MONTEGO BAY, St James — At least 20 women will benefit from an air-conditioning maintenance course from the HEART/NSTA Trust National Tool and Engineering Institute (NTEI).

According to NTEI’s institution manager Mathew Kendly, the women-only air-conditioning overhaul maintenance technician short course is a new addition to the list of programmes. In a recent interview with the Jamaica Observer, Kendly explained that the institution has decided to target solely women for the programme after recognising a need in the “male-dominated” profession.

“The AC and refrigeration programme is one that is male-dominated and we offer this programme at NTEI, but we have realised that we have probably one or two females in each group,” Kendly explained.

“As such, we decided that we want to have a woman in AC programme where we teach them how to install and service the AC units,” the institution manager added.

The women-only air-conditioning overhaul maintenance technician short course is expected to be held on Saturdays for eight weeks. Upon completion, the women will be equipped with a new skill and a job certification from the institution.

Kendly further told the Sunday Observer that the women, like in other programmes, may decide to continue developing their skills by obtaining different levels of the National Vocational Qualification of Jamaica (NVQ-J).

“It is actually a short course, but if they so desire to do the full NVQ-J, once they complete the short course they can also apply for the full programme,” Kendly said.

The NVQ-J is a certificate of competence that is recognised islandwide as well as in the Caricom and Commonwealth countries.

For his part, principal director of NTEI Eric Nelson told the Sunday Observer that the women-only programme will provide a range of opportunities to the young ladies who become certified in the skill.

“It is an emerging skill and it is a high demand skill…and we know this based on our programmes that we have completed with our male students in air conditioning. Most, if not all, of them have been employed before they even completed the training programme,” Nelson said.

He continued, “So it is an opportunity for females who are not working and want to get the necessary skill, to gain that skill and the job certification to be employed in that job once they complete and are certified.”

At the same time, Nelson explained that the institute is fully equipped and ready to work with women possessing different skill levels. This women-only short course requires no experience in the industry, the principal director said.

The requirements for this course, according to the NTEI flyer, are a taxpayer registration number (TRN), a copy of the applicant’s birth certificate and a passport-size photo.

“What we found with the industry and the companies that recruit is that even if you don’t have the total experience, once you have the right attitude and will to learn, they will train you, because even if they are employed and have the certification, they will have to be coached or guided…or they work in teams with other people who have been experts in the area. So no experience is needed, we are starting from scratch,” Nelson told the Sunday Observer.

While this women-only programme is only being offered at the NTEI’s facility in Kingston, Nelson said that other women across the country who cannot travel to the capital city should not be discouraged.

“It is currently only offered at the National Tool and Engineering Institute. It is an initiative from us so…we are the only location with this programme at the moment, but it may become available islandwide,” he said.

In the meantime, Nelson said that the NTEI has received positive feedback from interested applicants. This, he said, may see the programme expanding to accommodate all the women wanting to come on board.

“We want to have at least 20 women within a group, but based on the response that we are getting from those interested, we can have groups being done not only on a Saturday but we can also offer the course on a Sunday as well,” said Nelson.

There is no cost attached to the programme, as Prime Minister Andrew Holness stated earlier in March that all programmes offered by the Government-funded HEART NSTA/Trust up to Level 4 (associate degree) will be offered free of cost. Holness made the announcement during his contribution to the 2023/24 Budget Debate.

“This will be a game-changer for underserved youth who see fees as an obstacle to their participation in formal training,” Holness said then.

Additionally, the prime minister said the training agency has been directed to modernise its offerings to keep pace with the worldwide trend in automation, smart manufacturing, artificial intelligence and high-value services.