Issues in Career, Technical and Vocational Education and Training

This edited book, Issues in Career, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET): Lessons for the Caribbean emanated from a special investigations and desk reviews carried out in 2013 by the first cohort of MPhil/PhD students (Carole Powell, Courtney Palmer, Elaine Shakes, Wilbert Nunez, Sheldon Thomas, and Abdul Antoine) pursuing the Leadership in TVET and workforce development option in the MPhil/PhD in Education programme in the School of Education at the Mona campus of the University of the West Indies. The issues addressed include teacher/instructor training, TVET at the tertiary level, challenges for TVET to achieve the millennium development goals, challenges in the tourism industry in Jamaica, National qualifications framework, quality assurance in TVET and revisiting apprenticeship from a global perspective. The first chapter, contributed by the editor, focused on preparing educators in TVET and CTE for building human capacity, based on a Caribbean experience. The author argued that it is only intelligent, highly skilled, creative, caring and highly educated TVET and CTE teachers will be able to respond satisfactorily to the demands placed on the education in developed societies. The author identified two critical features of TVET as its orientation towards the world of work and the emphasis of the curriculum on the acquisition of employable skills. TVET delivery systems, he claimed, are well placed to train the skilled and entrepreneurial workforce that is needed to create wealth and assist in alleviating poverty. He further claimed that appropriately trained teachers will require the requisite knowledge and skills to be effective in the classroom and identified shortcomings of technical and vocational teacher training programmes that prepare technical personnel in the Caribbean. The second chapter outlined the importance of tertiary level TVET and placed it in perspective of the Caribbean. The author claimed that tertiary TVET, is increasingly being recognized in the context of lifelong learning in the globalised world, by UNESCO and other national, regional and global stakeholders in education and international development. TVET at both secondary and tertiary education levels focusses on producing readily-employable skilled personnel for the labour market. The author discussed the challenges, outcomes and present situation of TVET at the tertiary level in various countries in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas and the Caribbean and provided relevant information on the implementation of processes and practices in Tertiary TVET which significantly impacts economic development in these regions. Chapter three addresses challenges for TVET to support the attainment of the Millennium Development Goal in the Caribbean. According to the author, MDG #3 specifically pledges to promote gender equality and empower women. The author further argued that TVET has been promoted as a primary tool in the workforce development (WFD) strategy, and is therefore a viable option to be employed in meeting the MDGs in the Caribbean. Citing World Bank (2012), the author justified the claim that gender equality is a necessity for economic development. Greater gender equality, the author agreed, can achieve three major objectives for economic development: 1) enhance productivity; 2) improve development outcomes for the next generation; and 3) make institutions more representative. In Chapter four, the author explored the benefits of quality assurance in the Management of 21st century TVET in Caribbean secondary schools. The author argued that secondary education is a fundamental conduit between the primary and tertiary stages in the educational hierarchy. It is responsible for the preparation of students for higher education and also the world of work. In reference to the global renewed prominence of TVET being recognized as the most profound strategy to accomplish and sustain the Human Capital in the 21st century, to achieve Education for All (EFA) and United Nations Millennium Development (MDG) goals, the author argued that a novel set of relationships among education, employment and the labour market have been created. These new relationships in addition to increasing globalization, significant migration flows, increasing international labor market opportunities, the growth of international trade and services and growing concerns regarding the quality of educational outputs, the author claimed, are forcing institutions to adopt a system of agreed standards, quality and recognition to empower them to adapt and respond appropriately to the socio economic milieu. Chapter five provided a historical reflection on the establishment of Qualification Framework (QF) in TVET Globally. The author examined the global establishment of QFs from a historical perspective and explored the several challenges between input approaches and the recognition of qualifications and the learning outcomes. His research encompassed a desk review of case studies and research done by various TVET agencies, and other stakeholders of TVET. Various case studies done on the conceptualizing of NQF and its relative importance in economic growth in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean were explored. The author concluded by examining how NQF has impact the various TVET systems globally. Chapter six explored literature on the changes taking place in Jamaican tourism industry and sought to determine whether the current state of the TVET system can prepare the workforce to address such changes. Research, the author claimed, has revealed that the current TVET system has been facing challenges such as poor performance in numeracy and literacy, financing, lack of single qualifications framework and poor matching of training programmes with labour market needs. He further claimed that partnerships with stakeholders will be important to address the deficiencies in the current TVET system to prepare a workforce that is able to meet the demands of the tourism industry. In Chapter seven, the author investigated apprenticeship from a global perspective. He explored literature on apprenticeship training and various facets of apprenticeships. The articles predominantly focused on the merits of appropriateness to learning outcomes, workforce development and benefits to persons - especially youths. Some common threads that were evident throughout the literature are that the apprentice (a) is required to understudy a person who is both skilled and experienced at what s/he does; (b) understudies such a person for a prescribed period of time; (c) receives both practical and theoretical information; (d) receives a stipend. In most cases, especially in developed countries a legislative framework that underpins apprenticeship activities exists. This framework ensures constant monitoring and improvement, when necessary, in keeping with market trends.