CHEC Donates Equipment Valued $3M to Flanker Skills Training Institute

Programmes offered at the Flanker Skills Training Institute in Montego Bay, St. James, have been boosted with the provision of equipment valued approximately $3 million by China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC).

The donation has been facilitated under a partnership with the Government of Jamaica.

Speaking during the handover ceremony at the Institute on Tuesday (July 24), National Security Minister, Hon. Dr. Horace Chang, who is also the Member of Parliament for North West St. James where the centre is located, lauded CHEC for their contribution to the community, noting that “they were kind enough when I spoke to them to (commit) to provide training tools”.

He pointed out that the gesture by the Chinese firm, which has been integrally involved in infrastructure developments islandwide, will enable the centre to provide skills training for more persons.

This, Dr. Chang pointed out, by being utilised in a property management training course, which gets under way shortly in collaboration with the HEART Trust/NTA.

The Minister said the course forms part of the Administration’s commitment to ensuring that there is sustainability throughout inner-city communities such as Flanker.

Dr. Chang also announced that the Caribbean Maritime University (CMU) will set up a simulator in the parish to train and certify individuals in the use of heavy-duty equipment by year end.

Meanwhile, Acting Senior Director of the Workforce Development and Employment Division at HEART Trust/NTA, Elain Holloway, pledged the agency’s commitment to ensuring that the skills of youth in Flanker are developed to enable them to create wealth for themselves and their families.

“The HEART Trust/NTA is fully supportive of any initiative which will engage our youth in the development of skills. Community training intervention is a major component of our training at the HEART Trust/NTA as we seek to take the programmes more and more into the communities and to expand the access to person’s right across Jamaica,” she explained.

In this regard, Mrs. Holloway challenged the trainees to “take excellent care of these tools and equipment and the facilities, because I am sure you want to ensure that others who will come after you will be able to benefit”.

For her part, Deputy General Manager of CHEC, Dr. Zhimin Hu, said the firm welcomed the opportunity to contribute to the development of Flanker.

“We are mindful of the fact that sustainable development must be at the centre of the people. This approach to development will not only enable the country to achieve its goals but also help to shape the hearts and minds, values and attitudes. For this reason, we are so happy to donate the gift of tools and equipment to skills training,” she said.

Additionally, she said her organisation is more than happy to be able to transfer knowledge and skill to the Jamaican people, and is committed to putting greater effort in having more local communities and people participate in opportunities being created by their projects “through jobs, training and also the company’s use of the local services provided”.

“We welcome opportunities to contribute to the effort that enables individuals to grow and develop in this rapidly changing world. We take corporate social responsibility as an integral part of our company’s culture and way of doing business through education and cultural exchange, charitable support and other means. This is why we strive to build relationships based on mutual respect and shared values.