The Rotary Club of Dominica has partnered with the Rotary Club of Orléans (Ottawa, Canada) and the Rotary Club of Nepean-Kanata (Ottawa, Canada) to provide the Dominica State College with an online facility to provide skilled trades training.
This facility will enable individuals to access training in sustainable building techniques that meet Dominica’s needs for Climate Resilient Construction.
The project is valued at $104,500 USD ($282,150 ECD or $135,850 CAD). The Lion’s share of the funding came from Rotary International.
This project is in collaboration with The Ministry of Education, Human Resource Planning, Vocational Training, and National Excellence, Ministry of Telecommunications and Broadcasting, Dominica State College and the Builders and Contractors Association of Dominica.
The System Integrator selected to develop the on-line system is JERA Group, Canada.
The Dominica Association of Ottawa and the Dominica Diaspora have supported this and past Rotary projects in Dominica, through organized fundraisers and individual donations.
The skilled trades project includes the development and implementation of a Learning Management System (LMS) with Smart Classrooms across Dominica as well as a site in Canada.
I am at a loss to understand the function of this project and for whom it is intended.
The skilled trades that we in desperately need in Dominica traditionally originated by way of apprenticeships. Without years of hands-on practice at the workbench no amount of “smart classrooms” will get us out of the sorry state of design and workmanship that our built environment has fallen into.