The Tribune

Twenty-seven persons from the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI) recently attended training sessions that focused on City and Guilds' assessment and quality assurance.

The four-day training session in New Providence came as BTVI further readies itself to offer City and Guilds courses and exams, after it secured accreditation from the UK-based London Institute. Freeport Container Port apprentices started the programme in October 2017, and are now preparing to sit the City and Guilds Level 3 Diploma in Engineering Maintenance, installation and commissioning this fall.

Leroy Sumner, BTVI's associate vice-president of academic affairs, said becoming an approved City and Guilds' centre is a huge step for the institute. "It has a lot of currency internationally, and approval status is a feat in its own right. It tells us that BTVI is on the right track," he added.

Attending the workshop, conducted by City and Guilds' internal verifier, Professor Gossett Oliver, were the chairs of the trades at BTVI. They will now conduct "train the trainer" sessions within their respective departments.

BTVI envisions that, from spring 2019, students will enter the institution in a dual capacity, taking City and Guilds exams and BTVI exams at the end of the semester. College preparatory students will be advised to sit levels one and two of the international exams, whereas others will initially be encouraged to sit levels three and four.

City and Guilds offers a wide range of vocational qualifications in several occupational areas, ranging across eight levels - from entry to high-order - which are designed for cross-border employment.

"City and Guilds' certificates make one marketable. It's a known standard accepted worldwide. Being an approved centre indicates to the country and regional partners that we have the ability to deliver up to the mark," said Mr Sumner.

Instrumental in the process of attaining City and Guilds' accreditation was a team from BTVI's academic affairs unit, including Mr Sumner; Veronica Collie, associate vice-president for the northern campus; and Alexander Darville, dean of construction trades and workforce development.

Mr Darville said BTVI is living up to its mission to be globally competitive through being accredited by City and Guilds, in addition to having assessors and internal verifiers.

"A certificate at BTVI is stackable. Students can get two certificates: the BTVI certificate and a City and Guilds' certification. It's global. It's transferable. It strengthens the BTVI grad," he added.

Raquel Bethel, BTVI's dean of student affairs, said the City and Guilds training gave her a greater appreciation of assessment design and the role that training standards play in the development of curricula.

"Just like the workplace has its performance standards, the curricula should also have clearly defined training standards or outcomes which are required of the learner to be regarded as being competent," said Ms Bethel.

"One of the buzzwords of the training was 'evidence' - evidence being the central pillar in the entire assessment process. I assure you that the impact of this training will become evident in the not too distant future, as we are able to strengthen our existing course offerings through City and Guilds certifications and broaden our reach through the newly-trained City and Guilds assessors and verifiers."

BTVI president, Dr Robert W Robertson, said securing the accreditation was an important statement of the quality of BTVI's course offerings.

"It is a notable achievement that speaks volumes for our team," he said. "I also think it would cause BTVI to be even more attractive to prospective students. We live in a globally connected world, and we want our students to be at an advantage wherever they go, and of course City and Guilds is internationally recognised."

City and Guilds has a presence in more than 80 countries, and is considered one of the leading skills development organisations.