Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer

Colin Neita, director of marketing and corporate communications at the University College of the Caribbean. - Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer

AT THREE years old, the University College of the Caribbean (UCC) is one of Jamaica's youngest tertiary institutions. For its new term, the school is looking to prepare its students for the CARICOM Single Market (CSM) which was launched on January 1.

Colin Neita, the UCC's director of marketing and corporate communications, said many of its students have signed up for courses that are expected to make their résumés appealing to prospective overseas employers.

"Overall, when you look at the whole country, what is being recognised is that people have to get themselves qualified because we are now in a world of CSM which requires one to get certified," Neita told The Gleaner.

"With a degree, we can export ourselves to any part of the CSM and get jobs there."

Mr. Neita said the UCC is not only looking to get Jamaicans ready for the regional workplace.

"We know that the same way someone from Jamaica can go to the Eastern Caribbean and get a job, someone from there can come to Jamaica and get a job," he explained. "We have one of the lower levels of tertiary education in the Caribbean, so what we are trying to do is improve that level of penetration of tertiary education."

The CSM became a reality after years of lobbying by regional leaders for a single market that would make trade between CARICOM member-states easier. It also opened the door for Caribbean nationals to work in other territories.

2,500 applications

Neita disclosed that for the 2006-07 academic year, there were approximately 2,500 applications to attend the UCC which has three locations in Kingston, as well as campuses in Mandeville, Ocho Rios, Montego Bay and Savanna-la-Mar.

At least 65 per cent of those applicants wanted to sit for an associate or bachelor's degree in business administration. Another course that is popular with applicants is supervisory management, which is a diploma programme.

"We've had roughly a doubling for that course; a lot of the people who have been coming into that have been working for some time and are in their late 20s," Mr. Neita explained. "What we see is that they are upgrading their skills to be able to compete."

There are approximately 2,400 full or part-time students at the UCC which also offers associate and bachelor's degrees in human resources, information technology and marketing.

This year, in tandem with Florida International University, administrators have added a master's degree in curriculum and instruction which is geared toward teachers and advanced educators.

With the UCC's expansion into rural parishes, the increasingly- popular distance education concept was introduced there for the 2005-06 academic year. Through this medium, students unable to attend classes can pursue courses through cable and television lectures.

Professional scholars

The UCC, which has headquarters at Worthington Avenue in New Kingston, actually started as the Institute of Management and Production (IMP) in 1972. For over 30 years, many professionals earned associate and bachelor's degrees or diplomas there.

Three years ago, the Institute of Management Sciences purchased IMP and started the UCC.

Alison Cross, vice-president of academic and student affairs at the UCC, said business-related courses remain the core of the school's programme.

The profile of the students, however, has changed.

"One of the biggest changes is students coming straight out of high school and starting our associate degrees. So, in addition to the traditional, more mature learners, we now have a young, dynamic group," she said.