Minister with responsibility for education, youth and information, Karl Samuda has welcomed the expanded partnership between the ministry and City and Guilds.

Minister Samuda met with officials from City and Guilds’ London Head offices recently to discuss the expanded partnership, according to a ministry release.

Under the new partnership arrangement, City and Guilds will provide testing and certification to students in grades 11, 12 and 13 in the areas of mathematics, English language, engineering, and 16 occupational areas for TVET-oriented students. It will also see City and Guilds providing Jamaican students with digital badges.

Digital badges, which are a designation to display and easily share the skills learners have acquired, are fast becoming an international standard. They are powerful new tools for identifying and validating the array of people’s skills, knowledge, accomplishments, and competencies. The set of data provided for by digital badges would include information on a programme of study that outlines the levels of competence and skills attained in key areas of a programme.

A digital badge may show an earner’s ability to carry out a professional function in relation to the competencies required. With digital badges offering clear visibility of one’s skills, this overrides the abstract, indirect standards of a traditional certificate.

This digital credentialing strategy is also designed to allow learners to be directly in touch with employers in order to facilitate engagement opportunities.

Between 2011 and 2019, City & Guilds has awarded 96,000 certificates to Jamaican students in math and English. The organisation has also awarded 3,300 digital badges for its customer service qualification for young people looking to work in the global services sector.