WORK on the Technical and Vocational Educational Training (TVET) centres at Park, Mahaicony, in Region Five, and Leonora, in Region Three, are expected to be completed in July/August and their doors should be formally open to students in September.
Education Minister Shaik Baksh, on a recent site visit to both facilities, expressed satisfaction with the progress of work and urged the contractors to put their shoulders to the wheel and deliver the projects on time.
The centre at Mahaicony is about 48 per cent complete to date, while the other at Leonora is some 58 per cent complete.
There were some delays at the centre at Mahaicony due to rain in January this year, and the modification of the foundation of the building to meet the ground condition.
Both projects are part of a $US9.6M Canadian Development Bank funded programme which also provides for the training of TVET instructors and re-tooling of TVET centres. The main outcomes of the initiative also include a revised and regionally certified TVET curriculum that is more relevant to the current workforce.
The programme is in keeping with the Ministry of Education’s thrust to build capacity and increase opportunities for youths in society.
Education Minister Shaik Baksh had also pointed out that the centres will enhance skills training at the rural level, provide a better match of the skill needs and the skills set of the work force, and open up avenues of employment for young people.
The institutes, when completed, will each house some 200 students, and apart from the regular academic programmes, short courses in various areas of community development, craft and information technology will be offered.
The ministry has already implemented the mechanism at the secondary level to produce students for the technical institutions, and work has already started to get the local TVET programme compliant with regional standards.
At the secondary level, some 35 schools are offering the Secondary Competence Certificate Programme (SCCP). This initiative has also been implemented at seven practical instructional centres.
The SCCP is designed to equip students who leave school before completing the secondary cycle with a skill that will make them employable on the job market.
Under the programme, students are instructed in several vocational areas, including crops and soil sciences, art and fabric decoration, catering, household management and garment construction, electrical installation, carpentry, joinery, masonry, metal work and welding.
Students who complete the programme are presented with certificates which make them eligible for first entry level jobs.
Students who successfully complete the Third Form programme can move to a more advanced level in Fourth Form and eventually write the TVET subjects at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations and move on to higher studies.
The Ministry of Education, in its five year strategic plan, intends to implement this programme in 70 secondary schools by 2013.
Meanwhile, Minister Baksh, while in Region Three, also visited the new $293M Leonora Secondary School which is under construction. Work on the school is around 65 per cent complete; and from all indications, it is also expected to open its doors in September.