KINGSTON, Jamaica, April 13 2015 – The University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona School of Education and the UNESCO Kingston cluster office for the Caribbean are among organisations collaborating to host the second international conference on TVET in the Caribbean.
Other collaborating agencies for the May 13-15 conference are the Caribbean Association of National Training Authorities (CANTA); the Ministry of Education in Jamaica; the HEART Trust/NTA; and the University of Technology Jamaica.
Chairman of the conference planning committee, Dr. Disraeli Hutton, said the general objective of the conference is to establish a platform for re-engineering the traditional education process, and strengthen academic discourse as it relates to the implications of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).
He said the conference “offers an opportunity to bring together stakeholders from different countries to interact about the prospects, issues and challenges based on informed findings and will showcase currency in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, while addressing regional policies for the mainstreaming of TVET”.
CANTA chairman and Executive Director of HEART Trust/NTA, Dr Wayne Wesley, said the event is timely, as the “region strengthens the mechanisms for the development of a competent workforce and promoting the movement of certified skilled labour through the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) framework”.
He said that the economic development of regional economies is hinged on the availability of skilled human resources. Dr Wesley points out that TVET through its real-world applications is the ideal vehicle through which the STEM discipline can be delivered.
During the three day conference presentations will be made on mainstreaming TVET in the education system; transforming TVET through STEM integration, TVET and industry engagement, stimulating innovation through TVET and effective leadership and management in TVET including financial management.
