Maritime Institute to expand operations

PRIME MINISTER Andrew Holness last week lauded the collaborative work being undertaken by the Caribbean Maritime Institute (CMI) and Career Advancement Programme (CAP) saying, through its programmes, Jamaicans could gain a competitive edge in the global labour market.

Chief petty officer Omar Johnson gave Holness a tour of the CMI facilities at its Palisadoes Park headquarters in Kingston, after which the PM addressed CMI cadets, CAP students, and teaching staff.

"Our finest natural asset is our people. The CAP programme is trying to rescue our youngsters, who would have left school and not had the opportunity to be properly trained and engaged to help in the transition to becoming the working citizen, the family member, the participating citizen," said Holness.

The prime minister added that the solution to Jamaica's economic struggles was attracting investment and that this could be achieved through education. His address was also used to announce a partnership that will expand the operations of the CMI.

More programmes to come

"Come next year, HEART Trust will engage CMI in the partnership to expand this plant to take in additional students on the back of additional programmes," he said, which was met with much applause.

Also in attendance were Transport and Works Minister Shahine Robinson; permanent secretary in the Ministry of Transport and Works, Audrey Sewell; acting permanent secretary in the Ministry of Education, Grace McClean; executive director of the CMI, Fritz Pinnock; and special adviser to the education minister, Ruel Reid.

"We must empower our young people to seek new opportunities," said Reid, who is also the principal of Jamaica College, which signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with CMI just under four weeks ago.

"That will help to transform this economy and aid us in achieving our Vision 2030 goal of being a developed country. The CMI-JC MOU represents a new niche economic sector that can provide, in our estimate, the possibility of training some 20,000 young people annually in the shipping industry. That would be great for Jamaica. We could earn in excess of an additional at least $US2.5 billion more out of the maritime industry, so I want to congratulate Fritz Pinnock and his team at CMI in leading the training of our Jamaicans to participate in this most lucrative industry."