One of the outcomes of the passage of the Education Bill in the Anguilla House of Assembly on Tuesday, December 18, is the planned establishment of a Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training. The aim is to train Anguillians in various skills to meet the employment needs of the island and further its development opportunities.
An application for the financing of the skills-training facility has just been despatched to the Governor’s Office by the President of the Anguilla Community College, Professor Delroy Louden. The money, amounting to just over US$185,400.00, is being sought under the Queen’s Jubilee Fund established for Anguilla and the other Overseas Territories. The application follows a commitment made by the Minister for the Overseas Territories, Mark Simmonds, during his recent visit to Anguilla, to assist the Community College with its educational programmes.
In the summary attached to the application, Professor Louden stated: “On December 18, 2012, the Government of Anguilla enacted an Education Bill that amongst other things established a TVET Council thus promoting Technical and Vocational Education for the first time in the history of Anguilla. This proposal seeks to establish technical skills training that are presently not available in Anguilla thus strengthening the island’s infrastructure in Electrical Installation, Agriculture and the Environment, Automotive, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning [Building Trades, Plumbing and Computer Literacy].
“The future economic growth and competiveness in a tourism-driven island like Anguilla in this age of globalisation, rests on the training of a highly-skilled, innovative, motivated and critically-thinking workforce that is flexible and competent in an ever-changing environment. Providing core competency training in several Vocational and Training [areas] addresses the skill gap that the island of Anguilla has not previously addressed.”
Professor Louden said the training programmes in the above skills would be accredited by City & Guilds of London, working through the University of Technology in Jamaica – a partner of the Anguilla Community College.
“For the first time, in the island, we will be able to establish standards for technical competence in a number of areas,” he stated. “It means that when we employ young men and women we know that they have to meet certain core competences. These are technological areas which are very important for the island’s development. We spend so much of our money on limited resources in bringing so many people to work at hotels. But with core competences in plumbing, masonry, carpentry, welding and electrical installation, we can reduce the number of work permits. The training will show employers that Anguillians have met certain competences by the highest body – City & Guilds of London – a well-established body formed more than a hundred years ago.
“In addition, a lot of our young men need improvement in such core competences as reading and writing, as well as comprehension and maths. This will be provided by the Centre for Technical and Vocational Education as a basis for them to pursue the technical competence training. They will have to be able to read well, read the drawings in the appropriate professional areas of study, and write well…
“We see the passage of the Education Bill as a golden opportunity. The Honourable Minister for the Overseas Territories, Mark Simmonds, had said, when he was here, that the British Government would be interested in finding out what were some of our areas of interest and what they could do through the Jubilee Fund.And so, before the end of today, December 24, I hope to get a proposal across to His Excellency the Governor’s Office for consideration so that we can begin to provide these technical programmes in the tertiary education system for a group of Anguillians.
“Interestingly, we had gone ahead at the college and put in place the Electrical Installation Programme in cooperation with “Auto Doc” [Derek Gumbs] and that is going very well. This is a golden opportunity, with the passage of this legislation, for us to do more of these programmes for the young men who are languishing on our streets and dropping out of school. This is a partnership.We have to do it with the trades and industries, so we want to bring people on board who can work with us. We have good links with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and they have been very helpful. In addition to funding scholarships, they have made sure that industry and commerce businesses are aware of our activities.
“This is a watershed year in getting this legislation out of the way. I was in the House with the PS Education when the Education Bill was finally passed, and it was a good feeling that we are moving forward despite the grim economic realities.”
The Centre for Technical Vocational Education and Training will be an annex of the Community College Campus Building to be located at the Factory Shell site just off the Long Path, The Farrington. There is a section of the current structure which can serve for that purpose pending the construction of the college campus.
