Work to transform four secondary schools into full-fledged Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET)-centred institutions is said to be progressing smoothly.

The four schools being transformed into dynamic TVET centres are the Anse Ger, Grand Riviere, Piaye, and the Stanley John Odlum secondary schools. With the transformation of these schools, the Ministry of Education is seeking to achieve several goals, including providing a dynamic student-centred curriculum for diverse and inclusive education, establishing a work-based approach, aligning education with industry needs at local and international levels, enhancing human resource capacity and resilience through skill-based learning, and offering varied qualifications with multiple entry points to access these qualifications.

The thrust of the TVET project, according to Education Officer for TVET, Delphia Natram, is to create the groundwork for a highly-scaled workforce that can spur innovation and sustainable growth across a range of industries by investing in the development of secondary school students.

“The students who will be attending those schools or who are already attending some of these schools will be on a career pathway. There will be solid support for them, both in terms of their training needs as well as on holistic development, because we want to develop employees who are imbued both with hard skills, as well as transferable skills that will allow them to not just attain jobs, but to retain jobs.”

One of the fundamental aims of these centres is to strengthen industry collaborations and connect educational and training needs with those of the community and the formal education system. Ms Natram said the TVET Unit, as well as the plant and equipment team, have been monitoring the ongoing works to ensure they meet the required specifications for the various TVET courses that will be introduced to the schools.

“We want to ensure that the rooms meet the training needs of both the facilitators and the students, as well as industry standards. We’ve seen some of the rooms like those for barbering, and the new kitchens and we are quite excited,” she said.

Director of Works with the Ministry, Hubert Hart, said apart from the usual challenges associated with construction work, his team is happy with the work accomplished thus far.

“We have had our challenges along the way and it took quite a bit of coordination, but from this recent visit we are pleased with the progress we've made. In recent years we've been facing significant challenges with termite infestation, so we have tried to move away from using timber and instead we have incorporated more durable materials like PVC board and concrete. These are materials that are highly resistant to any type of termite infestation. So we have really focused on materials that will have high durability and that can withstand high and frequent use particularly in this case by students.”

Ministry officials say with upgraded workshops, an industry-led curriculum, highly skilled teaching staff and a focus on career centered learning, students will be equipped for today's job market, with new capabilities to pursue entrepreneurial initiatives and further studies in specific occupational areas.