ENGAGING AT RISK & MARGINALIZED GROUPS IN TVET

TVET – A Transformational Leverage to re-engage At Risk Youths in Economic Development

)Orlando Hewitt

MARGINALIZED & VULNERABLE GROUPS

N.E.E.T. – Not in Employment, Education or Training

May have at some point been engaged in education & training or work related activity

Also include young persons with disabilities – physical or mental

Age group normally 14 -25 (some research indicate as high as age 35)

Not engaged in education, training or work presents the following potential RISKS for youths: Worsening employment opportunities Lower earnings Higher involvement in crime Early/teenage pregnancy Alcohol & Drug Abuse

WHAT ARE THE ASSOCIATED RISKS

Sum Total = At Risk Youths

Research globally has indicated that there is ‘no positive outcomes’ for youths who are neither engaged in education, training or work.

Surveys done in Australia (Surveys of Australian Youth) posits however, that some disengaged youths may be in a state of transition between education and training to either higher level education and training or work.

Those who are at risk therefore are those who remain ‘disconnected’.

WHICH YOUTHS ARE @ RISK

Young people who accumulate disadvantage through poor literacy and numeracy and who are uninterested in school appear particularly vulnerable.

They tend to leave school early and suffer disproportionally in the labour market.

WHICH YOUTHS ARE @ RISK

“If this detachment from work or study continues for an extended period of time, the young person’s inability to develop employability skills and their lack of work experience adversely affect their prospects of future employment… this is detrimental not only to the individual but also to the nation’s productivity. Therefore, programs which help young people to make smoother and faster transitions into further study or employment are important”. (Source – Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth-Briefing Paper 24 – At Risk Youth A Transitory State Alison Anlezark March 2011).

WHICH YOUTHS ARE @ RISK

HEART/NTA – PPDD –Unattached Youth in Jamaica: February 2009

68 % of unemployed youth and 76 % of youth outside the labour force have no academic qualification.

70-75% of all the unattached youth need remedial education as a first step

Approximately 70 percent of unemployed youth have no skills training

Almost 90 percent of youth who are outside the labour force have no skills training.

TVET’s POTENTIAL

Orientation towards the world of work

The provision of and acquisition of employability skills

Relevant to labour market needsSee: ‘Tackling Youth Unemployment through TVET UNESCO-UNEVOC Online Conference 2013

TVET’s POTENTIALEngages more of the auditory and tactile senses in instructional delivery

Provides opportunities for on the job training and apprenticeship

Embraces the philosophy of CBET which holistically should provide for both self-pace and self –directed learning rather than fixed time frame for learning & mastery of skills and knowledge

TVET’s POTENTIAL

Training and education in relevant skills

Alignment & matching of labour market requirements Have the potential to remove skills-related and other barriers that limit the contribution that young people can make and which leads to their economic and social marginalization

TVET’s POTENTIAL

Facilitates entrepreneurial activities

Occupational Areas to be pursued by Unattached Youths Outside the Labour Force Once They Re-enter the Labour Market – the majority indicated Beauty Services – Barbering, Hairdressing etc. HEART/NTA – PPDD –Unattached Youth in Jamaica: February 2009

At Risk Youths – Regional Context

High unemployment –specifically amongst youths (to include those who have successfully completed tertiary level education!)High drop out rate from High/Secondary school system @ Grade 11 or 5th form No formal qualifications – (CSEC/N/CVQs or High School Equivalency certification) Drop outs occurring in some countries as early as Grade 10 or 4th form

At Risk Youths – Regional Context

Significant # of high/secondary school leavers not functionally numerate and literate

Traditional Approaches in the Region to TVET Addressing @ Risk & Marginalized Youths

TVET designed specifically as a second option/second chance for school leavers with low levels of or no school leaving qualifications Focus primarily on low level entry level skills and programmesOriginally designed as a post-secondary intervention strategy for secondary school leavers with low or no achievement Disconnect between labour market intelligence and skills forecasting to prepare training for emerging skills Low perceived image of TVET by stakeholders –(parents, employers, students)

Traditional Approaches in the Region to TVET Addressing @ Risk & Marginalized Youths

Training and certification in units competence and full qualifications without potential to articulate into higher level programmesLack of local or regional framework to determine equivalencies of qualifications to facilitate matriculation from low level entry level skills to higher level programmesAbsence of mentoring, coaching and career guidanceA disconnect between government policies, TVET providers and the talents and desires of the youthsZero policy to address access and equity to training for marginalized and vulnerable groups – (gender, disabilities, at risk youths)

REGIONAL EMERGING TVET TRENDSCANTA – entrenched as a pivotal platform for not only sharing TVET best practices but as a driver for regional economic growth - CEFE Programme through CICAN

Labour Market Intelligence – facilitating the development of regional occupational standards to address training and skills gaps needs of the region to include , critical employability skills

Enhanced image and recognition of TVET

Established and implemented policies and practices on providing equity and access to both training & certification to vulnerable groups – (gender, disabilities and at risk youths)

REGIONAL TVET POLICY

SUCCESS STORIES TVET &A.R.Y.TVET now introduced in Secondary Schools in the regionTVET policies developed – students to exit Secondary School system with academic subjects and one vocational qualificationNTA’s have developed policies to provide access to all Training and assessment in penal institutionsOn going professional development of instructorsPublic/Private Partnerships‘Career guidance and qualification corridors’ being established – NQFs , “get on the bus” T&T to facility parity of esteem of qualifications, identify s labour market needs – skill gaps

OUT OF THE BOX THINKING REQUIRED?

“To them academics is an abstract inconvenience, a farcical dead-end pursuit, a total waste of time and effort, a sham that they tolerate and carry out until the system regurgitates them uninspired, unchanged,, untrained, uneducated,

unmanageable, unapologetically and ambivalently uncivilised, unable and unwilling to contribute positively to society”. Garth Rattary –The Gleaner April

27, 2015

TVET – THE GAME CHANGER FOR A.R.Y?

“Train a Jamaican, give him/her a hard hat – some mechanized tools, a suitable industrial work environment and a fair wage and they are world class

producers… Do the same thing with a marine refurbishing activity that can employ thousands at a time to service all ocean going vessels that must be

dry –docked every six years” - Ronald Mason Sunday Gleaner April 25.

TVET – THE GAME CHANGER FOR A.R.Y?Who would have thought two decades ago that viable Caribbean businesses were possible in areas as diverse as vocal training services, haute couture, the

export of the concept and delivery of carnival, the sale of environmentally friendly high value artisan chocolate through factory tours or farm –to-table

dinners at the time of full moon? – David Jessop ‘The future is Services’ – Sunday Gleaner April 25

TIME TO FOCUS ON THE NEW INDUSTRIES

THE NEW INDUSTRIES - THE CREATIVE INDUSTRY

Music Dance Tour Guide & Hosting – (Community & Slum Tourism)Talent Scouting & Talent Management - (Artistes & Athletes)Social Media Technicians & Managers – bloggers and other content providersDigital Animation – video gaming and animation for TV/Movies

THE NEW INDUSTRIES - THE CREATIVE INDUSTRY

Events ManagementSocial Media TechniciansAPP Design & DevelopmentSound & Light Technicians & EngineersStudio Technicians & EngineersFashion & Costume design

THE NEW INDUSTRIES - MARITIME & LOGISTICS

Ocean Vessel Repair – (carpentry, welding, interior decorating, metallurgy, etc.)Marine PilotsPleasure Craft Maintenance & RepairsLogistics hub – (encapsulating machinists, welders, technicians and engineers, I.T. hospitality, beauty services, events and entertainment)

THE NEW INDUSTRIES - I.T. & ROBOTICS

THE NEW INDUSTRIES - AGRO SCIENCE & FOOD PROCESSINGCrop Production/Ornamentals – Green House Technology – Licensed Marijuana Growers for Medical Research and other legitimate use

THE NEW INDUSTRIES - Renewable Energy

Success Examples of the New Industries –Social Media

Social Media Blogging – ‘Dutty Berry’

Music/You-tube – ‘Cliff Twang’

Music/You-tube – Gully Bop

Success Examples of the New Industries–Community/Slum Tourism: Music Dance & More

Scenes like Japan's thriving – and somewhat unlikely – dancehall and reggae subculture… from catching up with Yokohama’s sound system kings Mighty Crown and meeting Ba..y Bom Bom – one of the scene’s most revered dancers, and a former winner of the prestigious annual Dancehall Queen competition – the film takes in every aspect of the culture and how it's been translated for a Japanese audience. A dance troupe called the Illmatic Gyalz, for example, don't only teach people how to dutty wine; they also educate them about Jamaican culture and language.

Jamaica meets Japan

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR LEVERAGING TVET TO ADDRESS A.R.Y.

Implementation of the vocationalization (integrating of TVET in General Education) inclusive of the Early Childhood Level, for example (Leggo & Robotics)Implementation of both regional and national qualification frameworks to facilitate seamless recognition and portability of qualifications attained both in non –formal and formal education and training system and to promote life long learning from the lowest to the highest levels on the QFs – ease of access for ‘laddering up’!Re-establish and implement apprenticeship systemIncentivize public private partnerships to facilitate both on the job training and employment in both the formal and informal sectorsUsing existing standards and conducting further research and LMI for the new industries to create job specific standards and curricula – feedback and participation from many stakeholders in the informal sector

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR LEVERAGING TVET TO ADDRESS A.R.Y.

Career centres to identify needs/desires of at risk youths and to provide guided advice to both access points for initial training and opportunities for life long learning and the obtaining of qualifications both on and off the job. Action coaches & mentors also required

Flexible instructional delivery incorporating blended learning methods of on line delivery and face to face. Emphasis on both skill based and critical employability skills learning inclusive of ICT, numeracy, literacy, problem solving etc.

Upgrading of instructors in CBET delivery and using a number of methodologies to actively engage and stimulate varied learners

TVET Champions – tremendous emphasis on at risk youth stories at all access points of the QF; to advocate & promote how TVET training & qualifications facilitated their success and drive for life long learning