Business View Caribbean - Mar 2024

research excellence, and empower the Caribbean workforce sustainably. The Centre will raise the standard for solar installations and maintenance and increase employability opportunities for talented, qualified Caribbean nationals in one of the fastest- growing industries, regionally and internationally. This pivotal step has the potential to unlock the region’s full renewable energy capacity.” “The programmes offered at the Centre will be certified by esteemed bodies such as NABCEP and the Institute of the Motor Industry. Earlier this year, GSI partnered with EINTAC, an IMI training provider in the United Kingdom, to introduce internationally recognised electric vehicle training to the Caribbean. As a reputable authority in the global electric and hybrid vehicle market, we are pleased to welcome them as collaborators on this project,” remarked Dr Archibald. Key objectives of the Caribbean Centre of Excellence in Research, Innovation and Workforce Training include: • Promoting Innovation: The Centre will provide a platform for professionals, entrepreneurs, startups, and established businesses to collaborate and innovate to address regional challenges. • Advancing Research: Recognising the importance of research in driving progress and informing policymaking, the Centre will support research initiatives focused on sustainability. • Strengthening the Workforce: The Centre will focus on bridging the skills gap and fostering lifelong learning in the renewable energy industry. It will offer a range of workforce development programmes designed to equip individuals with the skills and competencies needed to create a sustainable region. These vocational training courses will help provide pathways to empower the Caribbean workforce and enhance employability in the ‘green economy’. Dr Tamu Petra Browne, Chair of the CFBC Board of Directors, emphasised the significance of this initiative to the College, stating, “Very early in my tenure as Board Chair in 2023, I advanced two initiatives, a Green Campus initiative and a Blue Ocean initiative, the latter in the context of one of the Pillars of the Board of Governors of the institution – 21st Century Competitive Academic Programmes fit for Context and Community. The MOU with GSI sits nicely at the intersection. We expect to be a leader in building regional capacity for the sustainability thrust in the Caribbean. Our positioning as a hub for renewable energy training provides the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College with a competitive advantage in the academic space.” She continued,“The partnership with GSI is one step on the pathway of regionalisation harmonisation of tertiary education at the community college level, which the Board of Governors anticipates as an imperative next step for fostering economies of scale and exponential growth of emerging skills training in the OECS region so that we are not lagging behind our developed nation counterparts.We desire to equip our nationals with skills to improve their standard of living masterfully and, by extension, provide sustainable economic growth in our island states.” 10 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 11, ISSUE 03