Education system boosted with 15 TVET Master Trainers
(October 16, 2019) – The Ministry of Education welcomed 15 Master Trainers following a one week workshop hosted by the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET) for TVET Practitioners. The workshop began on October 7, 2019 and culminated on Tuesday, October 15, 2019.
Giving an overview of the workshop yesterday at the Regency Suites Hotel was Dr. Paulette Dunne-Pierre, Regional TVET Consultant and Trainer in the Caribbean. She said that the workshop is an outcome of the Revised TVET Strategy of 2014 wherein one of the pillars was the development of instructors.
She said that there are not many countries in the Caribbean that have trained Master Trainers and commended the Ministry for making the step forward. She added that the 15 participants represent the only group that was able to develop a toolbox for Master Trainers.
According to Dr. Dunn-Pierre, the workshop started last Monday looking at the contextual framework within which the regional vocational qualification and the Caribbean vocational qualification frameworks were developed.
She said that the workshop then moved to look at Competency-Based Education and Training (CBET). Dr. Dunn-Pierre explained that since the new Master Trainers were already trained as assessors and verifiers, one of the outcomes of the workshop would have been the CVQ Level Four but they received dual certification as a Master Trainer and the CVQ.
Based on the training received, Dr. Dunn-Pierre said that the Master Trainers are now qualified to visit firms and conduct a training needs analysis to disaggregate jobs into teachable components.
Among the other areas covered according to Dr. Dunn-Pierre were learning styles, integrating Information Technology into the delivery methodology, developing lesson plans, best practices and establishing, managing and evaluating training systems.
According to Dr. Laurette Bristol, Programme Manager – Human Resource Development at CARICOM the training of Master Trainers in Guyana will address the issue of high rates of youth unemployment in the Caribbean.
She said that when there is high youth unemployment it creates a society that operates at a level that is less than desirable which relates to social security issues.
Additionally, Dr. Bristol explained that the CARICOM Human Resource Strategy which was approved by Heads of Government in 2017, recognized that education and training for productive employment are vital for the economic and social development of the region.
Assistant Chief Education Officer (Technical) Mr. Patrick Onwuzirike said that the training workshop is an activity that comes under the Guyana Skills Development and Employability Project (GSDEP) funded by the Caribbean Development Bank.
He said that the main objective is to show that the CTVET has enough Master Trainers since the Ministry prior to the workshop had only one Master Trainer to carry out the training of assessors and internal and external verifiers.
He said that given that the Ministry of Education will be streamlining TVET in secondary schools, it was recognized that in order to fulfil that task, the CTVET was going to need enough Master Trainers.
According to Mr. Onwuzirike the Ministry thought it best to have a group of persons that will go back to the schools after training other staff within the Ministry, to progress the streamlining of TVET at the secondary level.
He said that this initiative will ensure that every child leaving secondary school is given an opportunity at acquiring a skills certificate.
Chairman of the CTVET, Mr. Clinton Williams said that the CTVET has the responsibility to ensure that there is effective and efficient of delivery of quality technical and vocational education and training in Guyana.
He said that the programme was intended to build and enhance capacity in keeping with international best practices in competency-based education and training. Mr. Williams said that the 15 Master Trainers are now challenged to make meaningful contributions to the development of competent TVET human resources with the right culture, behaviour and value and trainers who will be expected to be teachers, role models and agents of change.