After successfully introducing CVQ qualifications to participants of The New Imani programme, the Government of Grenada is now introducing the much talked about Caribbean Vocational Qualifications courses, in schools.
This comes as a result of a joint effort between the Grenada National Training Agency and the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), facilitated by the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development. The initiative is in compliance with a mandate from Caricom, to encourage technical and vocational training and certification in the region. Grenada begins by piloting the program in nine secondary schools.
During the opening ceremony for the preparatory teacher workshop for educators on 6 July 2015, Acting Chief Education Officer, Mr Elvis Morain, said, “We are hopeful, as the Ministry of Education, that in the not too distant future, we’d be able to expand CVQ training to all of our secondary schools.”
The training workshop specifically targets technical and vocational teachers. They will learn about the CVQ qualifications framework, competency standards, how to cater for various learning styles and how to do CVQ-related assessments and classroom management. The training sessions are being conducted at the Anglican High School in St George.
Caribbean Vocational Qualifications, or CVQs, are regionally accepted qualifications equating to Associate and Bachelors degrees, based on the level attained.
The Acting Chief Education Officer spoke of the importance of CVQs, for students, as he said, “We believe that in the years to come, whether you are academically inclined, CVQs will be integral in terms of your achievement.”
Morain also noted that in Barbados, CVQs are used in evaluating candidates for the Island Scholar Program. CVQs can help to bridge the skill the gap and allow employers access to more functional employees emerging out of the school system.
Mr Garvin Glasgow, Training Support Coordinator and representative from the National Training Agency (NTA), spoke of the Competency Based Training (CBET), during the opening ceremony, “The whole CVQ platform is designed for us to deliver persons who not only say they can do, but persons who can clearly and ably demonstrate that they can do.”
CVQ training can reduce unemployment and encourage entrepreneurship, given that based on the level of one’s CVQ, he/she is qualified to work independently. The main skill areas under focus for current implementation, are crop production, furniture making, general construction, commercial food preparation and craft.
Students of the following schools can look forward to embracing this pilot program, in the areas indicated, during the Michaelmas school term:
| Participating Schools | CVQ Course |
| Westerhall Secondary School | Commercial Food Preparation General Construction |
| St Andrew’s Anglican Secondary School | Commercial Food Preparation General Construction |
| St Mark’s Secondary School | Commercial Food Preparation Furniture Making |
| Mac Donald College | Crop Production |
| St Rose Modern Secondary | Commercial Food Preparation |
| Anglican High School | Commercial Food Preparation |
| St Joseph’s Convent, St George | Commercial Food Preparation |
| Grenville Secondary School | General Construction |
| Grenada SDA Comprehensive | Crop Production |
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