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Orange Walk ITVET Introduces New Programs
Written by CTV3 Publisher Friday, 28 October 2011 13:33
There is no doubt that we have all heard and agree that education is the key to success. But there are times when youth prefer to learn a trade instead of sitting in a classroom and being taught about math and English. And that’s where the Institute for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (ITVET) comes in. The technical and vocational institution is geared at equipping Belizeans, especially youth, with skills, knowledge, attitude, work ethics and credentials for employment.
Here in the north ITVET Orange Walk Is constantly finding new ways to increase the number of its student body and today when we visited the institution we found out about a new program that has been implemented.
Yari Catzim-Repoter
Since its opening in 2006 Orange Walk ITVET has been providing Orange Walkenos with a wide range of professional and technical skills required to meet the technological demands of the 21st century. With over 175 students the institution is constantly implementing new ideas in order to suit the needs of youth and the community at large.
Armando Gomez- OW ITVET Manager
“The Orange Walk ITVET is always stepping up in all the services that we are doing and presently I must way that we are looking at the inclusion for asking for a greater band with when it comes to the internet because we know that we have to do much more research, our training to our trainees has to be much more compact, it has to be like a global training, we have included a lot of computer aided drafting to all our trainees which is a program which is very much needed in the engineering industry and hence I look at the Orange Walk ITVET in the very near future as continue being the trend setters moving forward in terms of improving in all kinds of training that we are providing and the graduates that we produce are always the ones that will be in high demand by the industry and by the employers and that is one of our main objectives.”
So far the management and staff of ITVET Orange Walk have been receiving a positive feedback from its former graduates and according to the institutions Manager Armando Gomez, that’s the way they intend to keep it. Presently the institution is basing the training in two main areas.
Armando Gomez- OW ITVET Manager
“I have seen a big positive impact in our community; the people are beginning to trust us more they are sending their students here but one thing I would really appreciate is that people still need to get out of that culture whereby the field that the ITVETS then is for school leavers when in reality we are trying to promote the technical and vocational training as a post secondary option like a tertiary level institution because to train students at the engineering levels we need students to have good high school background and hence the reason once they come to us and they don’t have that back ground then we have to give them that background so then we end up having like a junior secondary school within a technical and vocational school because we have a pre-vocational program whereby we put students who come to us not prepared and we prepared them before we put them into the trades.”
The two main courses included this year, were divided in three groups called tracks.
Ionie Mena- Admissions Officer
“Our programs that we have right now is building and mechanical trades only and so we are organizing that pattern by the new tracks and the new way of training so we put together the tracks and three trades in one right now and refer to them as tracks and so we have four tracks running along with our computer service and repairs program and these tracks are combines so as to complement each other. In our track one we have building and grounds maintenance and we have the A/C refrigeration and we have electrical, those complement each other so we put them together and in track two we have plumbing, we have carpentry and we have masonry going together because they complement each other, they all go together. In track three we have building and ground maintenance along with auto mechanics and welding and in track four we have A/C refrigeration and electrical along with carpentry.”
So far the tracks have been welcomed by the trainees.
Ionie Mena- Admissions Officer
“They love it because they know that even if they came here and they apply only for something like electrical for say then in the future they would still have to come back and maybe say I want to do A/C so for them it is very good and they are welcome in it and so in a way we are asking our trainees that have left us that did only one trade before they can come back to enrol in one of these tracks and get the full package now because they will be getting more and they will be doing it in the same time that they would take to do just one trade. Giving us a lot of positive feedback and hence the reason we are always changing to satisfy the needs out there and I must say that because of a good team that I have, the team foes above and beyond and that is one of the reasons we are up there doing the best and trying to give our community a good quality work force and that is our main commitment that we are through with.”
Armando Gomez- OW ITVET Manager
“The Orange Walk ITVET presently we have about 175 students and we focus mainly on building and mechanical trades that is our main focus, between us and the Corozal ITVET we make the complete package, the Corozal ITVET gives the Hospitality programs, the programs that have to do with Tourism, Arts and Culture those things and we are the ones who give the building and mechanical trades so that is how we do our programs here.”
Anyone interested in signing up for any of the tracks are asked to contact ITVET Orange Walk at telephone number 322-0309.
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