JAMAICAN Kimberlee Cole-Henry and her husband Kelvin Henry are to start a new life in Canada, thanks to an initiative of the Pre-University School’s Canadian Licensed Practical Nursing Programme and the Jamaican and Canadian governments.

The programme grants full immigrant status to participants and their immediate family. That clause means that Cole-Henry, who is registered under the programme, would not have to separate from her husband, a US-trained firefighter.

Albertan administrators were only too happy to snatch up the man who received advanced firefighting training in the United States Navy, to fill a significant skills gap in that area in the Canadian province.

“It really is a bit of a fairytale,” said Cole-Henry, who praised the programme for giving her the opportunity to work overseas without having to be apart from her husband.

Her husband agreed, noting that he relished the opportunity to work in his chosen field in a developed country.

Cole-Henry is among a pioneering batch of more than 190 practical nursing students slated to depart in a few months, having undergone a rigorous training course accredited by Norquest College in Alberta, in collaboration with the Pre-University School. The group is drawn from three of the institution’s four local campuses in Jamaica — Kingston, Montego Bay and Portmore.

The programme comes on stream at a time when the demand for qualified practical nurses is on the rise in Canada to meet the increasing need, especially for residential care facilities for that country’s aging baby boomers, and dovetails into the Ministry of Labour’s drive to find jobs overseas for qualified nationals.

The Pre-University School’s 18-month Canadian Licensed Practical Nursing Programme is the first such venture by a local institution. The course is open to individuals between the ages of 18 and 49, with a matriculation requirement of three subjects, including English Language, Human and Social Biology and Mathematics at CXC of GCE O’Level. On application, students undergo an interview process and on selection, become a part of the programme.