The Centre for Training and Innovation has successfully graduated another two cohorts of students from its Spring “Learn-and-Earn” Carpentry Course and Housekeeping Management Course.
Hallmarked by pride and a sense of accomplishment, friends and family gathered at the graduation ceremony at the Rock Sound Campus on July 7th to celebrate and show their support. Eleven students from South Eleuthera were awarded professional development certificates in the areas of Carpentry and Housekeeping. Graduating in the Carpentry cohort were, Perez Hilton, Rumeo Johnson, Jeffrey Knowles, Ysamine Miller, David Elliot, Camrin Rolle, Ketchina Estime, and Kevano Johnson. The Housekeeping cohort consisted of Margaret Pyfrom, Crystal Rolle, and Vanessa Brown, all employees of Cotton Bay Holdings Ltd.
The courses were instructed by local experts in their field, including Graham Walker and Larry Forbes who facilitated the Carpentry course, and Tamika Rahming who led the Housekeeping Management course.
Speaking on behalf of her class, Crystal Rolle, the Housekeeping Supervisor at Cotton Bay Holdings Ltd. expressed her gratitude for the refresher course which reiterated the importance of enhancing the guest’s experience through exacting attention to details. “Your last impression of a room is your guest’s first impression,” she expressed. “It is very important to pay attention to the tiny details, from the folding of the towels to the wrinkles in the sheets. They all make a difference.”
Addressing the graduates, Daniel Zuleta, Manager of Cotton Bay Holdings Ltd. thanked both CTI and his staff for a job well done and invited all the graduates to continue pursuing the path of professional and personal development. “A couple of months ago we started this initiative with the fortune of having the great work of CTI in providing their knowledge, experience, best practices, and great sense of service to successfully meet the challenge of training our staff,” he remarked. “Combined with the commitment, dedication, and effort of our staff we saw such good results in such a short time, which reflects the quality of the training at CTI, along with the personal abilities of our employees.”
The graduates recounted how the past ten weeks of hard work, knowledge sharing and mentorship has equipped and inspired them to carry the same standard of excellence forward into their lives and respective workplaces.
Reflecting on the many lessons learned, David Elliot praised his Carpentry Instructors for preparing him for a career and the realities of doing business. “Without the knowledge shared by Mr. Forbes, I probably would’ve gotten swung a few times in the work field,” noted David. “Learning how to count out material and calculate my labour, how to handle the table saw, the circular saw and build cabinets…I did all that in just ten short weeks. I couldn’t get that anywhere else.”
Gregory Higgs, the proprietor of Higgs Construction in North Eleuthera delivered the keynote address urging the graduates to hold to their training. He also drove home the importance of “a good attitude, good work ethics and consistency while on the job, which these days can be lacking.” Sharing his insight as a local business owner, he reminded the group that whether an owner or employee, “these things take you a long way.”
CTI is the premier tertiary education and training institution in Eleuthera offering 10-12 week vocational courses and short workshops. Students have access to training in, Culinary, Hospitality and Housekeeping Management, Carpentry, Construction, Electrical Installation, Introduction to Hydroponics, Beekeeping, and a wide variety of Farming and Agricultural courses.
Courses are approved by the National Accreditation Equivalency Council of The Bahamas (NAECOB) and are structured to include both hands-on training with skilled practitioners and traditional classroom learning. Students find the courses to be transformative, allowing them to work alongside their peers to gain valuable knowledge and experience while exploring opportunities that may have otherwise been unavailable to them.
CTI’s signature “Learn-and-Earn” Program, is offered exclusively via the Rock Sound campus and provides students the unique opportunity to earn a weekly stipend during their training. The CTI-Harbour Island Trade School (HITS) was established to meet the growing need for skills and technical training on Harbour Island and the surrounding settlements of North Eleuthera. CTI-HITS currently offers courses in Culinary and Carpentry.
Each new cohort of students solidifies CTI’s commitment to providing greater employment, training, and entrepreneurial opportunities for young people across Eleuthera. It is the organization’s goal to empower and sustainably develop Eleuthera’s people, local communities, and economy, one student at a time.
For more information on course offerings email: registrar@oneeleuthera.org or call 815-3800.
Source:
One Eleuthera Foundation (OEF)/The Centre For Training and Innovation (CTI)
July 2022
