The role and function of the National Training Agency

Competency - based Curriculum Design
TVET Council, Barbados - Ministry of Labour and Social Security,
Barbados, 19 to 23 November 2001

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Establishment of the National Training Agency

The National Training Agency (NTA) was established in January, 1999, by the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago as a consequence of recommendations made by a Cabinet- appointed committee on National Training in February, 1998.

System of Governance

A system of governance as it impacts on a strategy for human resource development has been established by Government as the Ministry of Human Development, Youth and Culture. As articulated by Government, the ministerial portfolios have been restructured as synergistic modules with the intention of pursuing the nine key objectives which will drive the Government's agenda over the next five years with the aim of taking Trinidad and Tobago to developed country status in this decade.

The consequence has be en a rationalization of the major agencies and providers of national training, either directly or indirectly, under the ambit of a new line Ministry of Human Development, Youth and Culture, with the NTA at the apex.
See Appendix 1 for the major bodies under the line Ministry.

The Defined Role of the National Training Agency

It is important to conceptualise the scope of the strategy required for human resource development and the role and function of the National Training Agency in the new dispensation as a result of the paradigm shift.

The NT A now has to see itself in a new light and assume its rightful and strategic position as envisioned by the Government and the reconfigured Ministry of Human Development, Youth and Culture. In so doing, it will become the prime mover of the human development strategy as it relates to the national training system, which will include its rationalization, configuration and governance -administrative and regulatory.

The two major Government Ministries with responsibility for human resource development are:

a) The Ministry of Education; and
b) The Ministry of Human Development, Youth and Culture

There therefore needs to be a functional nexus between the two Government Ministries in order to effect a coherent human resource development strategy.

The synergies of the two Ministries will provide the medium for development of the human resource capabilities by providing education and training competencies from pre-school education (age 3 years) to university education, technical and vocational education and training at all levels inconclusive. In other words, there is the need to establish a continuum to facilitate life-long learning and a knowledge-based society.

There will therefore be the urgent need to establish the nexus and to determine the core functional areas that intersect and complement the human resource development competencies. Undoubtedly, a significant core functional dimension will be that of the curriculum. It is also becoming apparent that there is the need to establish a coherent national qualifications framework, which is complimentary to the human resource development strategy. Affirmative action has been taken by the Government to effect this strategic objective in the appointment of one Minister with ' the responsibility for both Education and Training.

NTA's Vision and Role

Given the need to rationalize and effect governance of the national training system, the National Training Agency's (NTA) main focus will be on promoting quality and coherence in technical and vocational education and training.

It is a new organization with a unique overview of the curriculum, assessment and qualifications across the whole of the country's technical and vocational education and training system.

The NTA' s prime duty will be to coordinate and regulate technical and vocational education and training (TVET) throughout Trinidad and Tobago, and sees itself as a dynamic, responsive and pro active agency, promoting and facilitating a coherent system of quality TVET.

This system will be designed to satisfy the changing needs of industry and cater to the aspirations of individuals. The Agency will work in close collaboration with the relevant partners in industry, the professions, education and training.

NTA's Mission

The NT A' s mission is:

To ensure that the nation is continuously supplied with people who have the competencies required for the world of work and other productive endeavour, through maintaining a comprehensive, integrated training system -with a particular emphasis on the relevance, quality and standard s of:

• The curriculum
• The form and mode of training
• Assessment
• Qualifications
• Public and private training institutions
• Technical and vocational institutes
• Tertiary colleges
• NGOs
• The workplace

Strategic Aims of NTA

The strategic aims of the NTA as embodied in the NTA's Strategic Plan (1999 -2002) are as, follows:

Aim 1 : To develop, promote and maintain national occupational standards of competence.
Aim 2 : To produce T1NVQs within the framework of the national training system.
Aim 3 : To establish an Awarding Body (internal and external awarding body functions) for awarding TTNVQs.
Aim 4 : To accredit training providers through the process of Quality Assurance.
Aim 5 : To provide Quality Enhancement services to training providers.
Aim 6 : To ensure the quality of assessment in the award of TTNVQs.
Aim 7 : To promote lifelong learning via continuous education and training. Aim 8: -To produce and disseminate Labour Market Information.
Aim 9 : To facilitate the development of a Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ).
Aim 10: To establish a National Modern Apprenticeship Programme in keeping with Government's policy on Apprenticeship training.

Organisational Structure

An appropriate organizational structure for the NT A has been configured in order to enable the agency to effectively perform its technical and administrative functions in pursuance of its strategic aims and objectives in keeping with its Strategic Plan (1999 -2002).

Please refer to Appendices II (A) and II (B)

 

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