Mandeville Craft Institute students go through cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training recently.

Since the pre-colonial era and even more so after Independence, Jamaica has had, to its credit, many skills training institutions in the business of seeking to "radically transform" the lives of youth through the acquisition of special disciplines that eventually result in the opening of "many doors of opportunity" for self-advancement.

One such training facility is the Mandeville Craft Institute (MCI) located at 1 Grove Road in Manchester's capital.

Originally set up by the Rotary Club of Mandeville more than two decades ago, MCI has been making an indelible mark on the lives of many locals seeking to acquire income-generating skills.

In the 1980s, the institute had as its target audience many young mothers who had dropped out of school and who were in need of a second chance to again begin the journey up the career ladder.

Some of the skills offered at the time included embroidery and needle craft, cookery, garment manufacturing and straw work. At the time, the institute facilitated a maximum of 30 persons who participated in a formal graduation ceremony at the end of the programme.

By the 1990s, the "winds of change" were blowing over the island in that Alcan (now Windalco), one of the major funding partners of the MCI Skills Training Programme, began winding down operations and so the board of the institute made the decision to approach HEART Trust/NTA to set up an official programme.

Certification

Mandeville Craft Institute students at work on the computer. - Photos by Peter Kavanaugh

Impressed by the possibilities, Heart Trust/NTA wasted no time in establishing a proper level 1 programme .

Almost overnight, there was a threefold increase in the number of persons enrolling. With the numbers standing at 99, two shifts had to be established to cater to the larger group.

Coordinator and manager of the MCI, Rowena Murray, told The Gleaner about the current status of the programme.

"Under hospitality we now offer four skill areas in the form of front-office, housekeeping, food and beverage and safety. There are some 87 persons officially enrolled at this point; of course, we have others who also visit us from time to time so as to receive a formal job assessment for certification," she said.

With the world economy in a tailspin and more and more people being sent home, institutions like the Mandeville Craft Institute might just be what the doctor has ordered.

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