The Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology (SJPI) and the Pinelands Creative Workshop (PCW) have launched a satellite training programme
In his opening remarks at the launch, in the Media Resource Centre at the SJPI, yesterday, Principal of SJPI, Ian Drakes, expressed pleasure about the collaboration with PCW.
“This is an exciting time, and this has been long in coming, as the SJPI extends now the community reach of our responsibility, as the premier technical vocational educational institution in Barbados,” he said.
Mr. Drakes noted that participants would be taught by premier instructors of the SJPI. He added that at the end of their training, they would not just gain a certificate of participation but also the recognition of a quality SJPI certification.
“We have to throw away the box and just reimagine, and this is all part of the transformation…and so SJPI has put their hand up and said we are ready,” he stated.
Chief Executive Officer of the PCW, Sophia Greaves, concurred with Mr. Drakes and pointed out that the satellite programme is intentional. “Now this programme speaks to inclusive development to proactively address exclusion, [and is] for promoting inclusion,” she said.
Ms. Greaves also referred to the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between SJPI and PCW, which was signed last December, and stated that both parties ensured that the agreement was not just a “file that sat on the shelf and caught dust, but one that went into action almost immediately”.
She added that after the signing of the MOU, the satellite programme cements the continuity of what both organisations believe in and want to do for the respective locations, and facilitates inclusive development in communities.
Ms. Greaves also explained that the satellite programme is a full-time programme, which is designed for those who have been educationally excluded and need to retool themselves, those who are unemployed or underemployed, those who are the head of their households and are seeking upward mobility, school leavers, new entrants to the job market, and those who do not have the financial space to invest in continuing education.
The Haynesville community in St. James will be the pilot for the satellite training programme. (PR/GIS)
Caption: From left to right – Deputy Prime Minister, Santia Bradshaw; Principal of the Samuel Jackman Institute of Technology, Ian Drakes; Chief Executive Officer of Pinelands Creative Workshop, Sophia Greaves; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training, Sandra Husbands, in discussion at the launch of the satellite training programme yesterday
