Dr. Hill and Mrs. Welcome
On February 9, the Dominion Faith Centre held its first annual Career Sunday observance. According to a statement from the church, the special service was aligned to its vision of partnering with the community to holistically build people. The event, which showcased prominent guest speakers, Dr Delroy Louden and Dr Leroy Hill of the Anguilla Community College, focused on the importance of pursuing tertiary education.
The presentations were done in an innovative interview style with Mrs Vanessa Connor as the host interviewer. Professor Louden said that in addition to the Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education, there were similar degree programmes in Business, Hospitality and Information Technology. “These programmes offer you an opportunity to do an internship,” he stated. “They are two years long, but most persons who are working are doing them over three or possible four years. What we do at the Community College, which is rather unique, is listen to you and plan the programmes around your schedule so most of the programmes we offer are in the late afternoon and evening. We recognise that persons are working and need to look after their family at the same time. In our business programme we are going to be adding a section on entrepreneurship because we see this as a growing area.
“This is similar within the financial services where we want to offer a certificate in that area of study coupled with the Associate Degree. What many people are not realising is the enormous amount of money that can be made with financial services in Anguilla. The registration of companies and so forth is a very lucrative area in places such as the British Virgin Islands, which brings in a fortune. In 2011 it gave the government there 21 million from its own reserves.” According to Professor Louden, “the college will be having its first graduating class with Associate Degrees in 2014.”
The President of the Community College added: “We have to get our priorities right. Instead of paying enormous rent, we want our own roof over our head. We have received approval of the loan from the Caribbean Development Bank, and we are now signing off on the legal part of the paperwork. We are hoping to do the project launching in late March/early April – to put out tenders and start construction before the summer. “
Dr Hill, Director of Humanities and Education, said he was passionate about humanities, and took the opportunity to outline some of the studies provided by that department of the college. He stated that among the courses were the geriatric programme (to provide care for the elderly); psychology to provide an understanding of the various challenges faced by persons; and technical vocational programmes offered by City & Guilds through the Institute of International Recognised Qualification in Jamaica, a partner institution of the Anguilla Community College.
The City & Guilds technical courses include construction studies within which are electrical installation, plumbing, refrigeration, air-conditioning and automotive studies. Mr Hill explained that the courses made provision for both theoretical and practical exams leading to a diploma.
The service concluded with thanks, from Pastor and Mrs Welcome, to the officials from the Community College – and a special presentation by the church’s hospitality team. The Dominion Faith Centre looks forward to a continued relationship with the Anguilla Community College and the community at large.
