Stakeholders discuss National TVET Strategy 2024-2028 |07 December 2023

Dr Jorgen Billetoft leading the workshop yesterday (Photos: Patrick Joubert)

By Patrick Joubert

The Technical and Digital Education (TDE) Division within the Ministry of Education yesterday held a half-day workshop to share the draft National Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Strategy 2024-2028 and roadmap with key TVET stakeholders.

The aim was to further obtain their views and to familiarise them with the TVET Policy which was presented in September this year.

The workshop, held in the auditorium of the Seychelles Institute for Teacher Education (SITE), was facilitated by Dr Jorgen Billetoft, who is the consultant in the formulation of the country’s National TVET Policy and strategy.

He is on his second mission in the country, following his first arrival in September 2023 to formulate the policy.

This consultancy for capacity development in TVET is being funded by the African Development Bank.

The various key stakeholders from the public organisations, learning institutions, private sector and the industry were able to obtain and also share their views on the content of the preliminary draft document with a key recommendation for the setting up of a National TVET Council to guide the development of TVET in the country in the next five years.

The strategy also makes way for the inclusion of a number of economic sector councils; namely agriculture, fisheries, tourism and construction to provide information with regard to the dynamics which are happening in those sectors in terms of labour requirement.

During the session there was a call to include a council to look after finance given that it is a very important aspect for the development of TVET.

Among some of the main pillars of the strategy is to enhance governance and coordination, enhance quality, ensure the aspect of inclusivity, promote the development of the blue and green economies, digitalisation, competency and the integration of the emotional skills aspect among others.

The discussion was also centered on some key performance indicators such as targets, outputs, monitoring and evaluation of the strategy in order to turn the above mentioned pillars into reality. The provision of facilities, training and programmes, capacity building, finance and engagement with internal and external stakeholders, such as the Seychelles Qualifications Authority (SQA) were also among topics discussed.

In an interview with the media, the director general for Technical and Digital Education, Jean Alcindor, said the active interaction by the stakeholders was an indication of their interest in the implementation of the TVET policy and strategy.

He added that despite the government’s decision not to transform the Perseverance secondary school into a TVET learning institution as planned, it was still committed to constructing a TVET school at another site in the future for aspiring S3, S4 and S5 students.

“The idea is to make TVET more scientific, quantitative and more responsive to the needs of the economy. We do not want to operate in a vacuum, so basically this document is a systematic one which we have to use as a guide for the next phase of TVET development in Seychelles,” Mr Alcindor said.

He added that nearly 60 percent of students leaving S3 are oriented towards TVET and the country has to ensure they are cared for and given the competence and skills to develop the country’s industry.

Mr Alcindor said TVET already has 16 qualified teachers trained in China, it offers the scope for students to do their diplomas and attend universities.

The National TVET Strategy is expected to be finalised by the end of this month before being presented to the ministry and cabinet for approval and for its implementation together with the policy in January 2024.