Regional Strategy for Technical and Vocational Education and Training

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

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Section 10 Infrastructure

Major Action: Rationalise, upgrade training facilities and arrangements in keeping with projected needs

Rationale

The successful implementation of TVET requires an adequate infrastructure for training in each Member State. This infrastructure can be described in terms of facilities, an interactive system for TVET and a training data-base.

Facilities

Some of the concerns expressed about facilities for TVET are:

-the lack or inadequacy of the facilities
- high cost of the facilities
- under- utilisation of physical plant
-poor maintenance and repair of equipment.

Plans to develop or improve facilities for TVET will need to include systematic procedures for maximising use of resources and for the care and maintenance of equipment. Two strategies for maximising the use of resources is the pooling of schools to use facilities at one location and though the development of Centres of Excellence. The concept of a Centre of Excellence as obtains in the OECS territories involves the use of one Institution to serve a group of territories through sub-regional agreements to provide training in certain specialist areas. The development of Centres of Excellence at national and sub- regional levels can help in the strengthening of Institutions and reduce costly duplication of facilities.

An Interactive System for TVET

A National Training System as explained in Section 2 needs to be efficiently co-ordinated and managed by the National Training Agency. In providing an adequate infrastructure for TVET, the National Training Agency will need to establish functional linkages with public and private sectors. The linkages proposed should provide the necessary interactions for the dynamic growth of TVET in each Member State.

Data Base

The information fed to the National Training Agency through the linkages with the Ministries, Industry, Labour Market Information System and Vocational and Career Guidance will facilitate policy and decision making with regard to TVET. The data-base at a National level will include information such as availability of programmes, training institutions, status of equipment, costs, number of staff for TVET, teacher training needs, students' records, nature of and changes in the work force, profiles of various jobs, salaries and vacancies. The development of such a data-base will also facilitate regional co-ordination of selected components of TVET.

It will be necessary to:

- Develop specification standards for facilities -work- shops and skills training centres
- Assess needs for facilities and equipment
- Develop and implement strategies for maximising the use of existing facilities
- Train persons for maintenance and repair of buildings and equipment
- Develop data-base for TVET. This will include activities such as:

• identifying location and hardware for data-base;
• appointing and training persons to gather, store, interpret and retrieve data;
• establishing functional linkages among various organisations and a system for obtaining information

The implementation of these actions at the national level will be co-ordinated and monitored by the National Training Agency. Those actions that have regional implications will be co-ordinated by the Regional Advisory Committee.

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