The Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams opened the national advanced vocational training institution the National Institute for Professional Advancement (NIPA) in Cay Hill on Friday. During her remarks at the opening the Prime Minister stressed that with the opening St. Maarten can look forward to training a local labor force instead of having to import labor from elsewhere; “There are many persons who we should be grateful for making the NIPA a reality and it is truly through their hard work and dedication that we are able to stand here today. I thank all of you who in one way or another have contributed in making this institute a possibility. It has been a long time in coming for St. Maarten to get an institute such as this one: a dedicated building for advanced vocational education. I believe that this opening will make the difference regarding the professional advancement of our local labor force. Within the community you still have people mentioning for example the lack of hospitality training facilities on St. Maarten, you hear persons complain about the lack of our own nursing courses. Now, with the opening of this facility, those opportunities are here and will ensure the further development of our people professionally. I hope that everyone is encouraged to take the message forward that this location is the place for life-long learning on St. Maarten, giving everyone the opportunity to train, learn, grow and reach higher. I really look forward to the day when we will not be able to use the excuse that we have to import labor because we have our own residents trained technically and vocationally to be a part of the labor force on St. Maarten. Congratulations on taking technical and vocational training on St. Maarten to a higher level,” concluded Prime Minister Wescot-Williams.
