November 6 , 2006

Dr. George Gamerdinger

A QUALITY-DRIVEN education and training system in each country is a critical part of [this] region’s total employment initiative.” And, skills development and employment opportunities need to be developed in tandem in order to retain those newly qualified, educated and trained workers within the region. This important piece of advice has come from Dr. George Gamerdinger, recently retired Senior Specialist, Human Resources Development/Vocational Training, with the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Caribbean Sub-Regional office in Trinidad and Tobago.

Speaking from a wealth of experience with regional human resources development, and, education and training matters, Dr. Gamerdinger first gave an assessment of the state of education and training within Barbados and the rest of the region.

Workforce Development

“ Barbados is already doing an excellent job of emulating and customizing global good practices. Creativity and customizing best practices are key forces in adapting to the pressures created by a global marketplace. Workforce development is very much a process. Barbados has taken select good global practices and customized and infused national expertise to meet its needs very well. The TVET model in Barbados is unique – it is a work in progress that continually recreates itself by infusing national concerns to make its services relevant.”

He noted that with its high literacy rate, educational enrolment, life expectancy rate and high per capita income, Barbados was in a unique position to promote its human resource development model. “The strength of the TVET system [lies] in sound HR initiatives like promoting greater partnerships between training and industry, more access to tertiary education, learning for life programmes, a globally recognised approach to social dialogue and a national Human Resources Development Strategy.”

He suggested that local TVET be strengthened by expanding apprenticeship job placement sites, both in and outside of Barbados, in order to add a whole new dynamic to apprenticeship training. “Another consideration would be ratifying ILO Labour Convention 142 (Convention concerning Vocational Guidance and Vocational Training in the Development of Human Resources) and officially endorsing Recommendation 195 concerning Human Resources Development, Education and Training and Lifelong Learning. Both of these would greatly highlight Barbados’ HR commitment.”

Speaking to the rest of CARICOM, he noted that various levels of technical and vocational education and training programmes existed within the region. Some countries have fully supported national training agencies (NTAs) that used locally validated international occupational standards. Other countries may have only a coordinating TVET body and use non-competency-based education standards in their education and training programmes.

“While both groups have continued to develop and expand their quality of TVET offerings, it is the second group that is not doing so nearly quickly enough. My impression…today is that this second group needs greater amounts of specialized assistance which is regionally available for the asking.”

“More needs to be done for countries with limited financial and human resources to invest in their TVET programmes. While the use of competency-based training is now the recognized standard, implementation without staffing, finances and policy support is a critical challenge for any training agency,” he acknowledged.

Dr. Gamerdinger observed that countries worldwide were grappling with the same concerns of how to grow and maintain a quality-driven national workforce. Global unemployment was at its highest with some 192 million unemployed according to ILO data, and of that figure some 86 million were young people between 15 – 24 years of age. In the Caribbean issues associated with unemployment and especially under employment of youth were high priority areas, which was why supporting the work of NTAs at both the country and regional level was so critical.

Drawing from international good practices, he gave examples of strategies being utilised by various countries to adapt and develop their workforces. These strategies covered areas such as adopting flexible approaches to personal learning, placing value on information and redefining the role of education and training systems:

“…licensing professionals with time-based accreditation and requiring the use of continuing education programmes to up-grade technical knowledge of professionals on a regular basis; accelerating learning programmes at the workplace for new job entries as well as skills upgrading to match the needs of employers and workers; promoting employment readiness and job performance using non-training solutions like information mapping, documenting performance models and looking at learning processes for productive improvement, and, expanding career information programmes that challenge the myth that post secondary formal education is the sole ladder to social mobility.”

Self-paced Instruction

The HRD specialist also noted, the importance of recognising the difference in learning modes among adults and youth and customising education and training opportunities accordingly; moving from instructor-directed formal learning to self-paced instruction that incorporates greater use of job coaching and mentoring while transferring learning responsibility to learners; plus, coordinating and integrating components of national education systems such as general education, technical and vocational education and workplace learning.

Dr. Gamerdinger also advised that countries should try to create greater collaboration among government, the private sector, trade unions and civil society to jointly promote skills trade and productivity. “The well-known Penang Skills Development Centre (PSDC) in Malaysia, while initiated by government is managed by academia with administration of the centre left to industry. This is an interesting training and funding model for the Caribbean to explore. Using the PSDC experience to establish a Caribbean education and training centre of excellence for advanced TVET training has a great deal of potential.”

“Planning such a regional centre for workforce development should include collaboration with the Caribbean Association of National Training Agencies (CANTA), national training agencies, governments, CARICOM, and the social partners with an aim to advance both demand-driven skills development and instructor training to promote the Caribbean’s global competitiveness.”

He also singled out the CANTA model as deserving of special mention since other regions in the world were looking at it for possible emulation.

“Established in 2003 within the framework of CARICOM, the national training agencies of Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and other [regional] TVET agencies as observers, created CANTA. This self-financing body serves as the Caribbean’s clearing house on TVET issues among CARICOM member states. The potential of CANTA to facilitate knowledge on education and training for employment makes it a critical force in transforming training and employment for the region’s development.”

He advised CARICOM members with limited financial and HR resources that were working to improve national TVET systems to join CANTA and request advisory support. “Drawing from the experiences of CANTA members provides a country a wealth of technical expertise and good practices for customizing and implementing training initiatives.”

In further support of strengthening national TVET systems, Dr. Gamerdinger outlined four areas of importance: “Developing and implementing a national vocational training policy, establishing a national focal point to coordinate TVET programmes, increasing industry collaboration through tripartite strategic alliances and promoting knowledge exchange through greater national and regional cooperation.”

He added: “Each of [these] recommendations is intended to serve as a framework in customising education and training at the national level. However, the success of these recommendations can only occur if there is a national commitment from all segments of society to make the process work. This is another reason why having a NTA is so important for promoting a national commitment to workforce development.”

In elaborating, he noted that a national vocational training policy was vital in helping to reorient existing training and education systems. Policies provided a foundation to promote the continuity of educational quality associated with discussions on national skills standards and regional qualifications – issues that were at the core of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) free movement of skilled labour.

Developing a National Workforce

He said that the national implementation of mandated policies required a focal point to monitor and coordinate national workforce planning. A nationally recognised focal point for TVET with responsibility for implementing training policy was critical to confronting issues associated with developing a national workforce. He explained that in the Caribbean such focal points were referred to by different names including national training agencies (NTAs), TVET Councils or ministerial focal points whose roles included the monitoring and coordinating of employment-focused training and education.

“The scope and impact of the work of the focal point is set by policy. For this reason policy development is a critical element in determining the authority a focal agency will have,” he stressed.

Dr. Gamerdinger pointed out that much of the success of current national training agencies/TVET focal points could be tied to policy support and linkage with industry and employer and worker representatives. “It is through these linkages that focal points have become effective skills brokers, able to feel the pulse of national labour market needs, expand worksite training opportunities and articulate the skill competencies required for occupations.”

He noted that promoting knowledge exchange helped to avoid duplication of training efforts while providing good practices to solidify the region’s skill standards and qualifications framework. “Again I would recommend CANTA membership and resources as an open door to learn about what other education and TVET agencies are doing in the Caribbean and the world.”

The HR specialist also made a number of recommendations in the area of human resources development. He stressed that there was a need to ensure that learning systems were broad-based enough to meet the expectations of all children, youth and adults. “Until the region can document seven million plus success stories, the work of education and training systems is only beginning.”

He noted that a number of interventions would be needed, such as:

• Resolving issues pertaining to the role of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) and national TVET agencies regarding the recognition and awarding of post-secondary workplace certification and skill evaluation procedures.

• Promoting the full representation of all CARICOM countries in CANTA to ensure regionally organised workplace standards as building blocks for the region’s workforce.

• Expanding current international linkages and the sharing of good practices for the region’s continual vitalization. It is hoped that formal linkages to education and training agencies in the pacific region would be established in the coming year.

• Establishing apprenticeship training sites using a Caribbean-wide perspective. Agreements with training agencies could establish backward and forward linkages for global apprenticeship education as well. In this regard the Caribbean offers unique potential as an education and training location.

• Accelerating discussions with employers and governments outside the region that hire Caribbean workers to help support Caribbean training institutions.

• Promoting communication exchange more aggressively within the Caribbean on HR issues. Many of the ideas that have been suggested are happening in various degrees in the Caribbean community but people are yet unaware.

• Engaging young learners through career guidance programmes facilitated by requiring career training preparation of all instructor/teachers regardless of their subject speciality.

Dr. Gamerdinger concluded: “I am reminded of the quote ‘As far as the future, your task is not to foresee it but to enable it’. But in today’s economic markets we need to both foresee the future and enable the implementation of actions, doing it all more quickly.”