KINGSTON, Jamaica – Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Instructor and 2023 TVET Teacher of the Year, Ilene Cohall-Bailey, is upbeat about the future of TVET programmes locally.

Speaking during the 2023 LASCO/Ministry of Education and Youth/Jamaica Teaching Council Teacher and Principal of the Year Awards Ceremony on December 5, Cohall-Bailey said TVET, which focuses on practical skills training, is the answer to challenges people experience.

“When you think of the basic needs of man – food, shelter and clothing, we are on top. We provide that. We are the dressmakers. When you want a house to live in, we provide it. We are the designers, the carpenters, the masons, and we are not to be left behind.” she said, while holding her trophy received during the ceremony at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston.

After teaching and specialising in home economics at The Mannings School in Westmoreland for more than 31 years, Cohall-Bailey said one of her greatest joys in teaching is being able to comprehensively support her students.

She shared that from her most recent studies, educators should focus on sincerity and various learning styles to better support them.

“As teachers, no matter what, we must be equipped to understand our students, meet them where they are and move them to a higher level. As you know, they call students of this century digital natives. So if I am to reach them, I need to become a digital native,” the instructor shared.

Cohall-Bailey not only encourages the use of technology in the field of technical and vocational training, but also emphasises the importance of finding ways to engage students that are familiar, so they can exercise creativity and critical-thinking skills.

“I use nursery rhymes to engage my students and get to their inner child, then ask my students to utilise their skills and technological knowledge to come up with their ideas,” she pointed out.

Cohall-Bailey reinforced that TVET professionals are trailblazers and “masters of the craft”.

She expressed the hope that as TVET grows, more state-of-the-art and modern technology will be introduced in schools islandwide.

Cohall-Bailey also advised her colleagues to remain consistent, treat students well and freely love them.

First runner-up to Cohall-Bailey was DeRhone Campbell from York Castle High School in St Ann, while the second runner-up was Nadia Bailey of Anchovy High School in St James

– JIS