September 26, 2025
Four CARICOM Member States (Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago) have embarked on a transformative journey to modernise Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) through the pilot phase of the Digitalisation of TVET Delivery Project.
This initiative is part of a Trilateral Technical Cooperation involving the CARICOM Secretariat, Brazil (via the Brazilian Cooperation Agency – ABC), the European Union (EU), and Germany through the German Cooperation for Sustainable Development – GIZ.
The project aims to establish a regional digital platform that will revolutionise how Caribbean citizens access skills-based training for specific trades and professions. By digitizing TVET content, the initiative seeks to make skills training more accessible, relevant, and aligned with the demands of today’s job market.
From 23 to 31 August 2025, the Brazilian National Service for Industrial Training (SENAI) hosted a week-long workshop in Goiania, Brazil, to train instructional designers from participating institutions. These were the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology (Barbados), New Life Organisation (Grenada), HEART College of Hospitality, Beauty, and Construction Services (Jamaica), and the Youth Training and Employment Partnership Programme (YTEPP) Limited (Trinidad and Tobago).
Dr Denise Stoney-James, Project Manager, emphasised the importance of the workshop:
“This initiative is a game-changer for TVET in the Caribbean. By equipping instructional designers with the tools to digitalise content, we’re not just modernising education, we’re empowering educators and learners alike to thrive in a digital society.”
The training focused on integrating multimedia, artificial intelligence, and cutting-edge educational technologies into existing curricula. This capacity-building effort is expected to elevate the quality of TVET offerings and ensure instructors are well-prepared for online delivery.
“The workshop in Brazil was more than a training, it was supporting a vision for the future,” added Dr Stoney-James. “We’re building a foundation that will support lifelong learning and regional workforce development.”
Participants indicated that the workshop effectively underscored the benefits of digitalising training programmes, particularly in enhancing flexibility and improving access to learning opportunities.
“The biggest takeaway was recognising how powerful digitalising training programmes can be. It has the potential to make learning more flexible and accessible,” stated Gennesta Charles, Coordinator for Standards and Planning in Grenada. “This means that we can better prepare learners for the workforce.”
“The collaboration was a testament to the power of diversity and teamwork…as well as being able to see how one can approach teaching future culinarians in a digital space,” stated Matthew Bancroft, Senior Instructor, Culinary Arts, Jamaica. “I am excited to see how this experience will help shape and create more interactive classroom environments while creating global access for educational opportunities in the culinary world.”
The digitalisation of TVET delivery supports the vision of the Caribbean Association of National Training Agencies (CANTA) and national training bodies, directly contributing to the CARICOM Human Resource Development (HRD) 2030 Strategy. This Strategy envisions an integrated, multi-track education system that fuels the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) and accelerates regional economic and social integration.
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About the Pilot Project
The CARICOM Secretariat, in collaboration with the Caribbean Association of National Training Authorities (CANTA), developed the Digitalisation of TVET Delivery project in November 2022 in response to the Call for Proposals from the Trilateral Technical Cooperation between Brazil, the European Union (EU) and Germany. Subsequently, the HRD Programme of the CARICOM Secretariat secured €700,000 in technical support from the Trilateral Technical Cooperation to implement the project in CANTA Member States.
The Brazilian National Service for Industrial Training (SENAI), a non-profit organisation considered one of the largest TVET institutions in the world, is a project partner and will lead the process of converting traditional TVET offerings to online programmes.
The Operational Planning Phase was initiated through a series of virtual project refining meetings with the CARICOM Secretariat, CANTA, SENAI, the Brazilian Cooperation Agency – ABC and the German Cooperation for Sustainable Development – GIZ and one face-to-face workshop convened in Brasilia, Brazil, from 26 to 30 June 2023.
Read more about the pilot here: https://caricom.org/four-caricom-countries-in-pilot-project-to-improve-access-to-technical-and-vocational-education-and-training-tvet/
Photo caption: Participants of the workshop on tools to digitalise content hosted by the Brazilian National Service for Industrial Training (SENAI) in Goiania, Brazil
About CARICOM:
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) was established on 4 July 1973 with the signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas, which was revised in 2001 to allow for the establishment of a single market and economy. CARICOM comprises fifteen Member States and six Associate Members and is home to approximately sixteen million citizens, 60% of whom are under 30 years old. CARICOM’s work rests on four main pillars: economic integration; foreign policy coordination; human and social development; and security cooperation.
The members of CARICOM work together to create a Community that is integrated, inclusive and resilient; driven by knowledge, excellence, innovation and productivity; a Community which is a unified and competitive force in the global arena, where every citizen is secure and has the opportunity to realise his or her potential with guaranteed human rights and social justice, and contributes to, and shares in, its economic, social and cultural prosperity.
CARICOM remains one of the best examples of integration in the developing world.
The CARICOM Secretariat, the principal administrative organ of the Community, is headquartered in Georgetown, Guyana.