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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
Minister of Education, Science and Technology, the Hon. Jerome Fitzgerald, on Friday participated in the launch of the Grand Bahama Shipyard Apprentice Programme and its new partnership with the College of The Bahamas. The Apprentices are shown following the ceremony at the Grand Bahama Shipyard with: Reuben Byrd, Acting President and Chief Operating Officer of the Grand Bahama Shipyard; Linda Thompson, Chief Financial Officer; Minister Fitzgerald; Dr. Rodney Smith, President of The College of The Bahamas; Sarah St. George, Vice-Chairman, Grand Bahama Port Authority; and Kay Forbes Smith, Human Resources, Grand Bahama Shipyard. (BIS Photo/Vandyke Hepburn)
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FREEPORT, Grand Bahama - The Grand Bahama Shipyard Apprentice Programme's partnership with The College of The Bahamas was officially announced on Friday during a brief ceremony at the Shipyard.
Minister of Education, Science and Technology, the Hon. Jerome Fitzgerald said he was pleased with the partnership and the Ministry welcomes such partnerships, particularly when they benefit students academically.
"The Grand Bahama Shipyard has always been regarded as excellent corporate citizens and has made invaluable investments in the lives of so many young people, which is reflected in their apprenticeship programme. For approximately 14 years, this programme has afforded high school graduates to learn about this industry and to acquire the skills necessary to become productive employees."
Each year, 12 students enter the programme and over a four year period, they gain practical hands-on experience in the maritime industry.
"This apprenticeship programme is transformational in many regards. First, it affords its participants to receive on-the-job training and allows them to obtain skills to not simply have a job, but to establish their careers. Secondly, it provides them with an educational opportunity that will further equip them to excel in their careers. And thirdly, it empowers them to be productive members of society with earning power, who in the long-term can contribute to their societies in a positive way.
"I applaud the efforts of the Grand Bahama Shipyard and all they have done over the years to provide opportunities for Bahamians with a desire to enter the maritime industry. There is no question that this shipyard has established itself as one of the best in the world. The Grand Bahama Shipyard is synonymous with quality and excellence and that can only be because of the quality of individuals employed within the organization. By extension, it also indicates that those individuals who benefit from the apprenticeship programme also embody that standard."
The Minister said he endorsed the partnership, and the participants will have the opportunity to receive an Associate's Degree in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Technology.
The programme is specifically designed to meet the needs of the Shipyard, and will benefit those in the community interested in the degree.
"I wish to highlight that 100% of the participants are Bahamian and there is no question that this initiative is in keeping with building a Stronger Bahamas."
In the first year, 12 students are accepted into the apprenticeship programme, and by the end of the fourth year, eight students are enrolled.
"This promotes self-motivation and like real world job performance, proves that promotion is not automatic, rather performance-based."
It is hoped, said the Minister, that in the next five to 10 years, the programme will have produced an average of 100 people equipped to work in the maritime sector.
"As Grand Bahama is the maritime hub in our country and the region, we owe it to our young people to promote the industry and to provide them with the opportunities to succeed. The maritime industry is vital to our country and we rely heavily on this sector for economic prosperity. The Grand Bahama Shipyard is indeed a model company who understands the importance of investing in human capital and as a result has yielded model employees."
Dr. Rodney Smith, President of The College of The Bahamas, celebrated the collaboration of Grand Bahama Shipyard's Apprenticeship Programme with the College of The Bahamas at a special ceremony on Friday at Grand Bahama Shipyard. (BIS Photo/Vandyke Hepburn)
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Dr. Rodney Smith, President of The College of The Bahamas, celebrated the partnership of the Grand Bahama Shipyard Apprenticeship Programme and with The College of The Bahamas in a special ceremony this Friday at the Shipyard.
He told the apprentices there is no limit to what can be accomplished.
Dr. Smith said that The College of The Bahamas has partnered with The Grand Bahama Shipyard to “collectively strive to develop world-class shipbuilders.”
He noted that this collaboration’s foremost interest is to create courses that match international industry standards. These courses and programmes will also focus on strengthening the fundamentals of applied Sciences, Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics.
This public-private partnership was further solidified by the recent generous donations by Commonwealth Brewery Limited with a $500,000 Endowed Scholarship fund and the $3M gift from the Grand Bahama Port Authority.
"Partnerships like these allow the College to yet again expand its reach into the Grand Bahama community and economy, ensuring the Northern Bahamas Campus becomes the Center of Excellence for maritime, industrial, manufacturing and entrepreneurial studies."
Addressing the apprentices, Dr. Smith said they should see this experience as a chance to break the mould, and step into an exciting new career path as a naval architect, a ship manager, an engineer, welder, surveyor or planner.
He warned the students that “they will be stretched beyond their existing expectations and imagination; and for their labour and commitment, they will earn academic credit for a degree of which they will be proud…while simultaneously increasing their opportunities for promising careers."
Being the largest docking repair location worldwide, the Grand Bahama Shipyard has committed to ensuring that young Bahamian men and women are equipped with skills necessary to significantly impact and contribute to the country’s maritime sector for years to come -- for this, Dr. Smith says, they are indeed grateful.
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