New classrooms ‘to ramp up vocational classes’

Cosmetology, horticulture, welding, tiling and masonry are among workshops to be offered to adults in the south by new classrooms at the Clomer Alleyne Training Centre, Minister of Vocational Training Santia Bradshaw has said.

As she opened the wing at the Sayes Court, Christ Church branch of the Barbados Vocational Training Board (BVTB), she said the board is one step closer to receiving institutional accreditation.

Bradshaw said: “We believe that if this new classroom block can play even a small role in encouraging students of the Barbados Vocational Training Board to attend classes and attain certification so that they may find worthwhile and rewarding employment, then it has done its part.

“I am assured that the students and staff of the Barbados Vocational Training Board will make full use of this new facility.

“It is my wish that this complex will be the place where our students build capacity and competence to assist in transitioning Barbados to a more modern and skills-based economy.”

The education minister said that throughout the years the BVTB has encouraged students to pursue higher learning at the various training centres for many years.

She added that the Training Board has groomed generations of well-rounded and civic-minded individuals, many of whom have become distinguished members of society.

The facility was financed through the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Skill’s for the Future initiative under its Institutional Strengthening component.

The contract to complete the classroom block was awarded to CRS Building Maintenance Inc. in 2018.

BVTB’s Director Henderson Thompson said: “We wish to acknowledge the professional manner of all of the contractors and teams who worked to bring this building project to its conclusion, with minimal disruption.

“You cannot mistake our colours now.

“Just take a drive down town to headquarters and see the transformation there.”

Minister Bradshaw added: “Let us be reminded however, that the building alone cannot infuse the vision and passion that underpins the institution’s development and its course offerings.

“It is the interaction between staff and students; the willingness on both sides to be part of the improvements in the teaching and learning culture which will make the difference that ensures that the new classroom block supports higher development.”

The director also praised the Project Administrator Fitzherbert Massiah who was lead representative and liason on the project for the training board.