Africa-Press – Mauritius. A five-day workshop on the conceptualisation of a Self-Reflection Tool on New Qualifications and Competencies, which would enable Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) providers to assess their preparedness in identifying new qualifications and competencies, to integrate them into curricula, and to implement them in adequate learning environments, opened, this morning, at the MITD House in Phoenix.
The Minister of Labour, Human Resource Development and Training, Minister of Commerce and Consumer Protection, Mr Soodesh Callichurn; the Chairman of the MITD Board, Mr Harrykrishna Vydelingum; the Acting Director of the MITD, Mr Sayadaly Maudarbocus; and other personalities, were present.
The MITD has been selected, together with eight TVET providers from Africa, Asia and Pacific, and Europe, to co-develop and field-test a New Qualifications and Competencies Self-Reflection Tool with a view to contribute to the process of identifying new qualifications and competencies.
This initiative is led by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) designated centre for TVET, the UNESCO-UNEVOC, under the Bridging Innovation & Learning (BILT) TVET Project.
The project is run in collaboration with the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training from Germany and is sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
It aims at supporting TVET institutions to address challenges pertaining to technological, environmental, and social transformations, and to explore innovative approaches and new practices.
The objectives of the workshop are to co-develop and pilot the Self-Reflection Tool, implement it with the support of the BILT team, and provide feedback.
Participants in the workshop comprise MITD officers responsible for curriculum development, assessment certification, project development and training of trainers; the management, training officers, and instructors from MITD; and stakeholders from the public and private sectors.
The resource persons are from UNESCO-UNEVOC and the German Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training. In his address, Minister Callichurn underlined the role of the MITD in the provision of TVET in the country and in furnishing the local workforce with the necessary knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values to make them competent and ready for the workplace.
Commending the MITD for its selection and participation in the UNESCO-UNEVOC project, the Minister urged the Institute to keep abreast with the labour market analysis and skills forecast to ensure its services are forward-looking and pertinent, while engaging in close links with the private sector and other key partners to improve the relevance of its training.
According to Mr Callichurn, the partnership with UNESCO-UNEVOC, under the BILT project, would contribute to the process of identify new qualifications and competencies in a timely and accurate manner, as well as integrating them into appealing and flexible curricula and implementing them in innovating training approaches.
The Minister added that the workshop would have a common focus on key competencies areas that were currently emerging in economies and societies across the world, and include the demand for competencies not only in greening and digitalisation, but also commonly required key competencies such as critical thinking, and interpersonal skills.
It is to be noted that the MITD would be required to scale-up the methodology by disseminating the updated Self-Reflection Tool with three other TVET providers in Africa between August and December 2022.
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