The Grenada National Training Agency (NTA) will host the 33rd General Meeting of the Caribbean Association of National Training Authorities (CANTA) from Tuesday, 7 November to Wednesday, 8 November 2023 in the Grenada Room of the Radisson Grenada Beach Resort, St George.
It’s the second time Grenada will host the meeting, the first being in March 2011.
The Chairperson of CANTA Henderson Eastmond, will welcome the 26 delegates at the opening ceremony which begins at 9 am. Dr Denise Stoney-James, Caricom Deputy Programme Manager, Education will make brief remarks. The meeting will be declared open by an official of the Ministry of Education, Youth, Sports, and Culture, who will also deliver remarks.
CANTA is the regional Association of National Training Authorities and other Technical, Vocational, Education and Training (TVET) bodies in Caricom and is endorsed as the implementing arm of the Caricom Regional Coordinating Mechanism for TVET. The need for the coordination and rationalisation of TVET and the existence of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) including the movement of certified skilled labour, have prompted National Training Agencies and Authorities (NTAs) in the region to exploit the benefits of joint and concerted efforts by establishing among themselves the Caribbean Association of National Training Agencies (CANTA).
CANTA’s role includes the promotion of the development of a competitive regional workforce, the establishment of a regional certification scheme for the award of the Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ), and to ensure the uniform provision of standards-driven competency-based training, assessment and certification within the Caribbean Community.
Grenada became a full member of CANTA in October 2009 and is an active participant in all CANTA activities.
Delegates will come from Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, St Lucia, St Kitts, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, and Haiti. Others not present will follow via Zoom. Other organisations participating include the ILO, Commonwealth of Learning (CoL), Skills to Access the Green Economy (SAGE), and CDEMA.
The meeting agenda includes membership reports, reports from the Occupational Standards and the Quality Assurance Committees, presentations by partner organisations, a focus group presentation — UNESCO: Situational Analysis — TVET in the Caribbean and the presentation of the draft CANTA Operational Plan 2024-2026.
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