competence-based certificationsawarded to persons who have beentrained and successfully assessedagainst occupational standards, andhave demonstrated competence in areal, or realistic, work environment.

Speaking in the lead-up toSaturday’s graduation ceremony,NVQ coordinator for SJPP,Henderson Cadogan, said the nextstep for the training institution wasto continue the process of preparingto roll out NVQs and CVQs for thenext academic year.

NVQs and CVQs, Levels 1 and/or2 which target entry level and juniorlevel workers, respectively, will beintroduced in the areas of amenityhorticulture, cosmetology,plumbing, mechanical maintenance,and electrical installation.

He added: “The syllabi in theseprogramme areas are going to bemapped to the correspondingoccupational standards; this willshow which units in the standardsare being covered within whichspecific parts of the programmesduring training and assessment.”

Mr Cadogan noted that trainingand certification for the instructorsin competence-based education andtraining (CBET), and NVQassessment, had alreadycommenced.

He said: “The institution hasembarked on assessing andupgrading its facilities as well asproviding staff developmentopportunities for its instructors inNVQ Coordination, InternalVerification, CBET, and the NVQLevel 4 in Assessment.”

Emphasising the benefits of theNVQ programme to students, MrCadogan said: “NVQs/CVQs willenhance the on-the-job learningexperience because they arecompetence-based qualificationsthat reflect an individual'scompetence to perform the variouswork related tasks; as outlined inthe occupational standards whichare developed from therequirements of industry.

“Therefore, the students shouldbe better equipped to fit in on-the-job and function more effectively,”he said.

Dual certification

Another benefit the NVQcoordinator noted was thepossibility of students graduatingwith dual certification: “(They cando so) if they satisfy therequirements necessary tosuccessfully complete both the SJPPprogramme and the NVQ/CVQ.

“The benefits of the dualcertification will allow students togain an NVQ/CVQ while pursuing anSJPP programme. The requirementsto successfully complete an SJPPprogramme exceed that required inthe standards for the NVQ/CVQ inthe occupational area,” Mr Cadoganexplained.

The SJPP’s participation in theNVQ programme has also had apositive impact on the institution’sstaff development programme. Thestaff that have undergone training

and certification in CBET andAssessment are already seeing the benefits.

Mr Cadogan said: “They haveemployed a wider range of deliverymethods to train the students andthey have taken a more openapproach to the assessment processwhereby various assessmentmethods are used.

“The practice of surprising thestudents with tests and exams hasbeen removed from the assessmentprocess; they now ensure that the students are prepared and awareof what, when, and how they will be assessed.”

Technical officer Paul Puckerin,who recently joined the TVETCouncil’s staff, was one of the firstSJPP instructors to complete theNational Vocational Qualification,Jamaica (NVQJ) Level 4 inAssessment (2007), and morerecently the certificate

in competence-based training and assessment.

He was one of the SJPPinstructors involved in the pilot of the NVQ in Amenity HorticultureLevel 1, for which the graduateswere awarded on Saturday.

Benefits

Mr Puckerin shared the benefitsas an educator/trainer of hisinvolvement in the NVQprogramme:

“The CBET training exposed meto such elements as the use ofoccupational standards in training;that helped me to be more specificin identifying what the studentsneeded to know, and be able to do,which I found they appreciated. Aspart of the assessor training I wasalso exposed to use of rubrics forassessment and other more realisticand valid means of assessment,” he

said.He added: “The training as an

assessor also helped me to learn tobe a better coach and mentor to thestudents so that they becamepartners in their own learning.”

Mr Puckerin, who also holds anAssociate Degree in Agriculture, aBachelors Degree in Spanish andManagement, a professionalqualification in Turf Managementfrom the University of Georgia, anda Teacher Training Certificate fromErdiston Teachers’ Training College,noted that undertaking the trainingin the delivery of CBET was veryimportant for educators/trainers,especially those intending toparticipate in the NVQ programme.

Mr Cadogan also elaborated onthe benefits to the SJPP of being anNVQ Centre: “It means that theinstitution can offer anotherrecognised qualification to thesociety. The training programmesoffered at the institution will bealigned with the occupationalstandards, which have beendeveloped with the approval ofindustry. Hence the students shouldgain the knowledge and skillsrequired to function in industry.”

He added: “The SJPP will also bein a position to provide anopportunity for uncertified skilledworkers to acquire certificationthrough the assessment process.”The NVQ coordinator noted thatefforts were under way to make theNVQ/CVQ offerings available by the beginning of the 2010academic year.

Important aspects of thepreparation process still to be completed include thecompletion of a facilities’ audit,successful completion of theassessor training by instructors, and mapping of the NVQ/CVQstandards to the relevant SJPP programmes.

Mr Cadogan noted that anotherimportant aspect of the process wasthe “strengthening of the links and relationships withfirms/companies in industry toassist and ensurethat a real workenvironment can be available for the assessment process”.

THE Technical and Vocational Education andTraining Council (TVETC) and the SamuelJackman Prescod Polytechnic (SJPP), lastSaturday saw the strengthening of the workingrelationship that exists between the twoorganisations with the public recognition of thefirst SJPP students to complete a NationalVocational Qualification (NVQ).

Nine graduates of the Agricultural Division’sone-year Landscaping and Amenity Horticultureprogramme were awarded for completion of theNVQ in Amenity Horticulture Level 1, beforeofficials and guests in attendance at the SJPP’sannual graduation ceremony. One person wasawarded unit recognition for completing units ofthe same NVQ.

The SJPP is the first public education andtraining institution to be approved as an NVQassessment centre.

The NVQ, and its regional equivalent theCaribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ), are

DAILY NATION. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2009. 27

SJPP on boardas NVQassessment centre

TVETC’S TECHNICAL OFFICER PAUL PUCKERIN (left) sharing information on the NVQprogramme with persons attending the SJPP’s Open Day and Exhibition last week. (GP)