NASSAU, The Bahamas -- Minister of Education Desmond Bannister said he was impressed by the campus, students and staff after a recent visit to the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI).

“The right direction for BTVI is the achievement of accreditation status so that students can feel confident that the training they receive at BTVI meets international standards and can take them anywhere in the world,” Minister Bannister said.

He was addressing the executives and staff of BTVI and their partners and supporters at an Appreciation Dinner at the British Colonial Hilton, Wednesday, January 21, 2010.

Minister Bannister said the occasion presented stakeholders with an opportunity to celebrate and assess the success of the BTVI’s component of the Bahamas Support Program for Transforming Education and Training.

“On behalf of the Ministry of Education, I would like to express sincere gratitude to Daytona State College for its role in advancing this project which has tremendous benefits for the citizens of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas,” Minister Bannister added.

“You have – and over the course of the next three years – greatly assisted us in answering the call of the business industry for an increased and technically-trained workforce who is equipped to fulfil their needs,” he said.

“You are also enabling us to empower citizens to become entrepreneurs; thus being the masters of their own destiny through business ownership.”

Minister Bannister said he understands that the past two years of the project had been dedicated to the restructuring of BTVI to upgrade its program offerings, as well as to align its curricula with that of high schools to ensure a seamless transition for the high school student who wants to take their high school technical and vocational training to the next level.

“I also wish to express our gratitude to the Industry Partners who have offered motivational talks and advice to the students,” he added.  

“This level of support is very important because students will see the worth in pursuing and being committed to their studies knowing that opportunities exist for them to secure employment or create it for others.

“I daresay that there is always room for one more mechanic, computer technician or masseur in this country.   The fact is that we have not nearly saturated these areas and therefore we must train more and more persons in these fields.”

Minister Bannister said that the program is “just about” at the halfway mark and stakeholders ought to feel pride in what has been accomplished.  He also commended all persons being recognized for their contributions to this effort during the past three years.

“I am very optimistic that we will achieve the remainder of the goals and, in the process, make BTVI into a world-class institution and, simultaneously, attain our national objective of empowering our citizens to meet the demands of labour and contribute to the development of The Bahamas,” he said.