RICHMOND, St Mary – St Mary Technical High has become the first local institution to benefit from the generosity of British manufacturer of electrical equipment, Megger Group Limited. Help was provided by the company’s Dallas, Texas branch in the United States.

Megger manufactures electronic test equipment and measuring instruments for electrical power applications. It is well-known for its electrical insulation testers. The school was given more than 10 hand-held testers and other equipment, a move that has spurred future plans.

“There’s more to come as there will be an expansion of the electrical lab,” regional director for the Ministry of Education’s Region Two, Yasheika Blackwood Grant, stated during the handover.

“It is indeed that you have been doing well because Megger has invested in you and it’s your turn to impact on other lives,” she urged the students and encouraged them to take care of the expensive equipment.

Blackwood Grant had a special message for the girls who have chosen a field typically more popular with males. She encouraged them not to be distracted by naysayers.

“Hold your head [high] and soar,” she said.

Soaring is something with which St Mary Technical High students are familiar.

“Our school has been placed in the top five in Jamaica and the Caribbean in electrical, both in CXC and CAPE,” Principal Orville Richards pointed out as he thanked Megger for the donation.

He believes the boost to the electrical department will go a long way in their efforts to become the premier institution technically, vocationally and academically.

For his part, managing director of Free Rock Trading Company, which distributes Megger products, David Ffrench, pointed out that the company believes in investing in the youth as a way to foster development of the electrical industry.

“Our company strongly believes that equipping young minds early in the electrical industry, and life, by far will [help us all] prosper,” stated Ffrench.