T&T to certify trades people, will give credit for past experience

Tertiary Education Minister Fazal Karim said on Thursday government is introducing a three steps to formalise the training, registration and licensing of tradesmen in Trinidad and Tobago.

Speaking at the media brifing following the regular cabinet meeting, the minister said this is a shift from existing schemes set up by the former PNM regime. Karim said technical/vocational training must now become more industry-driven and demand-led, rather than supply-driven.

He said workers could get certified for their past experience and be able to enroll to earn any additional credit needed to qualify for a full certification in the Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ). This is a Prior Learning Accreditation Recognition, he said.

Karim also revealed that some persons have been abusing the existing training programs by enrolling in both morning and evening courses in order to collect two sets of stipend. He announced a that his ministry would issue a new “national competency” identification card would track such trainees.

The three initiatives are:

• an ID card
• a national tech/voc training registry
• the establishment of workforce assessment centres across the country

He said Cabinet has agreed to these centres, based on a 1990 Caricom report that said tech/voc training does not meet the needs of industry.

Karim said many tradesmen have tremendous expertise but it is informal and “non-credentialled”, so these centres would register them against CVQ standards set by the National Training Agency (NTA). These centres would include the Metal Industries Company (MIC), National Energy Skills Centre (NESC) and YTEPP, all under the remit of his Ministry.

He said he expects to see 4,500 candidates this fiscal year, including 2,000 in technical areas and 2,500 in ICT. He said this initiative would cost his Ministry $5.25 million and expanded the GATE subsidy.