June 8, 2009

Speeches

Remarks by Dr. Hensley Sobers, Chairman TVET Council at the Ceremony to Award The National Vocational Qualification

Master of Ceremonies, Mr. Trevor King, Executive Director, TVET Council; Senator the Hon. Arni B. Walters, Minister of State, Ministry of Labour and Immigration; Mr. Carston Simmons, Permanent Secretary, Labour, Ministry of Labour and Immigration; Mrs. Paulette Dunn-Smith, Executive Director (acting), the HEART Trust/National Training Agency (NTA), Jamaica; representatives of NVQ Centres, the Sandy Lane Hotel and the National Initiative for Service Excellence (NISE); NVQ Awardees, other specially invited guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, good afternoon and welcome to the dawn of a new phase and perhaps the most anticipated phase in the development of Technical and Vocational Education and Training in Barbados.  Read More ...

Feature Address - Senator the Hon. Arni B. Walters, Minister of State in the Ministry of Labour and Immigration

On behalf of the Government of Barbados I take this opportunity to congratulate the Technical and Vocational, Education and Training (TVET) Council, the organisations that have partnered with the Council in the pursuit of its mandate to enhance workforce training and development and you, the first of Barbadian employees to complete a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) – whether a full NVQ or units of an NVQ. In so doing, you have demonstrated your occupational competence and now have proof of your ability to perform your jobs to internationally benchmarked standards. Read more ...

Imperatives for Workforce Certification and the Role of NVQs/CVQs in Workforce Development in the Caribbean - Paulette Dunn-Smith, Acting Executive Director, HEART TrustNTA

On behalf of HEART Trust/NTA and the National Council on TVET Jamaica, let me sincerely thank The Board and Executive Director of the TVET Council Barbados for inviting me to be a part of this very special occasion on this the launch of their NVQ/CVQ.  There is an excellent relationship among the NTA’s of the Region and I would like to think that aside from the W.I. Cricket team, CANTA is one of the few examples of regional integration in the region.  So thank you for the warm hospitality extended to me.  

In these remarks, I would like to turn our attention to the area of Caribbean workforce development and the imperatives of workforce certification. Read More ...

Candidate's Reflection - Dr. Antonia Coward, NVQ Awards Ceremony

From the onset it is important to mention that I am a fervent advocate of the Competency Based Education and Training modality and I usually facilitate training workshops for the TVET Council.  Therefore I welcomed the opportunity to be trained in this programme.

The first and second phases of the training were not very challenging.  However, the experience reinforced my belief that tutors, instructors and assessors should be mandated to engage in professional development activities yearly.  Since my time under the microscope helped me to improve my assessment skills especially in the areas of planning, giving feedback and document keeping. Read more ...

Sandy Lane Representatives Remarks - Winifred Williams

 “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”  I can certainly say that this concept aptly reflects the work of the TVET Council.

The value that the organisation places on life long learning is evident today from the number of our graduands attending this very special occasion.  Six of our staff who we call Champions have achieved the distinction of being the first to successfully complete the NVQ Pilot in Amenity Horticulture – a first for Barbados and a first for Sandy Lane - (give yourself a round of applause). Read more ...

Remarks delivered by the CEO of the National Initiative for Service Excellence (NISE) - Kim Tudor

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the National Initiative for Service Excellence let me say how delighted we are to celebrate with the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Council, the participants and the assessors the culmination of the customer service pilot unit “Give Customers a Positive Impression of Yourself and Your Organisation”.

Vote of Thanks - Wendy McClean

Mr. Chairman, Distinguished Members of the Head Table, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Protocol having been established, it is my privilege to express deep appreciation to all those who have contributed to the successful staging of this Awards ceremony.

First, of all I would like to thank Almighty God for his grace and guidance which have led us to this special occasion. To quote from Scripture: “This is the Lord’s doing and it is marvelous in our eyes”. And on behalf of the TVET Council I would like to thank our awardees for sticking to the task and showing that you are indeed world-class! Without your hard work we would not be having this ceremony. We applaud you. Read more ...