Building a Lifelong Learning Strategy in Jamaica

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Building a Lifelong Learning Strategy in Jamaica

• Presentation for Latin American Forum on Cycles
  in Tertiary Education
• October 7, 2005
• Tom McArdle
• Senior Director
• Planning Project Development
• HEART Trust/National Training Agency, Jamaica

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Background
Partnership World Bank and HEART Trust/NTA
(Dr. Lorraine Blank)
2003 Process Earlier Review of TVET (2001)
Data Gathering and Interviews
Business Survey Private
Providers Survey Stakeholders Way
Forward Workshop Focus Post-Secondary
Training Since Then Lifelong Learning Task Force
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Jamaica and the West Indies
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(No Transcript)
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Contrasts Two Jamaicas High End Tourism vs.
Urban Rural Poverty
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Jamaica at a Glance
Tourism Distribution
Interest Rate 17.7 Inflation 14 Unemployment
11.7 Female 16.4 Male 7.9
Services Economy High migration
remittances High inequality, Crime HDI 79
Population 2.6m Lower Middle Income GDP per cap
US2,820 Poverty 15
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Achievements and Commitments

• Achievements
• Over 90 Pre-primary Enrollment
• Universal Primary
• Universal lower Secondary
• Commitments
• Achieve Universal Upper Secondary
• Expand Tertiary
• Expand Skills Training/Upgrade Workforce

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Why Emphasis on Lifelong Learning is Important

• School Leavers
• Almost 1 in 5 leave after Grade 9
• Among Grade 11 school leavers
• 1 out of 3 dont sit exams
• Of those who sit
• 4 out of 10 fail English
  7 out of 10 fail Mathematics

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Why Emphasis on Lifelong Learning is Important?

• 75 of employed/unemployed have no vocational,
  technical or professional training
• 74 of first time job seekers have no vocational,
  technical or professional training

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Why Emphasis on Lifelong Learning is Important?

• 60 of persons under 34 have no academic
  qualifications
• Over 75 of persons 35 have no academic
  qualifications
• 20 of adults are illiterate and another 15
  possess only basic literacy skills

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Post Secondary Providers
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(No Transcript)
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LLL Enrolments Expanding

• 02-03 04-05
• All Tertiary 28,700 50,376
• All HEART 35,900 61,040
• JAMAL (literacy) 11,400 11,219
•   76,000 122,635
• HEART is J3.2b of J5.2b (61) of public
  spending on training of US 84m/yr

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Private Sector Involvement

• Significant at all levels of education and
  training
• Significant investments by employers
  (in-service upgrading and 3 HEART Tax)
• Private sector participation on boards and
  standards settings for HEART NCTVET

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Private Sector Involvement

• 90 of firms involved in training
• Mostly skill upgrading rather than
  compensating for deficiencies
• Training more likely for more educated
  workers
• 60 use training plans
• 50 do training needs analysis

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National Training Agency

• Financing
• Regulating
• Operating

• QA
• Standards Development
• Accreditation
• Certification

Financed by 3 Payroll Levy
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HEART Trust/NTA Financing

• 3 payroll levy earnings interest and grants
  finances
• 10 Academies and Institutes 21,000 served
• 16 Vocational Training Centres 14,500 served
• gt100 Community-Based Training projects 8,900
  served
• On-the-Job Training 5,300 served, 1100 firms
• Productivity training 60 firms, 5,000
  workers/year

continued
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HEART Trust/NTA Financing

• Instructor training and upgrading, and
  professional programmes 3,800 served
• Training at 13 SDC and MOEYC facilities
• 14 Technical High Schools assisted (2,400)
• National Council for TVET (Standards,
  accreditation, certification, QA)

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Institutional Enrolment
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Training Programs

• Four components of content
• Skills training
• Educational employability components
• Information Technology
• Entrepreneurship
• Core Electives to customize

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System Problems

• Nearly half of applicants cannot pass admission
  test-limits access despite measures
• Limited uptake of CBT in schools and tertiary
  institutions, but growing
• Difficulties with higher-level training
• Financing mechanisms favour lower-level training,
  assistance not needs-based.
• Weak absorption of graduates low growth in
  jobs-signs of change now

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HEART Partnerships

• Caribbean Institute of Technology
• Alpart-bauxite industry apprenticeship
• Team Jamaica
• Culinary Institute of America
• UTECH
• Technical High Schools
• Rationalisation of TVET in Secondary Schools
• Digital Design, CPEC, GTZ, IDB, UNICEF, UNDP,
  SRC, Heritage, CCCJ

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HEARTs Mandate for 2005-2008

• Increase participation to 100,000 per annum
• Certify one-half of workforce by 2008
• Respond to investments in tourism and
  bauxite-alumina

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National Qualification Framework

• Unit competency standards like Australia and New
  Zealand
• Assessment tightly linked to standards
• Recognition of prior learning
• Pathways for recognition progression
  on-the-job, training programs, online learning,
  etc.

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NQ Framework
Higher levels possible based on buy-in by
tertiary sector
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New Features of the System

• Unit competency standards-modular delivery,
  assessment and certification
• Learners are assessed and certified on each
  competency
• Competencies accumulate into a National
  Qualification on a National Qualification
  Register
• Accredit training providers incl. firms
• Use of credits to enable articulation

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New Features of the System

• Strengthened industry training lead groups
  producing more standards (about 300 titles)
• Firms working to become accredited training
  and/or assessment providers
• NCTVET role changing from assessment to quality
  assurance-assures quality of assessment
• Creates a broader market for training and
  certification services

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Results so Far

• 2/3 of system on new framework
• Greater access to training system, and access to
  certification framework
• More flexible system
• System that can bridge secondary,
  post-secondary and tertiary education-more
  inclusive
• System beginning to produce more higher- level
  certifications, and
• Can better accommodate upgrading for existing
  workers, great increase last year

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Major Opportunities

• Large investments in new hotels, and bauxite
  alumina industry-wanting certified workers
• Work-based training 330,000 workers say they
  have skills and some training but no
  certification
• Regional initiatives-CANTA

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Articulation with Tertiary Education Picking
Low-Hanging Fruits

• Child Care Certificate 2 diploma
• I.T. diploma degree
• Engineering diploma degree
• Agriculture Certificate 2 diploma
• Multi skilled construction Certificate 2
  degree in construction management
• Work where there is energy for change!

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Issues in Articulation with Tertiary Education

• University Council of Jamaica
• Question of terminal qualifications
• Restrictions on vocational programs in community
  colleges
• Lack of understanding of CBT
• How to assess tertiary learners in NQF framework

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Many Rivers to Cross

• Low levels of basic education in the workforce
  and poor English
• Educational inequities put over half of school
  leavers at a serious disadvantage in access to
  LLL opportunities
• Financing of training is not needs-based
• Acceptance of a National Qualifications Framework
  (MOE, tertiary institutions)
• CXC Technical-Vocational subjects?

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Many Rivers to Cross

• Getting more firms to embrace standards-based
  concept and certification
• Re-orientation of citizenry to lifelong learning
  process
• Micro-business sector-how should training assist?

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Many Rivers to Cross

• How to balance the need for higher level training
  and tertiary-level training vs. lower-level
  training aimed at the poor?
• Competition between social demand and economic
  demand
• Combining NCTVET and UCJ-National Qualifications
  Authority concept

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Bob Marleys Words

• ONE LOVE
• ONE HEART
• ONE AIM
• ONE DESTINY