With all that’s been happening, the signing of a service level agreement (SLA) between the National Institute for Professional Advancement (NIPA) and Argos St. Maarten NV (see Tuesday paper) should not go unnoticed. There are often complaints of a disconnect between the local education system and labour market, which initiatives like this can help address.
Currently most work on the island is obviously to be found in the still-ongoing rebuilding process from the devastation caused by Hurricane Irma on September 6, 2017. It therefore makes even more sense than usual to invest in NIPA’s construction/masonry students and provide them with enhanced practical training.
Doing so together with a cement supplier offers opportunities to better prepare some 60 students for actual jobs, through material, technical and expert support. This involves gaining valuable work experience and possible internships, whereby some are likely to be hired by the company later as well.
These kinds of partnerships of especially vocation-oriented schools with businesses and other private sector entities can make a big difference in combating – partially hidden – unemployment moving forward. The idea is that graduates nowadays need not only their diplomas, but real prospects of starting meaningful careers.
It may thus be considered a win-win situation.
