVET in Belize to meet the need for the estimated 14,600 new workers in the short term, as well as for improving the productivity of an estimated 67,000 existing workers in the workforce. Of the 11,720 students who are currently enrolled in secondary schools approximately 2,000 are likely to access post-secondary education. The existing CETs currently operate day and evening classes (CET- Belize City operates three shifts) at capacity and report a large unsatisfied demand There is also an urgent need to bring into the economic main stream, several thousand young people who are both educationally and socially marginalized by improving and facilitating access to education and training. While CET is not geared to deal fully with this population, a small number who have qualified through GOB and the NGOs pre-vocational programmes have enrolled in and benefited from CET programmes.

The project, by focusing on critical TVET system issues, will complement these developments and contribute to an effective, comprehensive and integrated education and training system capable of producing citizens with the kind of knowledge skills and personal attitudes and attributes which the country needs to drive its economic and social development.

Management

The Employment Training and Education Services (ETES) has specific responsibility to restructure and develop the country' s TVET system to increase the TVET contribution to Belize social and economic development by significantly increasing the number of individuals who are qualified to be employed or self-employed. ETES is the service area, which is responsible for the development and coordination of CET programmes. CETs are administered by Managers who report to the Director ETES and are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Centre. They are supported by Assistant Managers who are responsible for training. Counsellors and Placement Officers provide support services to assist with the rounded development of the student and facilitate access to the labour market.

Policy, Planning and Coordination

The Government plans to establish a National Training Council (NTC) to provide policy directions and coordination for TVET, as well as for channelling and incorporating the inputs of the critical stakeholders of the private, public and NGOs (third) sectors. This initiative is consistent with one of the recommendations of the CARICOM Regional Strategy for TVET which calls for the establishment of a National Training Agency (NTA) in member states to provide policy directions and programme coordination; to oversee the development and implementation of occupational standards; and to deal with issues of certification. accreditation and articulation.

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1. See Enhancement of TVET -Belize Project Document for further reading. (2000).
2. MoES TVET Baseline Survey (1999).

 

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