Caribbean Association of National Training Authorities (CANTA)

CANTA is an association of national training agencies and other Technical, Vocational, Education and Training (TVET) bodies in CARICOM member states. It was established in November 2003 as the implementing arm of the CARICOM Regional Coordinating Mechanism for TVET with responsibility for overseeing the implementation of the Caribbean Vocational Qualifications across CARICOM member states.

CANTA’s Goals and Objectives

Goals of CANTA:

• To promote the development of a competitive regional workforce
• To facilitate free movement of certified skilled workers within the CSME

Objectives of CANTA:

• Ensure uniform provision of standards driven competency-based training, assessment and certification within the Caribbean Community
• Establish a regional certification scheme for the award of the Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ)
• Promote career and vocational guidance throughout the CSME
• Support and contribute to the establishment and maintenance of a regional labor market information system
• Promote lifelong learning and the image and status of TVET in the region
• Promote and support the development of national training agencies or TVET apex bodies through capacity building and resource sharing activities with a view to them acquiring full membership status
• Maintaining strong advocacy for workforce development and mobility.

CANTA Membership

Grenada is a full member of the Caribbean Association of National Training Authorities (CANTA) and an active participant in all CANTA activities. Grenada made application for full membership in March 2009 and received approval in October of the same year. Two officers of the National Training Agency of Grenada were elected to the CANTA Executive in 2010 in the positions of Deputy Chair and Secretary.

CANTA founding members:
Barbados: TVET Council Barbados
Jamaica: HEART Trust/NTA
Trinidad and Tobago: National Training Agency of Trinidad & Tobago

Countries currently with CANTA membership:
Antigua: Antigua National Training Agency
Bahamas
Barbados: TVET Council Barbados
Belize
Dominica
Grenada: Grenada National Training Agency
Guyana: Council for TVET
Jamaica: HEART Trust/NTA
Montserrat
St. Lucia: St. Lucia TVET Council
St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Sector Skills Development Agency
St. Kitts & Nevis: St Kitts & Nevis TVET Council
Suriname
Trinidad & Tobago: National Training Agency of Trinidad & Tobago

The CVQ

CANTA, responding to a mandate from COHSOD, reached agreement on and documented a process for workforce training, assessment and certification leading to the award of the CVQ. This involved the reorientation of the TVET system towards a demand-driven, competency-based approach using occupational standards developed in collaboration with industry. The occupational standards are incorporated into the vocational qualifications which inform the programmes of learning. This will result in the establishment of a harmonized regional system of training and certification that is aligned to the workforce development needs of the region.

COHSOD Approval of GNTA to Award the CVQ

In 2012 CANTA recommended a procedure and criteria for evaluation of new NTAs for approval by CARICOM’s Committee for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) to award the CVQ. The Grenada NTA and the Saint Lucia TVET Council were evaluated in 2012 and approved by COHSOD to award the CVQ. In 2015, the Council for TEVT in Guyana and the Sector Skills Council of St. Vincent were also approved as CVQ awarding bodies. The GNTA is therefore one of eight institutions in the CARICOM region with approval to award the CVQ:

• NCTVET Jamaica
• National Training Agency of Trinidad and Tobago
• TVET Council Barbados
• Grenada National Training Agency
• St. Lucia TVET Council
• Council for TVET, Guyana
• Sector Skills Development Agency of St. Vincent
• Caribbean Examinations Council