The Honourable Rawle C. Eastmond, Former Minister of Labour and Social Security

Welcome to the Website of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Council The Government of Barbados is committed to a human resource development strategy that seeks to create a highly skilled workforce for the national, regional and international markets. This strategy will focus on improvements to the relevance, accessibility and cost-effectiveness of work-related training. The Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Council is the government's agency charged with the mandate to promote technical and vocational education and training as a way of improving the competitiveness of our workforce in a global economy.

Significant practical and positive steps have been taken in recent years towards achieving this mandate. The TVET Council has developed occupational standards in the areas of Information Technology, Customer Service and Tourism and Hospitality. These occupational standards will be the basis of a competency-based system of certification known as the National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs). NVQs will assume increasing importance in facilitating the free movement of skills within the region, with the creation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).

The TVET Council also manages the Employment and Training Fund (ETF). This facility provides grants to employers, business associations and training institutions to train and retrain workers as well as the unemployed, self-employed and retrenched persons. 

As at December 31, 2002, the ETF has expended over $3.9 million to train excess of  6, 850 persons.

It is anticipated that there will be increasing demand on the ETF resources as the Council expands its support for competency-based training.

Thank you for taking the time to visit our website. I trust it will provide you with the information you are seeking.

The Honourable R. C. Eastmond
Former Minister of Labour and Social Security