By Monique Hepburn, Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU:
THE CARIBBEAN Institute of Technology (CIT) has emerged as one of the main drivers behind the development of Jamaica's Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector.
Started in 1999 in the Montego Bay Free Zone, CIT has gone a long way towards fulfilling its mandate of providing a pool of skilled programmers to attract investors to the sector. Minister of Commerce, Science and Technology, Phillip Paulwell, has said that more than US$500 million in investments have been pumped into the ICT sector since the liberalisation of telecommunications industry.
"CIT has been able to deliver on their mandate," Minister Paulwell said in an interview. He said the growth of the ICT sector in Jamaica requires the skilled persons in software development that CIT can provide.
FUTURE GROWTH
"I envisage a lot more people moving into the sector as soon as they realise that there is tremendous success to be achieved," he said.
"Current enrollment stands at 122 students," said Samuel Bowen, CIT's managing director. This is a long way off the 500 student capacity, but he expects that through planned expansion, more students will get access to training.
"We train the high end of the IT market such as technical support personnel," Mr. Bowen said. Students learn programming languages along with the concepts and skills required for a career in software development.
"It is the vision of the government and its partners that CIT will drive the development of the IT sector," Mr. Bowen explained. "It is through this expectation and our commitment to the development of technical/vocational education that we seek to participate in the growth of Jamaica."
The CIT had difficulties in the early period of its development. It took some time for firms in the sector to accept the value of its graduates and some of the early students had difficulty getting jobs, despite the expansion of the industry. The Institute has had to become innovative and in 2002, established its Development Centre, employing graduates to write software packages for companies in the hotel and tourism sector, construction industry and schools.
SUCCESS STORY
"My experience at CIT was a good one," said one of the first CIT graduates, Aerica Harris. She is currently employed to Indusa Global as a computer programmer, where she, along with the initial graduating batch of 42 students, all started shortly after her graduation in 1999.
"I benefited tremendously from the training and I would recommend it to others wishing to be employed in the IT sector," Ms. Harris said.
Minister Paulwell said students of CIT, along with those of the island's universities, will benefit from a US$3.5 million scholarship facility from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). He said the school's curriculum will also be marketed and franchised to other Caribbean countries. "The fact that CIT will receive the bulk of this facility from the IDB, shows that its successes have been recognised," said Minister Paulwell.
