#TurksandCaicos, August 2, 2023 – What could be more rewarding for a small developing nation like the Turks and Caicos Islands, other than creating post-secondary educational opportunities for their citizens?

Let’s give credit where credit is due, in 2020, the previous administration was on the right track when a proposal was made to launch a vocational technical school. Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic may have hampered those efforts.

Nevertheless, the idea was brilliant, and this current administration should create more momentum around this initiative and see that it materializes.

With the increasing number of students graduating high school, there is a growing need for the government to find more job placements and career opportunities for them.

Without a trade school, in addition to the limited skills many of our young men do have, this is not sustainable in terms of creating a competitive skill based economy. Eventually, it will create a vacuum for idle hands and unscrupulous behavior.

Although, many citizens are enthralled by the recent vocational opportunities being proposed for our prison system, what’s troubling is the rate of incarceration among our young men.

Since the large majority of criminal offenders in TCI are males, we should dig deeper to help determine the driving force behind such trend.

It also underscores the need for more social programs, post-released employment and greater opportunity to participate in education and life skills training.

Since there are no trade schools, perhaps, the aim should be to ensure there are adequate curriculums in high schools and local community colleges geared towards attracting more males students.

Many of our young men may not have any interest in attending college or university, but has acquired other skills over the years. So, what other opportunities are there for this segment of the population in terms of further education or trade?

Let’s take a around the country, you will find that most of our workforce revolves around the service and trade related industry. Many of these workers posses untapped skills that only need to be cultivated in their area of interest or expertise.

With that in mind, offering vocational education will allow students and young adults to gain the necessary practical experience with a renewed focus in their chosen field of study or career path.

These are skills they may have otherwise never been able to achieve through traditional classroom learning in academia.

In the 2021 PNP manifesto under education, labor and employment, it clearly states their commitment to the following:

“Create learning opportunities for students that caters to different interest, strengths and learning needs as well as provide the diverse skills that the country requires”.

Henceforth, it’s my belief government should make further provisions to subsidize apprenticeships for our young people, so it becomes more then just platitudes.

Understanding the gravity of this moment is of paramount. We have to build a society that works for everyone and not just for some.

This initiative should move forward, even if it means using the leverage of our BBB+ credit rating borrowing power while we are in the position to do so. It is my belief the return on investment could be priceless.

Often times, countries mimic each other with different strategies to tackle or improve situations, which is shrewd. Nevertheless, doing our own comprehensive studies to determine the societal impact or long term benefits of an initiative is also important. It is my belief, trade schools should be one of them.

With our jails being at the brink of capacity, putting the proper infrastructure in place such as a trade school is crucial. It should also be a stronger motivation to galvanise prison reform and redress certain issues to help reduce the prison recidivism rate.

The focus should be on creating a pipeline from high school to trade school or college not from high school to prison.

Given the dense population of Providenciales, it would be the ideal location for such school.

However, the existing infrastructure in Grand Turk, which is currently being utilized as a local community college could also suffice.

It would be in the best interest of our country as well as big corporations, to support such initiative.

Case in point: Prior to the pandemic, every year, a foreign company is hired to come in to train and certify our boat operators on primarily international boating standards.

Depending on the location and whether it’s a recertification or a new certification, the cost could range anywhere from $360-$650 per person, in addition to travel, food and hotel accommodations for those traveling to Provo from Grand Turk or other sister islands.

With TCI having some of the best and brightest boat captains, could this be a customized curriculum or certification offered at a trade school?

This particular curriculum should include but limited too, local regulations best practices and navigational charts for local waterways to help mariners better understand the skills they are learning.

This could also be a joint effort between the school, DECR and Maritime departments with qualifying personnel to assist with facilitating such training.

Other courses of interest should include but not limited to hospitality, marine mechanics, carpentry, AC technicians, plumbing, masonry etc. Specifically, areas where it would give students the opportunity for an apprenticeship on the islands.

Not only will we have a higher level of skilled workers and tradesmen, but it will help to alleviate the need for such high dependency on illegal foreign labor force, in addition to providing a readily available recruitment source.

Greater emphasis must be placed on finding better ways to help save our youth from themselves. Through our collective determination, I believe we can drive positive change and bring about a brighter future for them.

I also believe our leaders should be measured not by the promises they make or the headlines made in social media, but by the truths they reveal and the service and opportunities they provide to the people.

At the end of the day, in order for TCI to move forward without leaving its most vulnerable citizens behind, government must prioritize policies that supports meaningful jobs, which could be one of the many benefits of vocational technical educational opportunities.

Ed Forbes,

Concerned citizen of Grand Turk