Enhancing capacity in the Caribbean to offer blended TVET.
The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) #COL4D, in collaboration with the Caribbean Association for National Training Authorities (CANTA), recently hosted a workshop: Strategies and Action Plans for Building Capacity of TVET Practitioners for Blended TVET Practice. The workshop was held at the Vocational Training Development Institute (VTDI) in Kingston, Jamaica and is part of a series of capacity-building initiatives provided by COL in collaboration with national training authorities and TVET providers. The partnership between COL and CANTA is focused on enhancing the resilience of TVET and strengthening skills development across the Caribbean.
VTDI has a Caribbean regional mandate to prepare TVET practitioners for the TVET system. Twenty-six master trainers and trainers from VTDI who had previously received training with COL's support on blended delivery of competency-based training participated in the workshop. The aim of the workshop was to develop a strategy and an action plan to enhance the capacity and capability of TVET practitioners in the Caribbean region to deliver blended TVET programmes effectively.
Mr Orlando Hewitt, CANTA’s Technical Officer, highlighted the existing gaps in skills training, assessment and certification processes for national and regional vocational qualifications. Dr Phylicia Marshal, Assistant Chief Education Officer, Tertiary Unit, Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Jamaica, and COL’s Focal Point in Jamaica, emphasised that the strategies developed should aim at facilitating trainees to acquire skills to build their lives. Additionally, Dr Delize Williams, Principal and CEO of VTDI, noted that “participants have shared that they not only benefitted from the rich discussions and interactive sessions, but they have also been inspired by the passion and commitment of COL, to advance blended learning in TVET within the Caribbean.”
In the Caribbean region today, key barriers to industry transformation include skills gaps and challenges in attracting talent. In the education sector, vocational education teacher roles are expected to grow by ten per cent, adding three million jobs. Common workforce strategies include investing in learning, on-the-job training, and process automation. Addressing this challenge requires countries to develop the capacity of their TVET institutions and staff to offer training more quickly, more flexibly, and with more diverse competencies.
Mr Robert Okinda, COL’s Adviser: Skills, remarked that capability building of pre-service and in-service trainers in both the formal and informal sectors for blended delivery of competency-based training and assessments is crucial for transforming TVET to address current and future skills demands.
#BlendedLearning #TVET #CaribbeanEducation #SkillsDevelopment #CANTA #CapacityBuilding #VocationalTraining #EducationInnovation #WorkforceDevelopment
Link to news: www.col.org/news/enhancing-capacity-in-the-caribbean-to-offer-blended-tvet/
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The Eleventh Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning #PCF11 takes place in Gaborone, Botswana, from 10 to 12 September 2025.
The deadline for submission of abstracts and proposals is 30 January 2025.
Details: pcf11.org
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