One Eleuthera Foundation (OEF) and South Eleuthera Mission (SEM) under the umbrella of the Center for Training and Innovation partnered with the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI) to provide skills training free-of-charge to nearly 100 Eleutherans on August 17 to 22, at the Central Eleuthera High School in Palmetto Point.

Training, free-of-charge, was facilitated by the One Eleuthera Foundation.

BTVI instructed school-leavers and others in general maintenance such as tiling, carpentry, plumbing and electrical installation. Taking advantage of the opportunity were persons from as far as Current Island in the North, and Bannerman Town in the South, including 12 women and 78 men ranging in age from 16 to 66.

Benefits of the initiative included giving school leavers who are not academically inclined the chance to participate in the working world; and, as Alexander Darville, dean of Construction Workforce at BTVI, said – it opens the way for persons on the island to assist skilled construction workers who are brought in on investment projects.

Errol McPhee, managing director of the South Eleuthera Mission, noted, “We have recognized that there are no post-high school academic or vocational/technical institutions on Eleuthera to prepare school-leavers and others for the world of work. As a result, we have partnered with BTVI to assist with basic training in areas that are beneficial.”

Shaun Ingraham, CEO of One Eleuthera Foundation, said OEF through the Center for Training and Innovation plans to continue developing partnerships with national and international institutions to facilitate training in the future in areas such a construction, hospitality, management, health care, business and computer technology.