SJPP Open House gives career options

Recently, Secondary School students were exposed to a wide range of skills training programmes by touring the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic (SJPP) Open House.

Guidance Officer at the SJPP, Shawna Carter, explained that the purpose of the Open House was to showcase the different courses and programmes available to senior secondary students and the general public. She highlighted that there has not been an Open House recently, but she has recognised that that there were many positive activities happening on the campus. Many of these activities were not publicized.

According to the guidance officer, the institution is giving people an opportunity to see what the campus has to offer in an effort to encourage enrollment. Thirty Lower Fifth students of the Princess Margaret Secondary School were the first to tour the Open House. They visited the classrooms while the students were having their lessons in areas such as human ecology, cosmetology, agriculture, automotive and building,mechanical and design divisions.

Teacher and institutional coordinator of A Ganar programme at the Princess Margaret Secondary School, Trisha Forde, spoke to The Barbados Advocate, and said two groups of students were visiting SJPP to observe the various programmes being offered at the tertiary institution. Forde explained that the A Ganar group were part of a programme which gave students a second chance and prepared them for the world or work.

“We are trying to get them thinking about work, and also in the programme, we teach them the life skills that are needed to be used in the world of work, such as teamwork, decision making, goal setting, communication... This is part of their self improvement module where they get to see programmes that they can go into for their whole self development,” said Forde.