ANGUILLA TURNS TO TVET FOR MORE JOB SKILLS

L-R: Dr. Hassan Nadahi, Mr. Foster Rogers, Hon. Edison Baird, Mrs. Chanelle Petty-Barrett and Mrs. Rhonda Connor

An earlier statement from the Ministry explained that the objective was to develop a policy that would assist Anguilla “in allocating resources in areas that will match supply to current demand for skills, adopting new technologies, attracting investment, competing in new markets and diversifying the economy.”

The Ministry’s statement also gave the following explanation: “In order to make our TVET policy meaningful for the people of Anguilla, we have to, among other things, anticipate skill needs; get maximum participation from social partners; assess labour market information and employment services; ensure training quality and relevance; ensure social inclusiveness and gender equality; identify funding sources; and enable access.”

Stakeholders at the meeting

Among those in attendance were Acting Governor, Stanley Reid; Minister of Social Development, Edison Baird; Dr. Hassan Nadahi, Senior Specialist, Skills and Employability at the Caribbean ILO Office in Trinidad; Permanent Secretaries; Chief Education Officer, Rhonda Connor; Department Heads; Chairman and members of the Advisory TVET Council; Chairperson, Board members, President and Management Team of the Anguilla Community College and other stakeholders.The roundtable opening ceremony was chaired by Permanent Secretary Education, Mrs. Chanelle Petty-Barrett.

Stakeholders at the meeting

“One of the five priorities identified in the Education Development Plan 2010-2015, is the establishment of a framework for the further development of technical and vocation education and training,” Mrs. Petty Barrett told the stakeholders. “This, of course, includes the development of a TVET policy. This roundtable is being held as a first step in this process and we are pleased that you have considered it important enough to be here today.”

Minister Edison Baird said it was important for an effect TVET policy to be interlinked with economic, social and labour market policies. “In fact, if TVET is to be used as a means of sustaining economic and social development, it must be integrated into national and sector development strategies,” Mr. Baird stated. “It is because TVET is critical to so many sectors that we have decided to begin our policy development process by engaging with our stakeholders. It is our hope that throughout the deliberations you will get a better understanding about TVET; begin to dispel the myths about TVET; start thinking about how TVET impacts on you individually and the sectors you represent and the role you can play in TVET’s development.”

Mr. Baird asserted that if tourism is key to economic development, then TVET must be the key to tourism. He took the opportunity to refer to a number of sectors that contribute to the tourism industry. “Its success is dependent on the people with the required skills and training being employed in tourism as well as in other sectors,” the Minister pointed out. “TVET can equip our people to take advantage of the employment opportunities, but this is not limited to the tourism industry. TVET can equip us to become entrepreneurs in our own right and also enable us to develop in other areas we may wish to explore. We are currently paying a lot of attention to renewable energy. We therefore have to give consideration to what skills our people must have to contribute to this and other emerging sectors.”

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs including Labour, Foster Rogers, said TVET gave Anguilla an opportunity to explore new avenues of training to give all young persons a chance to get jobs. He noted that most of the concentration in the schools was on academics and the core disciplines of math, science, and languages which were critical to education.

He observed, however, that not all persons were academically inclinedwith others more geared towards plumbing, electrical work, building, technical occupations and other trades. “It takes all types of people to make up our community and it is solely dependent on all types – the academicians, the technical persons and artisans,” he said. “Everybody makes up our community so it means thatwe must put mechanisms and programmes in place to nurture those minds that are not academically inclined.” He stressed that all aspects of TVET needed to be explored and developed.

Dr. Ndahi, the ILO specialist, said his organisation was founded in 1919. “It believed that in order to have a lasting peace there must be social justice, fairness people should be able to have jobs which provide a decent income,” and employees should be able to express their opinions without fear, he observed. Dr. Ndahi noted that there was much discontent among young people around the world because of lack of jobs, and thought that Mr. Baird and Mr. Rogers had made a good case as to why there was a need for TVET. He said that very issue would be discussed at the stakeholders roundtable meeting (as to how Anguilla could go forward).

The first session of the meeting was chaired by Chief Education Officer, Mrs. Connor. It was led by Dr. Ndahi who spoke on Reinventing TVET in the Caribbean. The second session, an Overview of TVET in Anguilla, was conducted by Ms Janis McKeag, TVET Coordinator.

Sessions three and four were chaired by Dr. Aidan Harrigan, Permanent Secretary, Economic Development, Investment, Commerce and Tourism. The leaders were Russel Reid, Labour Commissioner, whose topic was The Anguilla Labour Situation; and Mrs. Lori-Rae Alleyne Franklin, Chief Statistician, whose session was on Labour Market Information.

Session five was chaired by Mrs. Petty-Barrett, Permanent Secretary, Education, Sports, Library Services, Youth& Culture. The focus groups dealt with forecasting future skill needs and areas for further probing; and such questions as what are stakeholders’ expectations of a TVET Policy for Anguilla? What is the role and responsibility of your organisation/department in TVET development? and Which agencies should be represented on the TVET Policy Development Working Group?

The sessions ended with a short presentation on the way forward.