NVQ Consultation A Success

October 6, 2003

BARBADOS' National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ_B) have moved closer to becoming "a reality rather than just an idea", says Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) Consultant Dr. Iain Anderson.

  The specialist in the development of national qualification systems was speaking yesterday at the conclusion of a National Consultation on a Quality Assurance System for NVQs in Barbados, hosted by the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Council at the Savannah Hotel, Hastings, Christ Church.

  He said the national consultation attended by senior representatives of government and both sides of industry - employers and trade unionists - presented the opportunity to come together to discuss the main features of the Occupational Standards and NVQ programme.

"The response has been positive both from trade unions and employers," he noted. "Concerns centred around the level of support that would be needed to implement this system rather than questioning any need for such a system."

  He added: "So the initiative is now beginning to become a reality rather than just an idea."

  The aim of the half-day national consultation was to explain to key stakeholders the preferred quality assurance strategy for NVQs and to obtain feedback on how stakeholders would view the credibility of the quality assurance mechanisms and therefore the NVQs.

  The consultation exercise is part of the first phase of a project to establish the systems and procedures necessary to award NVQs. The project will conclude with a pilot of NVQs in selected areas towards the third quarter of next year.

Executive Director of TVET Council Trevor King echoed Dr. Anderson's sentiments. "The consultation went well. It was well attended, there was keen interest and active participation by those present," he said. 

He noted that participants raised issues such as how best NVQs could benefit their companies which in turn generated discussion on the use of  NVQs in areas such as developing more objective performance appraisal systems, and, identifying gaps in companies' training and development programmes. 

He disclosed: "The next step in the establishment of local NVQs will entail implementing a massive public awareness campaign, identifying institutions which will come on board to deliver NVQs and identifying and training assessors and verifiers who will manage the process at the NVQ centres." 

Senior Technical Officer Wendy McClean stressed that NVQs provided an opportunity for workers in Barbados to "develop skills and knowledge which are in demand and transferable across occupational areas, and to acquire certification which states that they can perform to the standards expected in  employment." 

She added: "It should therefore be a great boost to employees and their opportunities for career and educational development." 

The establishment of NVQs is one of the mechanisms being used to facilitate the free movement of skills and labour under the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). 

NVQs are work-based qualifications that are developed from occupational standards of competence. As a result they provide better preparation for the world of work, offer a guarantee of a job candidate's capability, respond to changing needs in business and industry and promote a culture of life-long learning which is at the centre of any economy's competitiveness. 

Occupational standards are the benchmarks against which occupational competence is measured and occupational certification granted.  They are defined by standards-setting bodies referred to as Industry Lead Bodies in Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, or, as National Training Organisations in the United Kingdom. 

These bodies generally comprise employers, education and training providers and employee representatives.  The TVET Council has already established three (3) Industry Lead Bodies in the economic/occupational sectors of Tourism and Hospitality, Information Technology and Customer Service. 

These Industry Lead Bodies have been evaluating occupational standards from the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Jamaica as part of the process of formulating our own standards, in the respective sectors, which reflect internationally recognised standards. 

The TVET Council has validated and approved occupational standards of competence for Barbados in the following eight (8) occupational areas. 

In the Tourism and Hospitality Sector: Food Preparation and Cooking Levels 1 & 2, Food and Beverage Service Levels 1 & 2, Front Office Levels 1 & 2 and Housekeeping Levels 1 & 2. In the Customer Service Sector: Delivering and Continuously Improving Service to the Customer Level 2, Establishing and Maintaining the Conditions for Customer Service Levels 3 & 4, and Developing and Improving a Strategy for Customer Service Levels 4 & 5. And in the Information Technology Sector: Using Information Technology Levels 1 - 3.

TVET Council is a statutory corporation established under the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Council Act, 1993-11. Its mission is to promote the growth of technical and vocational education and training in order to enhance the competitive position of Barbados.