KINGSTON, Jamaica – Local construction firm, Surrey Paving and Aggregate, has partnered with Singapore’s Air Transport Training College (ATTC) to open the Caribbean Aerospace College in Jamaica, which will provide training in aircraft engineering.
Chairman of Surrey Paving, Leslie Chang, providing details of the project at a special forum for high school students at the Hilton Kingston earlier this week, said that the institution, to be established as a non-profit organisation, would operate as a satellite school of the ATTC, which is the training arm of the Singapore Institute of Aerospace Engineers (SIAE). He informed that classes would begin in June of this year.
The school will have a permanent home at the Vernamfield airbase in Clarendon, but until the facility is completed, classes will be held at the Caribbean Maritime Institute (CMI) campus, the Air Jamaica Aircraft Maintenance Training Facility, and Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA).
Mr. Chang explained that the initiative evolved out of a visit to Singapore by a Jamaican delegation headed by the Transport and Works Minister, Michael Henry, just over a year ago, for the Asian Airport Summit. During the visit, the Jamaicans engaged their Asian counterparts in discussions regarding the development of Vernamfield.
He advised that when the school opens within the next three months, the first set of students would be drawn mainly from the bauxite sector, as part of a move to diversify the range of mechanical engineering applicable within the sector.
“The second cohort, scheduled to begin in September 2009, is designed to accommodate school leavers, who wish to take on the challenge of a very serious and hi-tech profession,” Mr. Chang informed.
In expressing his support for the initiative, Minister Henry highlighted the importance of public/private sector co-operation, pointing out that the college would be established at no cost to the government or taxpayers. “In this global challenge and crisis that we face, it is only through public and private investment that we are going to be able to move and achieve what we wish to achieve,” he contended.
Minister of Transport and Works, Michael Henry (centre), engages in discussion with Chairman of Surrey Paving and Aggregate Company Ltd., Leslie Chang (left), during a forum for high school students, held at the Hilton Kingston Hotel on March 11, where plans for the opening of the Caribbean Aerospace College, were disclosed. Looking on at right is President of the College, Jamie Chang.
The Transport Minister said it was essential to enhance the training of the engineers for the aviation industry, as it has many areas of opportunity, noting that mechanics could also benefit from this initiative.
President of the Caribbean Aerospace College, Jamie Chang, expressed confidence that graduates of the institution would be able to gain employment as there was a shortage of aerospace technicians worldwide.
“I feel confident that in starting the Caribbean Aerospace College, (we) will be able to place the graduates from the college, whether they are placed locally in Jamaica, in the Caribbean, North America or worldwide,” he declared.
Mr. Chang said that Jamaica has a distinct advantage in aircraft maintenance and repairs, in light of the country’s close proximity to North America. He further pointed to the absence of language barriers, and that it is more cost effective to send aircrafts to Jamaica for repairs, than to other destinations, such as Asia. He pointed out also that far less carbon dioxide is generated flying over shorter distances to the Caribbean, as against going to Asia or Europe.
In the meantime, four aircraft mechanic instructors at the college left for Singapore yesterday (March 12), where they will participate in a 10-week training course at the ATTC, as part of its “train the trainers” programme.
The college, which will also operate as a private school, is registered with the Singapore Ministry of Education and accredited by the University Council of Jamaica to grant diploma and degree-level qualifications. The college’s technical training curriculum has been approved by the JCAA.
