ST. EUSTATIUS/SABA--The Workgroup Vocational Education St. Eustatius and Saba met for the first time last week. The workgroup has been assigned to produce an implementation plan for the redevelopment of vocational education in St. Eustatius and Saba in December.
The redevelopment is necessary because with the choice for English as language of instruction also for vocational education the need arose to use an English-language exam structure.
Following a thorough orientation at the end of last school year the choice was made for the vocational training system of the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC), called Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ). The CVQ vocational training system is similar to the MBO stream in the Dutch education system.
In close cooperation with the Council for Education and the Labour Market Caribbean Netherlands, the workgroup is to establish which training courses within the CVQ system meet the needs of the local labour markets on the two islands and which requirements this would involve for teachers and the necessary equipment in schools.
The aim is to have the CVQ system operational on Saba in August 2016 and on Statia most likely in August 2017.
The workgroup comprises the directors of secondary schools on Statia and Saba, the coordinator for the transition to English as instruction language on Statia, the policy advisor of Education, Culture and Science of Government Service Caribbean Netherlands RCN.
