SECTION VI: TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES
Technical Vocational Education and Training
Technical Vocational Education and Training(TVET) at the secondary level is provided mainly at the four Technical Institutes located in Barrouallie, Campden Park, Kingstown and Georgetown. The Division of Technical Vocation Education and Training of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Community College offers TVET programmes at the post-secondary level. The overall enrolment for the 2019-2020 stood at 245 students, 119 males and 126 females. The Georgetown Technical Institute enrolled 37 males and 38 females, Kingstown Technical Institute 30 males and 25 females, Campden Park 25 males and 29 females, and Barrouallie Technical Institutes 27 males and 34 females.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines passed the Sector Skills Development Act in 2010 and the TVET Certification Framework has been established enabling the country to issue National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) and Caribbean Vocational Qualifications (CVQs). To date a number of students have received their Caribbean Vocational Qualification in several areas. The Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA) and its secretariat, the National Qualifications Department (NQD) is responsible for developing TVET Training programs, as well as NVQ and CVQ certification. The SSDA also delivers small-scale training to unemployed youth, through Technical Institutes (TIs) under the Ministry of Education’s jurisdiction.
The government is focussed on enhancing the system’s capacity for TVET Delivery. To this end the TVET Development Project financed by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and a sub–component of the SVG Human Development Service Delivery Project (SVGHDSP) would address the long and short-term capacity-building needs for expanding access to TVET programmes and improving the learning environment of TVET instruction and management. The CDB project also includes the construction of smart classrooms at the four Technical Institutes which would expand the teaching and learning capacity at these institutes.
TVET education during the last two budget cycles has received the largest share of the Ministry’s Capital Programmes. This significant investment in TVET education should position many of our youths to gain employment in a range of diverse vocational fields. The Long-term goal is to have all students enrolled in at least one TVET related programme.