UTech Spreading its Wings to Meet Demand

President of the University of Technology (UTech), Professor Errol Morrison, has said that the institution is extending its reach across the island to meet the overwhelming demand for its educational offerings.
Addressing past students at an alumni fundraising event in Toronto, Canada recently, Professor Morrison stated that the institution, which serves more than 12,000 students, “is still functioning largely in that small 50 acres that you attended when you were there at CAST (College of Arts, Science and Technology).”
He said that due to lack of space, an overwhelming number of applicants are turned down each year. “In the very last academic year, for example, there were some 12,500 qualified applicants, of whom we could take only 3,400, a tremendous demand that we are not able to meet,” he stated.

President of the University of Technology (UTech) Professor Errol Morrison, presents a certificate 1960s graduate Winsome Davis, at the CAST-UTech Alumni Association’s 8th anniversary awards banquet held recently in Toronto, Canada.

Last year, UTech collaborated with the Jamaica Institute of Management (JIM) to launch the UTech/JIM School of Advanced Management, which offers business programmes at centres in Mandeville, Ocho Rios and Port Antonio. A new branch of UTech also recently opened in Lionel Town, Clarendon, and another will come on stream shortly in Santa Cruz, St. Elizabeth.
Professor Morrison said that the institution is hopeful of acquiring lands surrounding the Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium, to build its western campus.
He thanked the Ontario Chapter of the CAST-UTech Alumni Association, which hosted the fundraising banquet, for continuing to support the university despite “the fiscal meltdown going on worldwide.”
Consul General to Toronto, Mr. George Ramocan, who was the guest speaker at the event, commended UTech for its foresight in advancing vocational training.

President of the University of Technology (UTech) Professor Errol Morrison (right), presents a certificate 1960s graduate and former Speaker of the Ontario Legislature, Hon. Alvin Curling, at the CAST-UTech Alumni Association’s 8th anniversary awards banquet held recently in Toronto, Canada.

Noting that vocational education and training have been the mainstay of many industrialised countries, he said that Jamaicans must change their attitude towards that area of training and stop believing that it is for those “who are not bright”.
Mr. Ramocan lauded the Government’s initiative to extend secondary school by two years to allow students to focus on learning practical job skills, noting that high schools should help students determine a particular vocation.
The Association, at its banquet, honoured graduates from the 1960s including former president, Mr. Greg Allen; and former Speaker of the Ontario Legislature,
Mr. Alvin Curling, who recently gave the Distinguished Anniversary Lecture at UTech.
The CAST-UTech Alumni Association not only assists UTech students but also provides scholarships for college-bound students in Canada. It has provided more than C$60,000 to 31 Jamaican and 30 Canadian students over the years.