SJPI and Berger Paints in new partnership

Auto body tutors and their students at the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology (SJPI), will soon benefit from new training and certification, thanks to Berger Paints.

During a brief signing ceremony at the campus on Friday, SJPI’s principal, Ian Drakes, and General Manager Berger Paints, Kirk King, signed an MOU which outlined several areas of support being provided to the island’s premier technical and vocational training institution.

These areas of support, outside of the new certifications, will include the sponsorship of outstanding students in the vehicle and body repair division, with a follow-up internship initiative geared at providing hands-on experience for students in the auto body repair sector.

Senior Brand Officer for Berger Paints Barbados, Renee Cobham, told attendees that the new technology, the Aquabase Plus, and Nexa 2k Autocolor product lines, are the first of the kind in the region, eco-friendly and water-based.

“Now is the time to support the efforts of young persons and budding entrepreneurs. SJPI will now have access to train, use, and transform the automotive coating sector in Barbados. Students will now add to their skills dossier proficiency in Aquabase Plus – a technologically advanced, waterborne solution that is not offered anywhere else in this Western Hemisphere. That actually means that Berger, SJPI, and by extension Barbados, have made that step towards greener solutions for the automotive industry.

“Students will now have full access to measure, mix, apply and expand their knowledge base. We have to preserve the environment for future generations. Berger thrives on progression, and now with this MOU, we will be able to empower persons,” she explained.

Principal Drakes thanked Berger for its support and said students on campus should take advantage of the new partnership, as the institution continues on its drive to provide modern learning opportunities to all Barbadians.

“We are investing in the youth and the future. A company that has been here from 1963, along with SJPI which has been here for the last 52 years, speaks volumes to what we are really, as a national drive, attempting to do for the youth of this country in a positive way.

“Grab the opportunity of this MOU. It speaks volumes to the development of not just painting, but development in terms of technology. As an institute of technology, we pride ourselves in living up to that,” Drakes said. (SB)