In response to a changing educational landscape and the need to facilitate increased access to training for school leaders across the island, the National College for Educational Leadership (NCEL) has taken steps to increase the use of technology in its leadership training programmes by streaming its quarterly leadership seminars on YouTube and Facebook to over 500 viewers.

The NCEL Quarterly Leadership Development Webinar Series focuses on the principles, practices, and processes of leading in an educational environment. The series, though initially geared at imparting knowledge and skills to school leaders across the educational landscape, provides an open platform for aspiring leaders and interested individuals to learn internationally.

“The proliferation of the internet and Increased access to technology have created numerous opportunities for learning. Today, people attend lectures online, listen to podcasts and learn from industry blogs regardless of where they are in the world”, stated Dr Taneisha Ingleton, principal director at the National College for Educational Leadership.

She continued, “Our organisation faces the unique challenge of training school leaders across the island. Against this background, our team sought ways to maximise on the strides in technology in order to make leadership development learnings more accessible.”

The leadership training agency has partnered with C&W Business Jamaica, since the inception of the leadership series, to facilitate the streaming of the quarterly seminar to its stakeholders.

“Selecting the right technology partner was a major part of facilitating the streaming of this leadership training series. We needed a partner that would provide consistent service, good customer service and a quick resolution when challenges occurred. For us, C&W Business has been that partner,” Dr Ingleton said.

In commenting on the partnership, Delroy McLean, senior director of C&W Business Jamaica stated, “ensuring that organisations, like the NCEL, are able to leverage our services to make a big impact on its stakeholders is at the heart of what we do. We are, therefore, pleased to be the ICT partner of choice for the NCEL and will continue to increase our contribution/participation in the use of technology as a transformative force in Jamaica”.

The NCEL, an agency of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information (MOEYI), is an educational leadership training and development organisation that was created to support the development needs of school leaders at all levels including aspiring or experienced principals, middle managers, bursars and board members. Since its inception, the agency has spearheaded leadership training programs such as the Effective Principals’ Training Programme the Aspiring Principals’ Programme, System and School Leaders’ Coaching Programme, the University and Colleges’ Leadership Training Programme and its ICT Leadership Programme.

Presenters at past leadership seminars include Senator Ruel Reid, Minister of the MOEYI; Dean-Roy Bernard, Permanent Secretary of the MOEYI; Dr Grace McLean, chief education officer; Senator Aubyn Hill, CEO of the Economic Growth Council; and Erica Simmons, executive director of Dr Andrew Wheatley Centre for Digital Innovation and Advanced Manufacturing at the Caribbean Maritime University.

The next staging of the webinar series will be held on Monday, January 7, 2019 at the Regional Headquarters of the University of the West Indies, Mona, under the theme ‘Achieving Sustained Organisational Success: The Blue Ocean Perspective’.