Ryder Gabathuse
10 May 2005
Kasane — Over 200 delegates turned up for the fifth African Regional International Vocational Education and Training Association (IVETA) conference, which started in Kasane on Sunday. The conference ends on Sunday.
It is attended by delegates from Africa and beyond.
Addressing the conference, President Festus Mogae said that it is a well-known fact that the existence of high levels of poverty remains a common feature of virtually all societies. "The debilitating effects of widespread poverty are also all too apparent. To cite but one harrowing measurement, a survey conducted between 1997 and 1999 indicated that some 200 million Africans were chronically hungry. How can our continent be so rich in resources, yet also be so famished?"
The African countries represented in the conference are Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mauritius, Zambia, Namibia, Mozambique and Malawi. Other participants are from the United States of America, India, The Netherlands, Germany, Finland, Canada, Belgium and Jamaica. Mogae spoke under the theme: "Achieving poverty reduction through relevant quality vocational education and training in partnership with industry". He told delegates that their presence is an acknowledgement that at least part of the answer lies in the need for them to find better ways of fully realising the potential of appropriately trained people. He said the close connection between the human and material development of any given society has been widely acknowledged. Mogae stated that what was less clear is that constitutes the best framework for any given society to secure its optimal level of human development. "I believe that in searching for answers to this question, there is value in us comparing our experiences. The value of experience resides not in what has happened to us, but rather what we make of it." He said that it is events like the conference that provide a welcome opportunity to build on the foundations of the shared failures as well as success.
In addressing the need to reduce poverty through relevant quality training, Mogae pointed out that the conference is also associating itself with wider initiatives to transform the continent towards a more productive and prosperous future. "Poverty reduction is further understood to be a prerequisite in our common efforts to turn the noble ideals of the African Union into a meaningful reality for all our citizens," he said and added that for this reason, poverty reduction also lies at the core of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).
He hoped that the conference will be conducted with reference to some key skill areas for adequate human capital development that have been identified in the millennium development goals, namely literacy, numeracy and the technical and entrepreneurial skills that are relevant to the modern, globalised, market. "Another necessity is the need to attract greater levels of both foreign and domestic investment. Investment in Africa remains far below that of most other regions of the world. External investors, in particular, will not wish to devote their own capital to educating workers in basic skills that are otherwise already available in competing investment destinations."
Mogae told the conference that given the central role that technical and vocational education and training must play in empowering the societies to compete in today's dynamic globalised economy, it is imperative for all to appreciate the constant need for reform in the local technical and vocational education and training systems.
President of IVETA (international) Tom McArdle said they strive to promote linkages among international vocational practitioners; provide a forum for sharing ideals in order to come up with solutions to problems in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector as well as facilitating worldwide dissemination of vocational education and training information.
"The fifth African Regional IVETA conference has been organised to advance aims and I am confident that delegates will find the discussions not only interesting, but also useful in your quest to address issues of poverty in their respective countries."
Botswana Training Authority CEO, who is also the African regional IVETA vice president, Abel Modungwa, thanked the IVETA leadership for choosing Botswana to host the conference.
"Your commitment gives us encouragement to work harder in driving the reform process of VET in Botswana and elsewhere," he said referring to cabinet ministers Jacob Nkate and Moeng Pheto, who also graced the occasion.
The conference has brought together professionals to share experiences and research findings on pertinent issues. For the duration of the four-day conference, professionals are expected to share ideas on how best to build a competitive skilled work force to drive world economies, in particular in Africa. The aim of the conference is to share the latest knowledge and best practices from the field of vocational education and training. The conference brings together practitioners from institutions responsible for quality assurance of vocational education and training, universities, technical colleges, polytechnics and private sector.
The main theme of the conference is: "Achieving poverty reduction through relevant quality vocational education and training in partnership with industry". The conference has six other sub themes. A total of 39 papers will be presented in the parallel presentation sessions.
The keynote speakers are Ronald Dubois, CEO of the Industrial and Vocational Training Board, Mauritius, Joe Samuels, director Standards Setting and Development South African Qualifications Authority, James Keevy, Assistant Director (Research) South African Qualifications Authority, Dr Patrick Molutsi, Tertiary Education (TEC) Botswana, Regina Vaka, Botswana Life Insurance Holdings and Dr Curtis Finch, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USA.
IVETA is a worldwide association and network of vocational practitioners, vocational training organisations, business organisations and other groups involved in vocational education and training. IVETA promotes professional linkages between its members; serves as a forum for exchange of ideas and best practices and further the interest and development of vocational education training. It holds international as well as regional conferences every two years.
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