CMI Steps Up Training for Logistic Hub Project

The Caribbean Maritime Institute (CMI) has stepped up its training programme as the country prepares for new job opportunities to emerge from the much-anticipated Global Logistic Hub Initiative.

The training is being undertaken in collaboration with the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce; Ministry of Education; HEART Trust NTA; and the Port Authority of Jamaica.

Executive Director of CMI, Dr. Fritz Pinnock, told JIS News that hundreds of Jamaicans have been trained and certified in various skills areas to supply labour for the logistics hub.

In the area of international shipping and logistics, more than 250 persons have been certified at the diploma, bachelors and masters levels; over 350 have received associates and bachelors’ degrees in industrial systems and operational maintenance engineering; more than 200 have been equipped with advanced/technical skills at level 2; while 100 cadets have been trained in marine engineering and marine navigation.  Training has also been conducted in occupational health and safety and commercial shipping.

The persons, Dr. Pinnock said, now have the requisite knowledge to work anywhere in the global village,  pointing to a “huge demand” for truck drivers worldwide, with the United States and Canada requesting one million drivers.

In addition to the technical training, the CMI is also providing the Logistics 101 course, which offers career guidance and a basic knowledge of commercial shipping, logistics and chain management to interested companies, government agencies, communities, associations and service groups. The course is offered free of cost, as long as there is a cohort.

“Logistics 101 is a response to the call from the public, as they want to know what is happening [with the Logistics Hub],” said Dr. Pinnock, who is also the Chairman of the Sub Committee of Education and Training Division on the Logistics Task Force.

He said the feedback from companies and members of the public, who have been trained thus far, has been impressive.

“Recently, over 70 fisher folk from the Old Harbour Bay Fishing Village received this three-hour training and were left eager for more,” Dr. Pinnock shared.

Meanwhile, Director of the School of Advance Skills at CMI, Osric Forrest, said the CMI has also trained over 2,500 fisher folk and rafters in the area of safety at sea and equipment in preparation of the logistics hub.

He told JIS News that funding from Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), allowed the CMI to offer the course at a subsidised rate.

Persons interested in further information or registering for logistics training may contact Mr. Forrest at (876) 371- 6800, (876) 324- 6316 or fax (876) 924- 8158.