The country of Cuba is in the North America continent
and the latitude and longitude for the country are 22.0289° N, 79.9370° W.
Halebsky S. and Kirk, J.M. (eds.) Cuba: Twenty-five Years of Revolution,
1959-1984, New York,.
In all national contexts the vocational
system is closely connected to the general educational system and the labour
market. Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean Sea. Cuba has a total area of 109,884 km2 (42,426 sq mi). Its area is
110,860 km2 (42,800 sq mi)
including coastal and territorial waters. The main island (Cuba) has
5,746 km (3,570 mi) of coastline and 29 km (18 mi) of land
borders — all figures including theUnited States territory at Guantánamo
Bay, where the U.S. Navy's Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is located. Stoner, K. Lynn. "Cuba" Encarta
Online Encyclopedia. 2005. Archived 2009-10-31.
Cuban
Vocational Education and Training System
The
Labour Market and Vocational Education and Training
All
work-related activities in Cuba are organized around the economic and social
values of the socialist state. Cunha, M. P. e., and R. C. e. Cunha. 2004. The
dialectics of human resource management in Cuba International Journal of
Human Resource Management Havanna.
Vocational
training is located at the intermediate level of the Cuban education system.
Primary and secondary schooling support the technical vocational training. It
orients from a polytechnic view with a strong emphasis to combining study and
work, especially agricultural activities. Students therefore spend long periods
involved in productive labour by Harten, H. C. 1998. Education In Systems of
Revolutionary Mobilization. The example of Cuba, Cuba Comparative Education,
Bonn
Watts,
A. G., I. Jamieson, and A. Miller. 1989. School-Based Work Experience: Some International
Comparisons British Journal of Education & Work, TU Berlin, Berlin
Recent
studies have shown however that this principle does not necessarily lead to a
positive attitude toward work; in fact, one of the main reform measures in the
secondary curriculum was set up to improve pre-vocational orientation.
Secondary education in Cuba is considered a special phase of school training.
In
the year 2000/2001 two-thirds of Cuban youth enter vocational education, the
remainder attended pre-university institutes and strove to pass a demanding
entrance examination. Vocational training takes two to four years depending on
the time the program starts and the intensity of specialization. Different
schools are available for vocational education example 150 educational
institutions that are primarily responsible for the training of skilled
workers325 polytechnic institutions that train intermediate technicians and 125
institutions for further education by Hickling-Hudson, A. 2004. South-South
Collaboration: Cuban Teachers in Jamaica and Namibia Comparative Education,
Watts, A. G., I. Jamieson, and A. Miller. 1989. School-Based Work Experience:
Some International Comparisons British Journal of Education & Work,
TU Berlin, Berlin
The
Ministry of Education (MINED) is responsible for these educational institutions
and tightly controls the educational centre of other ministries. Designated
centers of education require permission from the Ministry of Education and for
those institutions directly under the control of a state enterprise, approvals
given by the relevant ministry.
Every
province has a university that offers special courses for workers. Cuba also
has a very high number of academics and the numbers exceed those enrolled in technical
fields. In 2009-10, only 2.4% of students enrolled in agricultural studies, 7%
in the technical sciences in comparison to 24.8% enrolled in the social
sciences and humanities.
These
numbers however lead to considerable social and economic distortions given that
the graduate will not get acceptable jobs in the state economy. Problems could
then arise if thereis a surplus of academics and not enough workers, an actual
problem in the agricultural sector
Cruz, R. D., and J. A. Villamil. 2000.
Sustainable Small Enterprise Development in a Cuban Transition Economy Studies
in Comparative International Development
