Hundreds of young people across the country could soon benefit from the Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ) programme, as the Ministry of Education is considering expanding the programme to 30 additional secondary schools.
Dr. Ritesh Tularam, Deputy Chief Education Officer (DCEO)-Technical said the Ministry is working to ensure young persons are able to acquire a skilled trade in addition to their formal education.
He said that while steps are being made to enhance the delivery of education services, government also recognises the need for its people to attain relevant skills and knowledge to be gainfully employed in current and emerging sectors.
“The Ministry of Education’s vision is to ensure that each child that exits the secondary school leaves with a CSEC qualification, as well as a skill certification, and so I believe the ministry is now positioning itself in realising that vision and ensure we can create a cadre of skilled full of competent of knowledgeable personnel with the right aptitudes to transit into the world of work and by extension, make that significant contribution not only to themselves but for national development and growth in the country,” Dr. Tularam said.
To this end, 30 additional secondary schools have been identified for the programme. The project will provide students with a wide array of programmes like data operations, general office administration, electrical installation, and metal work, among other areas.
He said while the move will open new opportunities to the youth, the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) will have to conduct a feasibility study to ensure the schools identified can implement the programme.
For now, the council for TVET is assessing the schools to address any inadequacies found before the visit from CXC.
“So as of September 2022, the ministry is very optimistic that we will have another 30 schools satisfying those requirements, and so we can have another cohort of students registering. The bottom line is that, we do not want to register 190 this year, but we want to take that number to approximately within the 250s or 300s and if it goes beyond that, then it’s good for the ministry, but the number we’re looking at probably will be within the vicinity of another 300 to 400 students registering for the CVQ Level One Programme,” he further added.
CVQ is a competency-based qualification programme that enables persons to find employment in the region and around the world.
