00:00 And all of them come and fail.
00:02 You know, they get seven classes all day with pneumatics and hydraulics and they still fail.
00:10 You know why they fail?
00:13 Because these practicals have to start from day one.
00:17 We're told that's a conversation that was recorded in January with a coordinating staff
00:22 member and a present year two cohort of the Manufacturing and Apprenticeship Program under
00:27 the MIC Institute of Technology in Macoya.
00:31 A source tells us for the trainees in that program, which comprises 25% theory and 75%
00:39 practical work, learning is a nightmare, starting with a lack of equipment.
00:44 We don't have stations, hydropneumatic trainers.
00:51 We don't have, we lack tools such as like hacksaws and files, the files dull, the screwdrivers
01:00 dull.
01:01 Most things, when it comes to, we take extra time to do them because the equipment dull
01:10 or we have a lack of equipment for the size of the class.
01:13 Right now we have a pneumatics lab and it has stations in it and we cannot get access
01:19 to it.
01:20 According to our source, the lab belongs to another department.
01:24 And the things they ask them for, such as a course outline, MIC did not give the instructor
01:32 a proper course outline, a proof outline from the curriculum department.
01:40 Our source claims there is a high level of absenteeism by instructors in the course,
01:45 further alleging that during a 12-week period, which consisted of a two-day work week, an
01:52 instructor showed up for five weeks out of the 12, which calculates to 10 out of 24 days.
01:58 There is also dissatisfaction by apprentices over the quality of training for that particular
02:04 program.
02:05 We're supposed to be doing pumps, compressors, rigging, alignment, you know, and for eight
02:16 weeks when we came into year two, we did cutting and filing.
02:22 The trainees are GATE funded, and our source says they are worried that their future is
02:27 in jeopardy for something that is out of their control.
02:30 We don't know if GATE, this one chance we have with GATE, will be basically thrown away.
02:39 And we have, you know, we have other opportunities and stuff, and we take it here, and we end
02:45 up wasting it.
02:47 In response, acting general manager of the training division at MIC Nathan Langine acknowledges
02:53 that there are problems with a lack of equipment, including requisite components required for
02:59 pneumatics and hydraulics.
03:01 As he says, timely procurement is at fault.
03:05 And this is because of reduced funding for some of our programs through our line ministries,
03:12 yeah?
03:13 That would be the Ministry of Trade and Industry?
03:17 In this instance, yes.
03:19 Yes.
03:20 But MIC's chief executive officer, Anil Ramnarain, assures us that the order for the lab equipment,
03:26 which is sourced internationally, was placed.
03:29 We should have that in short order.
03:32 Generally within the next, I would say, if I'm making a gamble, it wouldn't be beyond
03:36 two weeks.
03:37 TV6 News has received correspondence outlining a problem of there not being a curriculum
03:43 in pneumatics and hydraulics.
03:45 Ramnarain admits that as well.
03:47 But he says it's no threat to the program.
03:50 We are moving towards finalizing the curriculum.
03:54 And the program specification that we are guided by is very sufficient to ensure that
04:03 the core, all courses that we have under the MAP program, you know, it's administered
04:10 very structurally.
04:12 MIC explains that its National Skills Development Journeyman Program, for which a curriculum
04:18 was signed off on for 2022 to 2025, is what was transformed into the MAP and the journeyman
04:26 course outline is being used.
04:29 Apart from that, placing the trainees in partnering industries for hands-on training is another
04:34 way MIC tells us it attempts to close the training gaps.
04:39 As for the allegations about the time trainees are forced to spend on one topic and the reported
04:45 high absenteeism among instructors, MIC says these claims would have to be investigated.
04:52 Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
04:54 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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