During 1999, MOES in Belize commissioned several studies involving the primary, secondary and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sub-sectors. These studies informed the development of the Belize Education Sector Strategy 1999-2003. The study of the TVET sub-sector identified the need to develop a more effective system to ensure that it provided occupational competencies which were suitable and relevant to the local labour market and would better serve the needs of business and industry; facilitate and support the introduction of new and emerging technologies; and act as a catalyst for attracting new investments. There was also need for a system capable of addressing the requirements of diverse populations, including existing members of the labour force, who needed to update their skills; secondary school graduates preparing for the job market; and candidates from non-formal, pre-vocational programmes who needed to better themselves to enter the job market.