Ladies and gentlemen: Start your engines! Posted on October 9, 2014 at 4:08 pm. Durham College, College of the North Atlantic and Memorial University of Newfoundland announce partnership to develop new automotive program in Guyana Oshawa, Ont. – Durham College (DC) in partnership with College of the North Atlantic (CNA) and the Fisheries and Marine Institute of the Memorial University of Newfoundland, announced today that the three organizations, in conjunction with Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan), are working with the Government Technical Institute (GTI), a vocational institute in Georgetown, Guyana that provides technical skills development in a number of disciplines, to help it develop a new Automotive Electronics Technician program. Led by the International office at DC, facilitated by CICan and funded by the Canadian government through the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD), the project is a three-year endeavour worth $550,000. It is part of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Employment for Education (EFE) program (C-EFE), part of CICan’s overall EFE initiative, a $20-million program sponsored by DFATD, which aims to ensure a network of Canadian colleges and institutes is able to contribute to the reduction of poverty in developing countries in an effective and sustainable way. “Our involvement in this EFE project opens up numerous opportunities for Durham College faculty and staff to gain international experience and share their expertise with colleagues outside of Canada,” said Fiona Richards, executive director of International Education at Durham College. “It also provides the opportunity for the college to engage globally in areas where it has proven to be a leader regionally and among colleges across Canada.” Working with faculty and administrators at GTI, the three institutions are working together to develop a program responsive to the needs of Guyana’s auto industry, which has seen a significant increase in the number of cars on the road with new electronic systems. The new program will use competency-based education practices where students learn by mastering skills as opposed to more abstract learning with students becoming competent in one skill before moving on to the next. Following a learner-focused education model that can be individualized to recognize the prior learning or experience of students, the program will also have the common threads of environmental sustainability and gender equity running through it, which are part of the foundation for all C-EFE projects. “The implementation of an Automotive Electronics Technician program is a true partnership, aligning with the goals of the Government Technical Institute in Georgetown,” said Ann Marie Vaughan, president and chief executive officer of the CNA. “Our goal is to enhance the program offering capability of the Guyanese institute and utilize the diverse experiences of College of the North Atlantic, the Marine Institute and Durham College in program development and implementation to promote a skilled workforce for the country.” Upon completion, the program will be recognized by the Caribbean Association of National Training Agencies, which co-ordinates technical and vocational education and training in the region. This means students who gain certification via the program in Guyana will have their credentials recognized across the Caribbean. In addition, the colleges will also work with Excelsior Community College in Kingston, Jamaica to share lessons learned and good practices. To date there have been three inception trips to Guyana by DC administrators to establish the terms of the project and develop a project implementation plan. This includes the Guyana Industry Linkages Forum, which took place in Guyana on October 1 and saw C-EFE and Guyana’s Ministry of Education and Council for Technical Vocational Education and Training host industry leaders and educators as they discussed how Guyana’s technical institutes can best prepare graduates for employment. With recent studies of the education system in the Caribbean region showing that employers have difficulty in attracting and retaining a skilled, adaptable and flexible workforce; which they attribute to a lack of workforce preparedness, basic skills and an understanding of expected workplace behaviour and work ethics, the C-EFE program is designed to create a larger, more competitive, more productive and gender-equitable workforce in the CARICOM region. C-EFE is working with 12 CARICOM countries: Antigua and Barbuda; the Bahamas; Barbados; Belize; Dominica; Grenada; Guyana; Haiti; Jamaica; Montserrat; Saint Lucia; St. Kitts and Nevis; St. Vincent and the Grenadines; Suriname; and Trinidad and Tobago. CICan is the national and international voice of Canada’s publicly-funded colleges and institutes, with 1.5 million learners of all ages and backgrounds at campuses serving over 3,000 urban, rural and remote communities. For more information on CICAN and the C-EFE program, please visit its website. -30- About Durham College At Durham College, the student experience comes first. In September 2014, the college welcomed more than 30,000 students to campus including more than 11,000 full-time post-secondary and apprenticeship students as well as part-time and continuing education students and online learners. The college offers a wide range of market-driven programs in a number of different disciplines including culinary, hospitality, tourism, horticulture, business, information technology, media, art, design, general arts, science, skilled trades, justice, emergency services, health and engineering technology, enabling students to develop the skills required to meet the demands of today’s job market. A three-phase expansion of the college’s Whitby campus was completed in 2013 when the 36,000-square-foot Centre for Food opened on the northwest corner of campus. Accommodating approximately 900 additional students studying in culinary, hospitality, event management, food science, and agricultural and horticultural programs, the CFF features Bistro ’67, a new, 70-seat, full-service, green-certified teaching-inspired restaurant and Pantry, a retail store featuring fresh-baked items, meals-to-go, preserved foods and ready-to-cook meals created by students in the college’s culinary programs. For more information, please visit www.durhamcollege.ca or call 905.721.2000. About CICan Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) is the national and international voice of Canada’s publicly supported colleges, cégeps, institutes and polytechnics. The association works with industry and social sectors to train 1.5 million learners of all ages and backgrounds at campuses serving over 3,000 urban, rural and remote communities. Colleges and Institutes Canada presently operates in 29 countries via 13 offices around the world. Media contacts: Cosette Kazarian Durham College 905.721.2000 ext. 3611 cosette.kazarian@durhamcollege.ca SHARE:
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