Four days after the commissioning of the $427.5M Leonora Technical and Vocational Training Centre, the image of it bustling with students will remain a mere thought as it will not be operable until January 2012.
Questions have been raised about whether the facility has been commissioned because of the upcoming elections.
Administrator of the Institution, Cecelia Chung-Hinds told this newspaper that she has been in the profession since 1978 and she was transferred from the Linden Technical Institute to govern the facility.
Chung-Hinds anticipates a staff of 9 to 15 teachers who will provide theoretical and practical training in the fields of: Agriculture, Mechanics, Carpentry, Electrical Installation, Fitting and Machinery, Masonry, Motor Vehicle Repairs, Plumbing, Welding, Information Technology and General Office Administration. In addition, students will be taught Entrepreneurship so that they can start their own businesses.
The programmes are all offered as a one-year course, either through full-time or part-time study, and at the end of the year the students would be given a certificate that is recognized throughout the Caribbean. The programme has also been modified so that students can learn at their own pace.
Prospective students can uplift application forms from the Regional Education Office in Region Three or from the Centre. The deadline for entries is December 15.
Chung-Hinds said interested students must be over 15 years old and entry is open to persons from across the country. Students who do not possess passes at CXC will have to undergo an aptitude test to determine their suitability for entry. The Administrator also said students from the hinterland have been invited to apply though when pressed about accommodation she said, “I will propose for a dorm to be built on the premises [for them].” To date, the Centre has received about 120 applications which Chung-Hinds said are being processed as soon as they are received in order to ensure that the admission process runs smoothly.
