24. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2010. DAILY NATION

THE United Nation’s Centre forTechnical and Vocational Educationand Training (TVET), UNESCO-UNEVOC, describes TVET aseducation that prepares learners forthe world of work and enables skillsdevelopment for employability.

It notes that TVET includes ageneral education, in addition tolearning that equips an individualwith the knowledge, skills andattitude to become competent in achosen career, profession oroccupation.

A general education such as whatis provided by primary and secondaryschooling is important to laying thefoundation for TVET. CARICOM’sRegional Strategy for Technical andVocational Education and Trainingnotes: “The entry requirements forTVET are essentially basic skills inliteracy and numeracy and thoseconcepts, principles, skills andattitudes that are required forcontinuing education after the firstphase of the education system.”

According to the strategy,identification of the prerequisites arepremised on the belief that “in arapidly changing society, the bestform of vocational education is onewhich helps students to develop theircapacity to learn, to think critically,to adjust to rapid changes intechnology, and to gain someunderstanding of their later workingenvironment”.

Inadequate skills in literacy and numeracy

The strategy stresses that thefactors which hinder students from“deriving maximum benefits fromTVET programmes” include aninability to process information andinadequate skills in literacy andnumeracy.

“Educators in TVET claim thatliteracy and numeracy are seriousconcerns for TVET programmes asthey are in fact for any othereducation programme. Indeed, manycandidates for TVET are unable toread and perform elementarymathematical operations; yet in manycases this is the principal rationale fortheir being placed in TVETprogrammes,” the strategy states.

This is a situation with which theBarbados education system grapplesand about which employers regularlyexpress dissatisfaction.

The report on the TVET ReviewMeeting hosted by the TVET Councilin September last year states thatemployers and other stakeholders arecalling for enhancement of core skillstraining and, in particular, for alleducational institutions to providecompulsory programmes on areasincluding application of the EnglishLanguage.

Their concern is supported bylocal statistics which show that tenper cent of unemployed people hadtechnical qualifications and 13 percent had university/collegequalifications; a state of affairs that isattributed to many of the unemployedlacking core skills such as

communication, numeracy,information technology andinterpersonal skills.

This situation also poses aproblem for the future developmentof Barbados’ TVET system.UNESCO-UNEVOC notes that thedevelopment of an effective TVETsystem is at the heart of educationreform efforts, and that the currentfocus is increasingly upon preparingknowledge workers to meet thechallenges posed during the transitionfrom the Industrial Age to theInformation Age.

Core SkillsIn order for all learners to benefit

from today’s TVET system and itsemphasis on preparation of themodern worker, they must possessthe prerequisites, known also as coreskills or key skills. Core skills aredefined as: “Non-technical skills,which are most commonly needed tosucceed in a range of activities atwork, in education and training andeveryday life. They are intended tohelp people to adapt to changingcircumstances and are considered

essential for effective participationand success in education,employment, lifelong learning andpersonal development.”

Core Skills often include:Applying and using numbers;communicating with other people;using information technology;solving problems; working with other people and in a team;improving one’s own learning andperformance; and taking independentdecisions.

The Technical and VocationalEducation and Training Council(TVETC) has begun the process ofdeveloping a core skills programmeand has identified a core skills modelfor use in Barbados – theQualifications and CurriculumAuthority (QCA), United KingdomKey Skills.

This model was developed inclose consultation with education andemployment specialists in Britain andconsists of six areas:

• Communication• Application of number• Information and communication

technology (ICT)• Problem solving• Working with others• Improving own learning and

performance.

TVETC’s technical officer DawnGill, who is working with the project,explained: “Core skills models havebeen adopted worldwide and havebeen recognised as part of school andcollege learning for some time.Employers, colleges and universitiesare giving more and more weight tothem. [They] are normallyincorporated into existingprogrammes so that they are a part ofnormal teaching, learning andassessment.”

Gill added: “Each of these skillsareas is presented at four levelswhich equate to the first four levelsof the British National VocationalQualifications (NVQs) – that is, entrylevel (Level 1) to junior managementlevel (Level 4) – and can beseparately certified.

“Consultation has taken place withpublic and private traininginstitutions and it has beendetermined that the (QCA UK) modelis fit for use in Barbados. Work iscontinuing with these institutions andother stakeholders to establish howbest the model can be integrated intoexisting curricula and programmes.”

Benefits of core skillsSecondary school teacher

Henderson Wiltshire explained thebenefits of a core skills programmefrom an educational perspective:“There is a linkage between CoreSkills and traditional CaribbeanExamination Council (CXC) subjectssuch as Mathematics and English.CXC Mathematics and English ingeneral prepare an individual morefor higher learning than for the worldof work hence emphasis is placed onpassing an examination.”

Wiltshire, a certified assessor forthe NVQ and its regional equivalentthe Caribbean VocationalQualification (CVQ), added:“Students gain lots of knowledgewithin CXC preparation in areas suchas letter writing, expression,geometry and calculations. These canbe complemented within the CVQpreparation where students can applythese concepts to practical situationsthrough core skills. Students willhave the opportunity to actuallycommunicate in a work setting orcalculate angles in a roof.”

Wiltshire stressed that whileCXCs emphasised the demonstrationof knowledge, core skills emphasisedthe application of knowledge whichhelped the two areas to complementeach other.

“A student leaving school armedwith both Core Skills qualificationsand CXC Mathematics and Englishwould have a distinct advantagewithin the work environment,” he said.

The importance of core skills to TVET – PART I

FAQ: The National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) and theCaribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ), its regional equivalent,are competence-based certification issued by the Technical andVocational Education and Training Council (TVETC).

NVQs/CVQs are earned through the successful demonstration of job competence. Competence is measured through the assessmentof the knowledge and skills to do a job to the recognized standards.Assessment is conducted by a trained and certified assessor eitherin a real job setting or in a simulated workplace such as thePommarine Hotel (the Barbados Community College’s hotel training school).

Assessment measures job competence through the performance of the related tasks and job functions. Successful assessment resultsin the award of an NVQ or a CVQ.

CORE SKILLSare needed tosucceed in arange ofactivities atwork, ineducation andtraining andeveryday life.(FPs)