The President of the Dominica State College, Dr. Donald Peters believes that the graduation of three hundred and twelve skilled technology majors next year is a major step towards making Dominica the first Climate Resilient Country in the world.
Dr. Peters says the students will graduate in Agriculture, Building and Civil Engineering, Architectural Technology, Plumbing Technology, Electrical Engineering, Refrigeration and Air- conditioning, Mechanical Engineering, and Electronic Engineering.
He told a National Consultation on the Climate Resilience & Recovery on Thursday that the students are making the right decisions to ensure that the country becomes a resilient nation.
Back in 2017, the average number of students doing technical programs was 160 per graduating class to 312 in 2020. “This is amazing,” Dr Peters said.
Meantime Public Relations Officer of the Dominica State College, Monelle Alexis said the DSC is also working on two other projects; the Rotary Distance Learning Project and SAGE which stands for Skills to Access the Green Economy.
The projects are geared towards increasing the number of women and indigenous people with technical skills and according to Alexis, these projects will further assist Dominican businesses to become more competitive and adaptive to climate change.
“Concerning the Rotary Distance Learning Project, the college is teaming up with Rotary Canada which will provide funding of materials to deliver technical education to remote sites to students who are unable to come to town,” she said.
Alexis said the second project, which focuses on technical education, is funded by the Canadian government.
Through their funding, the college has partnered with Algonquin College and Dalhousie University to undertake SAGE-a five-year funded project by the government of Canada.
The training program covered by the project will be in the areas of Water and Coastal Management, Eco-Tourism, Agriculture, and Construction.
The activities will include on the job training, the development of Vocational Qualification Certification Programs and the introduction of a gender-equitable workforce.
The training program is meant to deliver skills that meet economic and environmental needs of the region.
Countries selected to benefit from the SAGE program are Belize, Grenada, Guyana, St. Lucia and Dominica.
The Dominica program will be taught and managed by the faculty of Applied Arts and Technology of the Dominica State College in partnership with CALLS Portsmouth.
The DSC offers an Associate Degree in Mechanical Engineering.
The course of study comprises of the following:
Language and Communication; Technical Report Writing; Computer Office Applications; Life Skills; Mechanics; Engineering Mathematics 1; Engineering Mathematics 2; Engineering Mathematics 3.
I doubt if the graduates would recognize a spanner if one feel on their heads.
Seems interesting and with potential for Dominica and the students Is there a parallel plan for the trained ones to be adequately employed and retained or is there likely to be further brain drain??
On a different but important course of study, I understand that DSC has at last included the Visual Arts as an elective subject: tutored by two Chinese.
This is all for nothing and I say that for two reasons. Firstly, training without and opportunity to practice is useless. The government of Dominica has failed to create the sustainable jobs required for the development of the country and its people. Secondly, Dominica is not a meritocracy so the few available jobs will be given to untrained party supporters whose only skill is reporting on others to childish ministers. Have ever consider the people who are in top positions in Dominica? Man this is would have been a big joke were it not as serious a matter.
These situations must first be addressed and it will all make sense. Until and unless they are remedied, it is all fancy talk.
Plus the issue here is not about education but more so economics, cause even if someone knows the proper way to do something, this something is still dictated by it’s cost! people are not making money hence they are not investing in the manner which is needed so the economy could grow. and the regulation which would require persons to follow the law by doing the right thing is not enforced, so regulation is an issue. just see from since the passage of hurricane maria government has not expanded it’s field officers who are responsible to safe guide the public interest along with good practice in the various fields. planning has no new persons, the same individuals who were already overworked.
Technical training is good but what about the holistic system which governs the employment of such trained individuals? There is no licensing structure, what about the trained professionals who should be employing and overseeing the development of these individuals? Moreover with the augment in projects how is it decided that technically qualified individuals from foreign countries integrate within the workforce? Are they required to have a license and or work injunction with a local firm? I think these people who are running the system are not truly interested in the furtherance of the actual individuals but the frame of having graduates. What laws are being enacted and enforced by which entities so as to ensure that these individuals may have employment? For instance is it compulsory to employ someone who is licensed? Who enforces that the technicians who are being employed are licensed, regulating authority? It needs a holistic approach to function.
now with all these graduates, where are they today? How does the working environment benefit form these students? will banks give then a loan to start a company? no too young to have any collateral or security. Will there be any technology jons seking their skills? hardly any apart form a IT technician. As a result, they end up doing other thing or leaving the country for greener pastures.
Not sure how many graduates you going to have when teachers struggling to get paid. You think if teachers struggling to make ends meet they going to come in classroom and put their best foot forward?
The only thing i see here is that dominican youth are ambitious and has always been. The reality is the government has failed to put policies in place to allow the private sector, industry and commerce to grow so that these folks can be gainfully employed. Our lack of skills has not been because of lack of education but migration to greener pastures. You Have an NEP program implemented by a JA to use state resources to force on private sector. Instead of productivity growth and increase demand creating employment we have a gov program that has no review on its impact and whether it works or not. Foriegn entity decides who what when and where we build. Our main source of revenue might as well be drugs. The education system has to match the economic growth if not you will have 300 frustrated youth who invest time and cannot get jobs and have to leave. Hence the cycle continues. AID bank and several other banks failing. We are mot going anywhere in this current state.
But what the heck is wrong with these Dumb-in-a-cans (Dominicans) to talk Skerrit’s foolishness about Dominica being first climate resilient country nou. What the hell has Skerrit done to me Dominica a resilient country? All you getting on my nerves with that resilient foolishness of Skerrit man. How we could be resilient and our children are stock in China and we cannot get them out? Things getting worse in China by the minute and as of now almost all airlines stop flying to and out of China, which means our children are stock in China for better or for worse? What heck resilient when most of us don’t have a job to go to but are forced to depend on corrupt government for everything damn thing? How are we resilient when we all know damn well that it is just a matter of time before the US pickup those that resided in a house in Manhattan NY that was corruptly purchased by Diezani Madueke in exchange for a Diplomatic passport according to the Al Jazeera Investigation team? Stupes man
Skerrit doesn’t want engineers he wants loyal followers. Engineers not getting paid but loyal followers do!
Technical education alone is not enough. The key requirement is hands-on practical experience under the guidance of an experienced master.
It is embarrassing how we make deductions in our country. By doing a preuniversity course at an institution that is not recognized by any leading world institution is a step to becoming the world’s first climate-resilient country!!!
May I suggest, that instead of climate resilience, the college should try to be self- sustaining. How you may ask? since the college is big on technology, why not try to get funding for a water bottling plant for example which will allow these technology majors to learn on the job and find avenues for the release of their learning and expertise as well as their creative juices. From the water bottling plant, factories can emerge which will contribute in a roundabout manner to climate resilience and intensify students’ technology exposure. This would force people to take note and start to recognize DSC. Would that not be great? We saw you with the Moneyman Fared, If you had a long term vision for the college, you could have secured funding.
Thank you Ras B.
They act like because they say it, it manifests immediately.
We BECOMING the first resilient country for how long now?
I hope all of them becomes entrepreneurs
There they are sitting talking fart, which makes absolutely no sense!
They keep talking this nonsense about first crap in the world!
if you ask them to explain what theory or science they have developed and are using to accomplish this first resilient country: “one which bends and quickly return to its original shape;” the old clowns like Peters will be bewildered; and ask you what are you talking about?
There is a metaphor which states “fools rush in where Angeles fear to thread.”
Dominica is the poorest nation country in the Caribbean; and the entire Western Hemisphere; the treasury is forever empty, we do not have a four year College, nor University teaching any form of engineering o building science, yet after a hurricane they are talking fart about resilient house.
What can be resilient to the elements? America is the richest country in the world; if such a technology exist, they would build resilient buildings to resists the disasters taking place in America…
Pie in the sky Ras. Water processing is much more complex that just puting water in a bottle. Also, where will it be located in proximity to the college? i get your idea in that it can be anything, once they are using their acquired skills. I would more suggest an intership program where students can be assigned to various producers. however, we dont have many here that are machinery intensive or require much technology apart from DCP, Josephine Gabriel to name. In the end, the private sector isnt meeting the needs of the educational institutions and vice versa. Country running back to front as usual. We just doing things. Resilient means putting things in place to be self sustainable. The college is now a strain on the government. How about putting solar pannels on the roof of the college and seting up water collection and filtration and hydrophonics and aquaphonics systems at the college. all use a level of technology is done properly and promote resilience.
The man has clearly lost the plot.
What are you talking about, get to the point