On Thursday 25 May 2023, the University College of the Cayman Islands hosted its inaugural RESEMBID TVET, Career Fair and Symposium, with hundreds of community members in attendance. Funded by European Union (EU) sustainable development fund, RESEMBID, the TVET, Career Fair and Symposium was established to provide a forum for knowledge and experience exchange for technical vocational education and training (TVET) scholars, practitioners, decision-makers, and stakeholders within the Cayman Islands.
The jam-packed schedule of events kicked off at 9am with a Career Fair which was open to school children, community members and vocational workforce members in the Cayman Islands. This provided an opportunity to network, share knowledge, experiences, and open doors to future careers. Winners of essay competitions open to school children were also announced at the Careers Fair.
In the evening, the University College of the Cayman Islands welcomed many influential sector experts for an industry symposium. UCCI was proud to host Her Excellency the Governor of the Cayman Islands, Mrs. Jane Owen, who opened the evening event before esteemed guests took part in a panel interview. Deputy Premier, Minister for Education and MInister for District Administration & Lands, the Honourable Juliana O’Connor-Connolly was also in attendance, welcoming valued academic partner, New England Institute of Technology (NEIT), to the event. UCCI is working with NEIT to build a partnership to promote and progress vocational training in the Cayman Islands.
Dr. Robert W. Robertson, President, and CEO of UCCI, commented, “We are thrilled that our first TVET, Career Fair and Symposium was so well attended and that we gave local people a chance to network, advance their careers and find out what opportunities are available to them. It was a great opportunity for people from all walks of life to find out about a career in technical and vocational trades, skills that are in high demand in the Cayman Islands.
This is all possible thanks to grant funding from the European Union funded RESEMBID, who are committed to enhancing the lives of people in the Cayman Islands through funding much-needed skills development.
“Technical vocational education and training is a huge growth area at UCCI and within the Cayman Islands. We have seen a jump of over 60% in our TVET enrolments from the last academic year to this academic year and we are committed to providing the Cayman Islands with a wealth of skilled workers.”
Paul Puckerin, Dean of Professional Technical Education and Training at UCCI commented, “I want to say a big thank you to everyone who came along today and made the event such a huge success. To all our guest speakers, exhibitors, panelists, and guests, thank you, and we look forward to this being the first of many.”
The event was funded by RESEMBID, a project European Union and implemented by Expertise France - the development cooperation agency of the Government of France, supports sustainable human development efforts in 12 Caribbean Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) - Aruba, Anguilla, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Montserrat, Saba, Saint Eustatius, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Maarten and Turks and Caicos.
In February 2023, the University College of the Cayman Islands was awarded a €1.1M grant, by RESEMBID, which will see the University at the forefront of renewable energy and sustainable development planning for the Cayman Islands and the Caribbean region. This is the second RESEMBID grant awarded to the University in 12 months, after it received €432,000 ($CI405,000), to help train students in trades that are sustainable, both environmentally and economically. Today’s event was funded by this grant.
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