Presently Angela van Keulen of College of the Dutch Caribbean (CDC) is here to assist Ramonda Hanze, SBO coordinator of FAVE, with the pre-registration of 32 interested students.
CDC will provide supervision in the first study year to share their 16 years of experience in providing top class SBO education to FAVE.
In September FAVE, St Maarten Academy will offer graduates from PSVE PKL and TKL the possibility to become professional bookkeepers and secretaries in the SBO/ASVE (Advanced Secondary Vocational Education) courses Bookkeeping level three and Secretary level three.
These three-year programs are SBO courses of the renowned College of the Dutch Caribbean, an SBO school in Curacao with approximately 700 students in level three and four SBO programs.
College of the Dutch Caribbean (CDC) has tailored their recognized courses into an English work-learning program that suits the Sint Maarten labour market.
The secretarial course will for instance provide the possibility to specialize in becoming a legal secretary or medical secretary.
The programs will start with full weeks in school, but after the first semester traineeships will start and will gradually form the main part of the program.
Currently SBO Service Center, the government facilitator of the set up of SBO on Sint Maarten, is working on a proposal to enhance the programs with CDC’s so called "top years", which will enable the students to reach to a level four and become full fledged financial administrators and office managers.
Students with an SBO level four diploma can decide to enter Bachelor programs.
These courses are an addition to 16 Advanced Vocational Programs that SBO can provide to train youngsters into professions that have been indicated by Sint Maarten businesses and organizations that are of a necessity for the labour market.
Youths of Saba and Sint Eustatius are welcomed to participate as well. The development and set up of SBO will continue up until 2012 and is stimulated and financed through Dutch Education Development Funds.
In 2010 there will be seven SBO courses that youngsters can choose from. For more information on the Bookkeeping and Secretary Courses, call Ramonda Hanze (548-4821). For other courses you are invited to visit the SBO Service Center, above Carl’s and Sons on the Pondfill.