Revamped ITVET Campus Opens Doors in Hope Creek Village  

For years, students in southern Belize have looked to technical training as a pathway to jobs, skills, and opportunity. Now, that pathway is getting a major boost. The Stann Creek ITVET campus in Hope Creek Village has been officially reopened following a one point four-million-dollar rehabilitation project. Over the past year, the campus has seen major upgrades, from new roofing to improved restroom facilities, all aimed at creating a better environment for vocational training and workforce development in the region. News Five’s Britney Gordon reports.

 

Gwendolyn Garcia Martinez, Manager, Stann Creek ITVET

“ They are more bregging now to say that they are coming to ITVET and they are spreading the word.”

 

Britney Gordon, Reporting

Last month’s downpour may have delayed the celebration, but it did not dampen the significance of the moment. The newly rehabilitated ITVET was finally inaugurated. After weather delays forced a postponement, the Stann Creek ITVET campus was officially opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, unveiling the results of a one point four-million-dollar rehabilitation project. Dangriga Area Representative, Dr. Louis Zabaneh says this project will benefit residents of the Dangriga, Sarawee, and Hope Creek constituency.

 

Dr. Louis Zabaneh, Area Representative, Dangriga

“We see from the tour that now all the classrooms, the offices, the laboratories now are in good condition. One of the big problems with leaky roofs has been addressed. And so these things will go a long way to ensure that we can do a good job at serving our community, and in particular, the students who are gonna be coming here for this very important training  in technical and vocational education.”

 

The year-long rehabilitation was funded by the Caribbean Development Bank under the Basic Needs Trust Fund 10th Program (BNFT) and implemented by the Belize Social Investment Fund with the Ministry of Education. For students and instructors at the Stann Creek ITVET, the upgrades go far beyond a fresh coat of paint. The project set out to transform deteriorating buildings into modern, safer facilities that can better support technical and vocational training. Project Manager Dorrett Tennyson says the work included repairing roof leaks, repainting the buildings, improving security lighting, and replacing every window and door on the campus.

 

 

Dorett Tennyson, Project Manager, Basic Needs Trust Fund

“We did refurbished bathrooms. We added an extra bathroom downstairs in the admin building for the staff downstairs. In the computer room that you saw there we also, we did the tiling for the floor. And all the bathrooms along here, if when you go in, you would have seen that we refurbished, we changed, we changed all the doors and we also provided them with some, some equipment for the building and trade part of their program.”

 

Once home to fewer than fifty students, Stann Creek ITVET has since expanded significantly, graduating more than two hundred students in recent years as applications continue to climb. Stann Creek ITVET Manager, Gwendolyn Garcia Martinez said the refurbished campus now stands as a vital hub for technical and vocational training.

 

Gwendolyn Garcia Martinez

“The impact is going to be greater than we could ever think about. So far, so many persons have reached out to us businesses. The different tourism areas have reached out to us that they want us to assist in training their employees. As well, we have persons  who are seeking asylum. We will also be working with them so that they can be trained. So it has given us another level of whereby we’ll be able to better and serve more persons in this area.”

 

The next phase of the project will focus on teacher development, with training sessions scheduled for early August to help instructors improve the quality of instruction they provide to their trainees. Britney Gordon for News Five.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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