COMPETENCY BASED EDUCATION AND VOCATIONAL TRAINING IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

1. COMPETENCY BASED EDUCATION AND VOCATIONAL TRAINING IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN Conceptualization, and some experiences DEVELOPMENT AND CERTIFICATION OF BASIC COMPETENCIES. Caribbean Educational Sector Workshop Port of Spain, August 2004 www.cinterfor.org.uy

2. CONTENTS: 1. COMPETENCIES: CONTEXT AND CONCEPTS 2. HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT: THE NEW ILO RECOMMENDATION 195 3. COMPARATIVE OVERVIEW OF LABOUR COMPETENCY IN L.A. AND THE CARIBBEAN

3. LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN: TOTAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE BY COUNTRIES. Period January-September 2002 – 2003 (percentages) Countries Unemployment Rate Source: ILO preparation based on official information from the countries *First six months

4. EMPLOYMENT AND INFORMALITY(1990-2002): • Most of the increase in employment is in the informal sector. Modern employment grew very little. • Of every 10 new jobs approximately 7 have been informal. • The trend is towards employment in the tertiary sector: 9.4 of every 10 new jobs are in the services sector. • Precarious employment still persists: only 4 of every 10 new jobs provide access to social security systems, and only 2 of every 10 workers in the informal sector have social protection. Fernando Vargas

5. LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN: EVOLUTION OF THE RELATION BETWEEN THE YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT RATE AND THE TOTAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE. 1998-2003 (the factor by which the youth unemployment rate exceeds the total rate) Factor by which the youth unemployment rate is greater that the average unemployment rate Fernando Vargas Unemployment rate 15-19 years Source: ILO preparation based on official information from the countries Unemployment rate 15-19 years

6. SOME IMPORTANT TRENDS IN VT IN LATIN AMERICA DEMAND EXCEEDS SUPPLY IN TRAINING AND VICEVERSA IN EMPLOYMENT TRAINING-COMPETITIVENESS NEXUS NEW PLAYERS AND NEW PRESENCE NEW TYPES OF FINANCING PLACING VALUE ON KNOWLEDGE AND HUMAN TALENT

7. BASIC CONCEPTS OCCUPATIONAL COMPETENCY IS A QUALIFYING AND ENHANCING CONCEPT OF WORK IT MEANS PROGRESS IN THE UNDERSTANDING OF HUMAN LABOUR IT INVOLVES RECOGNITION OF THE COMPLEXITY OF JOB PERFORMANCE IT ACKNOWLEDGES AND PLACES VALUE ON KNOWLEDGE ACQUIRED AND SET IN MOTION BY THE WORKER

8. BASIC CONCEPTS COMPETENCIES AS A LIST OF TASKS: CONCENTRATING ON OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES OF WORKERS. BASICALLY TRANSFORMATION, REVISION, CONTROL, OPERATIONAL ACTIONS(CUTTING, PASTING, PAINTING, ASSEMBLING, DISASSEMBLING, CONTROLLING, RECORDING, ETC.) COMPETENCIES AS A SET OF ATTRIBUTES: INCLUDING THE PERSONALITY AND BEHAVIOURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PERSON INVOLVED(DYNAMISM, TEAM WORK, ADAPTABILITY, CONCERN FOR QUALITY, INTERPRETATION OF SYMBOLIC LANGUAGE, SUCCESSFUL COMMUNICATION, FOCUS ON THE CLIENT) HOLISTIC CONCEPTION OF COMPETENCY: Combines the tasks and attributes of people that are set in motion to achieve successful performance. A holism effect is thus obtained.

9. TRADITIONAL ANALYSIS AND IDENTIFICATION OF COMPETENCIES OCCUPATIONAL ANALYSIS FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS CENTRES ON WHAT IS DONE CENTRES ON WHAT IS ACHIEVED

10. COMPETENCIES IN THE NATIONAL TRAINING FRAMEWORKS TECHNICAL COMP. GENERIC COMP. KEY COMP. GENERAL EDUCATION

11. NEW ILO RECOMENDATION 195 ON HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT • Some central subjects for the TVET: • Development and implementation of education and training policies • Education and pre-employment training • Development of competencies • Framework for recognition and certification of skills • Vocational orientation and support services for training • Training providers • Research into the development of human resources

12. NEW ILO RECOMENDATION 195 ON HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT “Members should, based on social dialogue, formulate, apply and review national human resources development, education, training and lifelong learning policies which are consistent with economic, fiscal and social policies.” “Lifelong learning: encompasses all learning activities undertaken throughout life for the development of competencies and qualifications” “Competencies: covers the knowledge, skills and know-how applied and mastered in a specific context”

13. NEW ILO RECOMENDATION 195 ON HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT “Qualifications: means a formal expression of the vocational or professional abilities of a worker which is recognized at international, national or sectoral levels.” “Employability: relates to portable competencies and qualifications that enhance an individual’s capacity to make use of the education and training opportunities available in order to secure and retain decent work, to progress within the enterprise and between jobs, and to cope with changing technology and labour market conditions.”

14. NEW ILO RECOMENDATION 195 ON HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT “Develop a national qualifications framework to facilitate lifelong learning, assist enterprises and employment agencies to match skill demand with supply, guide individuals in their choice of training and career and facilitate the recognition of prior learning and previously acquired skills, competencies and experience; this framework should be responsive to changing technology and trends in the labour market and recognize regional and local differences, without losing transparency at the national level” “Ensure that vocational education and training systems are developed and strengthened to provide appropriate opportunities for the development and certification of skills relevant to the labour market.”

15. NEW ILO RECOMENDATION 195 ON HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT “Promote, with the involvement of the social partners, the ongoing identification of trends in the competencies needed by individuals, enterprises, the economy and society as a whole.” “Measures should be adopted, in consultation with the social partners and using a national qualifications framework, to promote the development, implementation and financing of a transparent mechanism for the assessment, certification and recognition of skills, including prior learning and previous experience, irrespective of the countries where they were acquired and whether acquired formally or informally.” “The national framework should include a credible system of certification which will ensure that skills are portable and recognized across sectors, industries, enterprises and educational institutions.”

16. MAP OF TVET IN L.A. AND THE CARIBBEAN: cinterfor.org.uy

17. Caribbean Association of National Training Agencies (CANTA) Area of influence:

18. SOCIAL PLAYERS VIS-À-VIS OCCUPATIONAL COMPETENCIES TRAINING INSTITUTIONS Quality Curriculum Relevance of training Modernization Technical unit Attention to demand GOVERNMENT Equity Access Employment Transparency LABOUR COMPETENCIES TRADE UNIONS Training Bargaining Compensation ENTREPRENEURS Productivity Competitiveness Human Resource

19. STEPS ON LABOUR COMPETENCY APPROACH CERTIFICATION TRAINING NORMALIZATION IDENTIFICATION:

20. LABOUR COMPENTECIES IN LATIN AMERICA PROMOTED BY SOCIAL PLAYERS PROMOTED BY EDUCATION OR LABOUR MINISTRIES PROMOTED BY VOCATIONAL TRAINING INSTITUTIONS

21. LEVELS OF COVER OF EXPERIENCES TOWARDS A NATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS FRAMEWORK COVER NATIONAL QUALIFICATION FRAMEWORKS THE WHOLE COUNTRY NATIONAL OFFER OF COMPETENCE BASED TRAINING GROUP OF OCCUPATIONS COMPETENCY BASED PROGRAMMES ENTERPRISE OR SECTOR T.V.E.T. INSTITUTION SECTORAL GROUPS NATIONAL AUTHORITY OR MINISTRY PLAYERS

22. CBT PROGRAMMES THEY ARE DEVELOPED ON THE BASIS OF LABOUR COMPETENCY PRINCIPLES THEY USE VARIOUS TYPES OF COMPETENCY IDENTIFICATION THEY ARE CENTRED ON TRAINING; THEY STRESS UPDATING OF CURRICULA AND PROGRAMMES CERTIFICATION IN THE SAME INSTITUTION THEY CONTRIBUTE TO GENERATING A NEW INSTITUTIONALITY INATEC (Nicaragua) INTECAP (Guatemala) INA (Costa Rica) INSAFORP (El Salvador) SENAI (Brazil) INET (Argentina) SEMTEC (Brazil)

23. CERTIFICATION OF COMPETENCIES AT SECTORAL LEVEL USUALLY FOLLOWING A PRIVATE SECTOR INITIATIVE, AT THE OCCUPATIONAL AREA LEVEL USED ONLY IN THE SECTORS SPECIFICALLY INVOLVED RANGES FROM OBLIGATORY TO VOLUNTARY OFTEN RELATED TO TRAINING PROGRAMMES OR TO VTIs ABRAMAN-FBTS-HOTELS-PETROBRAS: Brazil HOTELS. GASTRONOMY. TOURISM: Chile IDB PROGRAMMES: Argentina, Colombia, Paraguay, Uruguay.

24. MOVING TOWARDS A NATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS FRAMEWORKS THEY COVER ALL OR MOST OF THE PHASES OF WORK BY COMPETENCIES: (IDENTIFICATION, STANDARDISATION, TRAINING, CERTIFICATION) THEY DEFINE PROCESSES AND RULES OF THE GAME IN GENERAL RE: HOW ARE THEY IDENTIFIED? HOW ARE THEY ACQUIRED? HOW ARE THEY DEMONSTRATED? HOW ARE COMPETENCIES RECOGNISED? THEY ARE INITIATED BY DIFFERENT, USUALLY PUBLIC, AGENCIES. ALL SOCIAL PLAYERS TAKE PART. CANTA (Caribbean Region) CONOCER: Mexico “Chile Califica” VTIs: SENA Colombia INSAFORP El Salvador

25. SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NTA IN THE CARIBBEAN: • Tripartite consultative councils • Links between employers and unions • Great propensity to share competence standards • The wish to create and spread a national standard classification of occupations • Competence-based raining oriented by demand • Sharing the general framework of competence levels

26. THE CANTA: A KEY CHARACHTERISTIC IN THE CARIBBEAN TVET • The Caribbean TVET community subscribes to the philosophy and practice of competence-based education and training. • This is founded on prevailing, locally validated, international occupational standards which describe the specific knowledge, skills and attitudes persons must acquire and demonstrate to be certified at any level with a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) in any occupation. • What this means is that any person certified with an NVQ in an occupation in the region, is equally competent with his or her counterparts certified with their NVQ in that occupation anywhere else in the region. Robert Gregory.

27. THE CANTA: A ATTAINMENT FOR THE EDUCATION AND VTI IN THE CARIBBEAN: • The Caribbean TVET community has also developed significant expertise and demonstrated capacity to accredit training institutions and programmes, assess and certify persons including assessment of prior learning and acquired competencies. • The articulation of competent certificate holders between training institutions and programmes in the region is easily facilitated based on shared common standards. Robert Gregory

28. THE CANTA: AN ACHIEVEMENT FOR THE EDUCATION AND VTI IN THE CARIBBEAN: • We subscribe to the view that education is a life long process through which one learns how to learn, learns how to do, learns how to live and work productively with other people, and learns how to be. • The assessment for certification is based on performance criteria and conditions under which achievement will be assessed, all explicitly stated and made public in advance. Robert Gregory

29. THE LEVELS OF COMPETENCE SHARED BY NTAs IN BARBADOS, JAMAICA, AND TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO: • Level 1: Directly supervised worker • Level 2: Supervised skilled worker • Level 3: Independent o autonomous skilled worker • Level 4: Undergraduate. Specialised or supervisor worker • Level 5: Graduate, professional or managerial worker

30. QUALIFICATION MATRIX: A STEP BEFORE NQF Identify: Variety. Complexity. Autonomy. Routine. Predictability. Supervision received. FINANZAS VENTAS SALUD AREAS OCUPAC. 5 4 N i v e l 3 2 1

32. LABOUR COMPETENCY:DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES AND ITS APPLICATION IN L.A. AND THE CARIBBEAN PROGRAMMES INATEC Ni CADERH INTECAP Gt INFOCAL Bo INSAFORP Sv ABRAMAN SENAI Br CENPAPEL SENATI Pe SENAC Br INET Ar FBTS SEMTEC Br CAPACO Py. MINEDUC Cl PROYEC. BID. Arg. INA Cr PUBLIC PRIVATE HEART/TRUST MOL Br HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGMENT TRADE UNIONS TVET MOL Pan NTA TT INFOTEP RD MOL Ar SENCE Chile Califica MOL / MOE Ch. Fund. CHILE SENA Col PMETYC CONOCER Mx Fernando Vargas Z. NATIONAL SYSTEMS Fernando Vargas Z..

33. CHALLENGES FOR TVET: THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMPETENCIES • DEVELOPING “SUSTAINABLE” COMPETENCIES • TO BECOME INTEGRATED INTO A JOB • TO BECOME INTEGRATED INTO SOCIETY • DEVELOPING “BRIDGES” TOWARDS ACADEMIC EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS • FOR ONGOING TRAINING THROUGHOUT LIFE • WITH THE SAME VALUE AS THE FORMER • DEVELOPING HIGHLY “PORTABLE” BROADLY BASED COMPETENCIES TO BE APPLIED TO A WIDE RANGE OF JOBS • DEVELOPING FLEXIBILITY AND ADAPTABILITY IN WORKERS

34. www.cinterfor.org.uy THE END