Basseterre, St. Kitts, December 08, 2015 (SKNIS): Member territories of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) are working assiduously to deepen the level of integration and cooperation in a number of critical sectors, in particular, the Network of Excellence for Tourism and Hospitality Training and Education (NETHTE) Project.
Speaking at a Project Implementation Planning Workshop on December 01, at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort, Carlene Henry-Morton, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, stated that “tourism has been established as the lead economy in the Eastern Caribbean and as such a project of this nature will positively impact the region.
“NETHTE will minimise operational costs, maximise scarce human and material resources, facilitate blended-mode teaching and learning, eliminate redundancies in the delivery of content, and foster partnerships that will be of mutual benefit from the exchange and sharing of ideas of best practices,” she said.
Henry-Morton described the tourism sector as an integral component of any economy, while reflecting on research carried out by the Caribbean’s tourism development agency.
“It is the key sector for stimulating growth in the economies of the nine territories in the OECS,” she said, while adding that research from the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) revealed that tourism contributed a record US$29.2 billion to Caribbean economies and the region welcomed a record 23.6 million tourists in 2014.
The meeting focused on the Institutional Framework and Strategic Plan for the start-up, execution and ongoing operation of the Eastern Caribbean Institute of Tourism (ECIT), which is a blended learning institute.
Novelette Morton, Senior Tourism Projects Officer in the Ministry of Tourism, stated that ECIT will have the flexibility of providing blended learning programmes, as well as separate virtual programmes or face-to-face programmes where applicable.
“The ECIT is the operationalized result of the concept for an OECS NETHTE,” she said. “A concept which was conceived with the overall purpose of harmonizing and enhancing the competitiveness of OECS tourism and hospitality sector, through improved knowledge, management and human resource development.”
Dr. Lorraine Nicholas of the OECS Commission, made mention of a task force that was established by the OECS Council of Tourism Ministers in St. Lucia in 2010. She stated that the establishment of the task force was mandated to develop an integrated system for tourism and hospitality training and education, characterized by centers of specialization, operating respectively in hospitality training institutes in each OECS Member State.
She outlined the job of the task force, stating that its primary role is to “provide policy guidance and direction and to advise on and assist in the conceptualization on articulation of requirements to execute the OECS NETHTE project with a view to improving the tertiary education and vocational training system for tourism and hospitality in the region.”
The meeting also addressed the implementation schedule and the requirements of each Partner College, curriculum development, training and facilities upgrade, core Information, Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure and connectivity, public/private sector collaboration and public awareness and promotion.
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