The involvement of the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology (SJPI) in several initiatives, over the past few years, and especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, has been lauded by Minister of Education, Technological and Vocational Training, Kay McConney.
Addressing the SJPI’s Graduation ceremony for the Class of 2022, last Saturday at the Wildey Gymnasium, Wildey, St. Michael, Minister McConney not only stressed the need for outgoing students to tell the story of their stint there but to also do so with pride.
Explaining, she said: “I have witnessed with pride, the SJPI respond to the call to work towards the greater reliance on the use of renewable energy by the year 2030. This SJPI in 2021 became the first public sector institution to be recognised as an energy champion and this designation was very much deserved since the institution stands as the forerunner in the provision of training programmes in photovoltaic, in wind energy, in hybrid technology and robotics, just to name a few.
“And another significant undertaking of which this institution can be proud … is its involvement in training under the National Transformation Initiative for the Barbados Employment and Sustainable Transformation programme (BEST Programme), which was instituted right here in Barbados to save the businesses and especially the jobs of many Barbadians during our most difficult times.”
Alluding to the graduation’s theme Rising Together, Conquering the World, Ms. McConney pointed out that the SJPI had also embodied the spirit of rising together to conquer the world, in its collaboration with the Government of Korea, through the Inter-American Development Bank.
She noted that the tertiary level institution had been working on the renewable energy fishing vessel project designed to create a fishing vessel prototype using solar energy to power its motors, which has the potential to be very transformative for the island’s fishing industry.
Other initiatives singled out by her as “trailblazing” were those with the World Skills Barbados, in collaboration with Brazil, to provide training on the lathe and the milling machines, and its partnership with Government to train youth under the Barbados YouthAdvance Corps.
The Education Minister also outlined that the SJPI had significantly contributed to the work of her Ministry. She stated: “In May 2020, the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training launched the Barbados Construction Gateway Training Initiative, and under this training, we intended to provide the trainees with the skills required to access opportunities in the emerging construction boom which you have seen. It has started already in Barbados.
“The intention was to prepare a qualified and capable workforce that was able to be ready for work. So far, two cohorts have completed; 590 workers have been ably trained; and we now have a third cohort of about 1,000 students who will be moving through this programme. Now without a doubt, SJPI is living up to the theme: Rising Together, Conquering the World, whether it is through its international partnerships, or whether it is through its local collaborations with the other institutions.”