The Jamaican-German Automotive School (JAGAS) has been outfitted with an electric vehicle (EV) charging station, which will be utlised in equipping local automatics with EV skills.
The station, donated by the Canadian High Commission, was officially handed over and commissioned into service, during a ceremony at JAGAS’ Maxfield Avenue location on Tuesday (March 15)
It will support the provision of technical and mechanical skills to strengthen Jamaica’s capacity-building programme for the Electric Mobility Market.
Chairman of the HEART/NSTA Trust Board of Directors, Professor Alvin Wint, expressed gratitude for the donation, which he noted, supports the entity’s efforts to pivot away from internal combustion engines to EV, which is the future.
“We want to ensure that our trainees are facilitated by equipment that is state-of-the art and that they, themselves, are in a position to contribute to the improvement of our skillsets here in Jamaica,” he said.
“We are about alignment at this organisation; we are going to align our training needs with the needs of the Jamaican workforce,” he stressed.
Professor Wint said the donation will help the institution to continue the tradition of being the leader in vocational training in Jamaica and across the Caribbean.
Canadian High Commissioner to Jamaica, Her Excellency Emina Tudakovic, in her remarks said she is looking forward to the “expected upskilling opportunities resulting from this cooperation”.
Through a joint initiative between Canada and Jamaica, 35 auto mechanics from the HEART/NSTA-operated facility and other technical institutions in Jamaica will be engaged in a training course on Electric Vehicle Fundamentals Charging Infrastructure.
This two-part initiative will be administered in partnership with the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona and the University of Technology (UTech).
The High Commissioner said that the collaboration between Canada and Jamaica continues to strengthen, noting that both countries have been long-standing partners in education, training, development, trade, defence and business.
“We look forward to continuing to work with… the public and private sectors as we pursue bilateral relations on international partnership opportunities in new and emerging industries such as climate focus, clean technologies, electric transport, and the training associated with these new careers,” she said.
