NESC accredited with 'technical institute' title

THE National Energy Skills Centre (NESC) has been renamed the NESC Technical Institute, after the Accreditation Council (ACTT) approved the new title.

Institutions may receive protected titles such as "university" and "technical institute" from the ACTT on meeting the qualifications for providing programmes traditionally offered at such institutions.

This name change,a NESC press release said, marks the successful transformation of NESC from a post-secondary skills training centre to an accredited, bona-fide tertiary-level institution that provides students with internationally-recognised training and certification in specialised technical skills that support the human resource needs of the energy, industrial and commercial sectors.

When the NESC began in 1997, its goal was to train welders for Atlantic’s Train 1 in Point Fortin.

Today, NESC Technical Institute offers ACTT-accredited and GATE-approved diplomas in ten specialisations, including drilling rig operations, automotive and heavy equipment maintenance, IT, electrical, instrumentation, fabrication, air conditioning and refrigeration, mechanical maintenance and welding.

These programmes, the release said, support the development of human resources needed for the energy, industrial and commercial sectors.

NESC qualifications signal to employers that graduates are work-ready from day one on the job. Moreover, thanks to a partnership with Canada-based Red Deer Polytechnic, successful NESC diploma graduates are also eligible for a Red Deer Trades Professional Certificate in their field.

This Canadian qualification opens opportunities to graduates from NESC programmes, some of whom have found employment in North America and the Middle East.

NESC Technical Institute said it looked forward to continuing to serve the people of Trinidad and Tobago and the region with quality technical vocational training for the 21st century.

The NESC Technical Institute is both ISO certified and ACTT-accredited.

Its procedures and methods of training delivery reportedly produce highly-skilled technical professionals who can quickly assimilate into the work environment. Courses are designed to meet the needs of the energy, industrial and commercial sectors.

The NESC is a non-profit institution with the primary purpose of building the human capital of TT.

It has its genesis in a trust deed between the Government and the former Atlantic LNG Company Ltd to address the demand for skilled welders for the Atlantic LNG, Train 1 project.

It was envisaged then as the solution to the need for a premier training provider to lead national training initiatives.