Minister of Education, the Honourable, Jeffrey Lloyd, presents Valencia College’s, Construction Program Manager, Mark Hughes with a plaque in gratitude for his certification training efforts with the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI). Mr. Hughes is a National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) Master Trainer. Pictured from left to right are BTVI’s Chairman, Kevin Basden; Mr. Hughes; Minister Lloyd and BTVI’s President, Dr. Robert W. Robertson.
Photos: Shantique Longley
Over 50 persons participated in the workshop held at Breezes Bahamas Resort and virtually, including Ministry of Education teachers, industry professionals and BTVI staff and faculty.
Minister of Education, the Honourable Jeffrey Lloyd, recently presented a plaque to Valencia College’s Construction Program Manager, Mark Hughes in appreciation of his work with the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI).
Mr. Hughes is a Master Trainer of the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) certification. He has played a crucial role in helping BTVI to achieve its goal of training 1,000 persons in the NCCER Core program by the end of the year. The third cohort for the NCCER Craft Instructor Certification workshop recently completed a four-day training. Participants who successfully passed are now certified to teach the NCCER Core program at BTVI.
Over 50 persons participated in the workshop held at Breezes Resort and was simultaneously being taught virtually. Participants included Ministry of Education teachers, industry professionals and BTVI staff and faculty. It was virtually accessed by participants from Grand Bahama, Abaco, Mangrove Cay, Exuma and Sweetings Cay. To date, over 130 persons have completed the NCCER Craft Instructor Certification workshop in The Bahamas, while more than 500 students have completed the core program, which has nine modules taught during 80 contact hours.
The NCCER is an internationally recognized accrediting body that has designed standardized training and credentialing programs for more than 70 craft areas. It is an initiative by the Bahamas Government to build the Bahamian skills gap and ensure employability.
NCCER is considered the training, assessment, certification and career development standard for construction and maintenance craft professionals. It is recognized in 20 countries and 50 of the United States.