TECHNICAL EDUCATION AND VOCATIONAL TRAINING

Component 1: A NATIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR TECHNICAL EDUCATION AND VOCATIONAL TRAINING has the following sub-components:

a. National Workforce Development Council

The NWDC Special Projects Unit of MOE which was established in 2009 and will continue to:

(i) develop the National Qualification Framework;

(ii) work with advisory committees in crafting national standards based on regional and international norms; and

(iii) conduct initial labor market studies; and work in tangent with TVET Secondary and BTVI in providing guidance for the analysis, piloting and development of Entrepreneurship programs.

Secondary Education

One of the flagship initiatives of the Secondary Education sub-component is the implementation of a Career Academy in the next school year 2010 – 2011. This initiative along with the other initiatives of this sub-component will be facilitated by a TVET International Consultant, the National TVET Coordinator and the TVET Curriculum Officers who will work on:

(i) evaluation of current TVET system;

(ii) building capacity of TVET at MOE;

(iii) revision of TVET and core subjects curricula;

(iv) rehabilitation of 1 senior high school to a career academy;

(v) provision of professional development and equipment to support new programmes; and

(vi) providing technical support for programs in the career academy for the Technical Studies, Hospitality and Consumer Sciences and Business/ICT areas.

Bahamas Technical Vocational Institute

In the INSPIRE Programme, BTVI will continue to pursue its mandate to transition into a semi-autonomous agency, to restructure and expand its administrative capacity and to strengthen its partnership with the private sector and labor. BTVI will continue to build its capacity by:

(i) engaging additional personnel in an administrative capacity;

(ii) developing new programs for certification and licensing;

(iii) reorganizing the department of student services, including the contracting of additional staff;

(iv) purchasing equipment required to offer more site-based training in New Providence and the Family Islands; and

(v) ensuring articulation between the secondary TVET education and BTVI efforts.