Fourteen young men who have completed the SBO Maritime level 1 course were honored in a touching ceremony held at the Milton Peters College (MPC) on Wednesday September 26th 2012.
Guest speakers for the event were General Director of the Milton Peters College Wim de Visser, S.V.O.B.E., Director J. Rogers as well as the Honorable Minister of Education Silveria Jacobs.
In her speech the minister commended the management and staff of MPC, its Board and Director, the SBO Maritime staff, especially coordinator Rien Korteknie and Project Manager Saskia Kliphuis, for doing all that was necessary to make it possible to be able to offer the course for the fourth year.
The minister directed the rest of her comments to the young men who had put in the time in practical training as well as learning from the books to achieve their goals of certificates and even diplomas.
Many of the participants had the life changing experiences of working on, repairing, building as well as sailing boats. They also learned to swim, qualified as first aid providers, and had the opportunity to learn the necessary skills to qualify for the Certificate of Competence with which they can apply for a boating license.
The Maritime coordinator was quite proud of his students and highlighted their achievements, many whom attained their very first diploma. Several sailed in the Heineken and Captain Oliver Regattas as well as on a big sail boat to Bermuda. He was very satisfied with the excellent results. Top Student of the course was the student O’Brien.
In this respect the minister is very proud of these students who have defied the odds, and made a start on improving their future in the Maritime field.
"The Maritime industry is a growing industry on St. Maarten and it is a great initiative when our educational opportunities meet the needs of the labor market.
"St. Maarten can be very proud of our youngsters and as a government we will continue to provide opportunities for higher Vocational and Technical Education in order to meet the needs of our students and the community" Minister Jacobs said to the gathering.