Prepared to host over 100 students, young and old, the Eternal Light Vocational School officially opened on Monday in Sea Lots.
Its aim is to assist residents by creating more opportunities through education and skills training.
Historically known as the hub for the creation and development of Soca music, the KH Studios building at Sea Lots now hosts the Eternal Light Community Vocational School.
By providing entrepreneurial skills and training in multiple areas, the school empowers residents with valuable, transferable skills. Roman Catholic Archbishop Charles Jason Gordon highlighted the significance of this initiative, saying it goes beyond community development.
“If we’re doing anything in this 11,700 square feet of building, what we’re doing is developing a nation. What we’re doing is giving life chances to young people. What we’re doing is giving life chances to older people. What we’re doing is giving life chances to a community. What we’re doing is giving life chances to this community we call Sea Lots.”
Supported and facilitated by MIC Institute of Technology, MIC-IT will also assist with the reconstruction and refurbishing of homes in the community.
Manager at MIC-IT, Shomari Hector, said, “We’ve decided that on the basis of what we’ve seen here and the conversations that we’ve heard in the weeks and months past to go further allowing us to use our resources, our expertise and partner with the community to rebuild, redesign and reconstruct their own homes to give them well-appointed places for which their dreams can be launched as a platform for future possibilities.”
Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Education, Ayanna Gaspard Clarke, affirmed the Ministry’s commitment to advancing access to education and being part of change through collaboration.
“As the father of the nation, Dr. Eric Williams, has stated, the future of our nation is in our children’s school bags. Today, that future is also in the skilled hands of our young people who will be the builders, innovators, and the problem solvers of tomorrow.”
The incoming Principal, Ann Marie Pierre, encouraged new students to seize this moment and take the chance to change the course of their lives.
“This is the time to shine and embrace every challenge. Never stop exploring. It is an opportunity to discover who you are and who you can become.”