Int’l conference on TVET for May 10
THE THIRD International Conference on Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in the Caribbean will be held in Montego Bay at the Hilton Rose Hall Resort and Spa under the theme ‘TVET for Sustainable Regional Development’.
TVET, by way of its multifaceted means, methods, and engagements, is seen as a virtuous tool to employ in the road to regional development. Conferencing, by its very nature, brings members together for sharing and strategising and thus will facilitate discovery and support.
TVET modernised speaks to sustainability in many forms and ensures the development of human resources for the contemporary workforce. In support of this, since 2012, a regional combined programme for the MPhil/PhD in Leadership in TVET and Workforce Development has recruited, trained, and graduated more than 60 persons across the Caribbean, and the conferences have been credited with having stimulated development of policies on TVET in countries throughout the region. We expect, therefore, that the international conferences on TVET in the Caribbean will prevail.
BUILDS ON PREVIOUS STAGINGS
This conference builds on the First International Conference on TVET in the Caribbean (2012), where TVET and human capacity development were explored; and the second (2015), which examined the benefits of STEM education in TVET. Hence, the impact of TVET on the workforce and sustainability will be a salient feature in the discourse, and delegates will thus be exploring indices of sustainability as highlighted in the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs), specifically, Goal #4, which speaks to quality education; Goal #8, which considers decent work and economic growth; Goal #9, which emphasises industry, innovation, and infrastructure; and Goal #12, which promotes responsible consumption and production.
The general aim of this year’s conference is to create an advocacy platform for integrating sustainable principles in regional TVET policies, practices, and programmes. In order to satisfy the aim, specific objectives have been advanced as follows:
To encourage a participatory approach during research presentations so as to increase awareness and deepen understanding among participants of their inherent responsibilities in accessing, through TVET, the benefits of energy conservation, waste management and reduction, risk management and reduction, and prudent resource management;
To foster the implementation of sustainable development lifestyle and practices, while exploring TVET innovations for sustainable creative solutions in the alignment of day-today operations with sustainable practices;
To facilitate and learn from hitech exposition by partners in industry and commerce; and
To facilitate policy development that focuses on modernised TVET skills and involvement.
Participants have been encouraged to address the following strands as a means of realising the aims and objectives: quality assurance in TVET for youth empowerment; regulation, investment, and institutional frameworks in support of TVET for workforce development; innovation
and entrepreneurship propelled by quality TVET for wealth creation; partnerships and inter-agency/interstate cooperation for TVET in the development of new skills; reorienting TVET via the key themes of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); Greening TVET, workplace learning and financing TVET for sustainable global reach.
In all this, the outcomes expected are, inter alia: increasing participation in regional and global markets, the beginnings of a sustainable TVET model for workplace learning, greater sensitivity to the UN SDGs, strengthened productivity of human resources, improved environment for regional integration, and improved knowledge of innovative employment skills for the region.
Attendees will include local, regional, and international officials of critical ministries, government agencies, and private-sector organisations; TVET practitioners at various levels of the formal, non-formal, and tertiary systems, including advanced-level university operations; national parenting bodiess; graduate students and young persons from all CARICOM member states and the international arena. More than 80 presentations will be made at this conference. Key presentations will be made by:
Senator Ruel Reid, minister of education, youth, and Information:
“Sharing Innovative Best practices in TVET and Academia and Forging the Necessary Linkages for Continuing The Modernisation of The Tertiary Education System”.
Dr Borhene Chakroun, director UNESCO Paris Office and Head of TVET Section: “Harnessing Partnership to Achieve the SDG4Education 2030 Agenda on TVET”
Simon Roberts, chief information officer, GraceKennedy Limited and chair of the Group’s Biztech Council — “Digitisation and How It May Impact the Training Space”
Nicole Amaral, senior associate in the Labour Markets Division of the IADB — “A Framework for Building More Effective Skills Systems”
Halden A. Morris, professor in Career, Technical Vocational Education and Training, University of the West Indies, and conference chairman — “The Importance of Quality Research in TVET for Regional Development”
The conference is coordinated by the School of Education, UWI Mona, in collaboration with The Ministry of Education Youth and Information, UNESCO Kingston cluster office for the Caribbean and the Paris office, HEART Trust/NTA, the IADB, the Petroleum Company of Trinidad and Tobago (PETROTRIN), The University of Technology (UTech), Jamaica and the British Council.