Quality-Assured Certification: THE KEY TO GREATER WORKFORCE MOBILITY IN

THE CARIBBEAN AND INTERNATIONALLY 

Patricia McPherson, CARICOM SecretariatRobert Gregory, Education Specialist

ACCC Conference June 2, 2013

PRESENTATION OUTLINE• PART 1: SETTING THE CONTEXT

• CARICOM (What is it, Why in existence)• The Birth of the CARICOM Single Market• Caribbean –Canada Relations

TVET IN THE REGION• In formal and non formal education

• Its portability within the Free Movement of skills Regime• TVET –The Answer?

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PRESENTATION OUTLINE• PART 2: ROBERT’S PART

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CARICOM The Caribbean Community

Established by the Treaty of Chaguaramas signed at the historic Chaguaramas Convention Centre,

Trinidad and Tobago4 July 1973

CARICOM

CARICOM: The Original Signatories

Barbados Hon Errol Barrow

GuyanaHon Forbes Burnham

JamaicaHon Michael

Manley

Trinidad & Tobago

Dr the Hon Eric Williams

CARICOM

CARICOM

Antigua& Barbuda

The Bahamas

Barbados

Belize Dominica Grenada

Guyana Haiti Jamaica

Montserrat St. Kitts & Nevis

Saint Lucia

St. Vincent &

Grenadines

Suriname Trinidad & Tobago

Fifteen Member States

CARICOM

CARICOMFive Associate Members

1. Anguilla2. Bermuda3. British Virgin Islands4. Cayman Islands5. Turks and Caicos Islands

CARICOM

CARICOM CARICOM

OBJECTIVES OF THE COMMUNITY include

Improved standards of

living and work

Full Employment of labour & other factors of production

Enhanced levels of international competitiveness

CARICOM CARICOM

OBJECTIVES OF THE COMMUNITY include

Enhanced co-ordination of

foreign economicpolicies

Enhanced functional co-operation

CARICOM

• THE BIRTH OF THE CARICOM SINGLE MARKET

AND ECONOMY (CSME)

CARICOM CARICOM

The Treaty of Chaguaramas was revised to include the CARICOM Single Market and Economy, and signed by Heads of Government on July 5, 2001

January 2006 - The CSM became operational; six Member States signed the Agreement

January 2006 - The CSM became operational; six Member States signed the Agreement

January 2006 - Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas entered into force through ratification by twelve Member States

January 2006 - Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas entered into force through ratification by twelve Member States

July 2006 – Six other Member States signed the Agreement

July 2006 – Six other Member States signed the Agreement

- The Bahamas is not a part of the CSM-

Montserrat is awaiting entrustment

- The Bahamas is not a part of the CSM-

Montserrat is awaiting entrustment

February 2008 –

Haiti ratified CSMAgreement

CARICOM The CSME:-A single enlarged economic space

Functional

cooperation

Macro-

economic and

sectoral

policy

coordination Free

movement of goods, services,

capital, technology,

labour

Common external trade policy

Non- discriminatoryaccess to the region’s resources & markets for CARICOM nationals

The Single Market

The CARICOM Community CARICOM

•The Member States of the (CARICOM) have responded to the economic challenges of globalisation and trade liberalisation by deepening the integration process through the creation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).

The free movement of skilled persons one of the main pillars of the CSME. Issues of skill development through TVET and the portability of qualifications, have assumed renewed importance in positioning the Region for competitive participation in the global economy.

The CARICOM Community CARICOM

common system

and understan

ding of quality

assurance issues

all levels of

Education and

Training, including

TVET

In order to achieve this, there must be:

The CARICOM Community CARICOM

•committed themselves to free movement of nationals within the Community

MemberStates

• required to put in place mechanisms to ensure full and complete complianceMember

States

CARICOM CARICOM

University GraduatesMedia WorkersSports persons

MusiciansProfessional Nurses

TeachersArtisans

ArtistesHolders of associate

Degrees or equivalent quals

Household Domestics with a

(CVQ) or equivalent qualification

Persons eligible for Movement

• Robert Gregory’s part

The Regional Strategy

The Process• Bottom up - 12 National 3 Regional

Consultations• Ensure integrity, respectful of contributions• Verification, ratification• Advocacy Strategy, lobbying• Importance of ownership and accountability

“Regional TVET Strategy for Workforce Development and Economic Competitiveness:

Skills and Credentials--the New Global Currency”

• Vision Statement: Sustainable economic prosperity through the creation of a globally competitive regional workforce enabled by a market-responsive education and training system

• Difference from Previous Strategy– Economic not social domain– Focus on Credentials– Accountability– Implementation

7 Pillars of the Strategy

1. TVET redefined and promoted as an agent of Workforce Development and Economic Competitiveness

2. TVET Integrated with General Education for life and livelihood

3. A CARICOM Training System4. Labour Market Intelligence for Workforce Development5. Career Guidance and Counselling6. Instructor Training7. TVET Financing: Public Private Partnerships

1. TVET redefined and promoted as an agent of Workforce Development and Economic Competitiveness

• Shift from supply to demand-driven• High level skills, not ‘dunces’• Innovation and entrepreneurship• Focusing on practical skills, greater

socioemotional development• Positive Marketing

2. TVET Integrated with General Education for Life and Livelihood.

• Stop marginalization of TVET as ‘less than’• Ensure students graduate with some practical

skills

• Not dead-ended

• “Education makes you trainable and Training makes you employable, while attitude keeps you employed”

CARICOM Training System

• Need to develop the regional Training system so each country can deliver CVQs

• Need to train and capacitate smaller countries

• Diagram

A CARICOM TRAINING SYSTEM

4. Labour Market Intelligence for Workforce Development

• LMI needs to drive planning, evaluation, new program development

• Modeled on ‘just in time, good enough’ –Predictive– Sectoral

• Involves multitude of means of collecting intelligence including priorities of gov’t, investment community, etc.

5. Career Guidance and Counselling

• Almost non-existent in Caribbean• Mostly personal, academic• Need new kind of counsellor– Knowledge of Labour Market– Self assessment tools and strategies

• Unbiased towards academia• Service to workforce and students

6. Instructor Training

• Instructors with current knowledge, skills and credentials from industry

• “It’s easier to teach a plumber to teach than to teach a teacher to plumb”

• Student-centred, competency-based • Standards• Flexible hiring practices

7. TVET Financing: Public Private Partnerships

• Need new models of financing• Ministry of Education can no longer carry

entire burden• Strategies to engage industry• Applied Research, joint undertakings, contract

training• Need Sector-driven public private partnerships– Industry, line ministries, education ministries and

sector leaders and investors join forces– E.g. Megaprojects

C-EFE Project

• Synergy between C-EFE and Regional Strategy• Project is assisting to:– Strengthen regional capacity– Develop 16 Canadian Caribbean institutional

partnerships in sectors/programs of high priority in labour market

– Model Canadian best practices

Next Steps

• Implementation• Accountability• Roll out of the Regional Strategy• Regular reporting and monitoring• Accountability