College launches training program in the Caribbean

The Youth Skills Development/Pre-Technology Training program in the Caribbean is the College's newest international project.

College of the Rockies’ International Projects and Marketing Specialist, Tracey Brenton and Don Jardine, Academic Chair of Nova Scotia Community College led a day-long 'train the trainer' workshop in Kingstown, Saint Vincent. — Photo courtesy COTR

College of the Rockies’ International Projects and Marketing Specialist, Tracey Brenton and acting Creston campus manager Suzanne Pederson have launched the College’s newest international project, the Youth Skills Development (YSD)/Pre-Technology Training program in the Caribbean.

Brenton and Pederson travelled to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Dominica along with Don Jardine, Academic Chair of the College’s partner institution, Nova Scotia Community College, to kick off the project.

The goal of the YSD/Pre-Tech program is to assist the College’s Caribbean partners, the Sector Skills Development Agency in Saint Vincent and Dominica State College in Dominica, to develop and deliver training programs for at-risk youth that respond to the needs of local employers.  At the conclusion of the program, the youth should have the basic skills they need to gain entry-level employment or to return to school for further education.

In Saint Vincent, training will focus on trades-related occupations such as electrical and plumbing while in Dominica the focus will be on hospitality occupations like bartending and housekeeping.  The 12-week programs will include 10 weeks of hands-on training and two weeks of work experience with local industry.  The goal is to deliver 21 training programs to 280 out-of-school, unemployed youth between the ages of 15 and 29.

In addition to the project launch, the team also facilitated Train the Trainer workshops for instructors focusing on industry-responsive curriculum development, identifying barriers to adult education, creating equity in the classroom and workplace, coaching the adult learner and environmental considerations in program planning.

The YSD/Pre-Tech project is funded by the Department for International Development in the United Kingdom and Global Affairs in Canada and is administered by Colleges and Institutes Canada through their Education for Employment program.  College of the Rockies is the lead college on the project in partnership with Bow Valley College and Nova Scotia Community College.

In January, the project team will return to Dominica to deliver additional training workshops and to complete curriculum development.

Learn more about College of the Rockies’ international projects at: cotr.ca/interdev