00:00Year 3 MIC Mokoya trainees under the Manufacturing Apprenticeship Program are supposed to be
00:06doing their curriculum-based assessment projects.
00:09It's a demonstration of all that they've learned in the three years at the institution, either
00:14in the field of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering or industrial maintenance.
00:19As part of the program, the trainees are mandated to construct a refrigerator from scratch.
00:24And so, 20 trainees have been split into two groups, making it two refrigerators to be
00:29constructed.
00:30According to the trainees, they were expecting to start their CBA project since August 2024.
00:36Much like the importance of the school-based assessment in CXC, the CBA must be completed
00:43to attain the diploma.
00:44However, we're told that they have not been provided with a lot of the equipment required
00:49to get the project off the ground, including crucial ones like condensers and evaporators.
00:55Instead of sheet metal, they have resorted to searching the MIC compound for scrap, including
01:01filing cabinets, which they are attempting to utilize as the body for the refrigerator.
01:07We're also told that the trainees had to dip into their own pockets to purchase cheap styrofoam.
01:12Asked how much of the required resources are missing, TV6 News has been told about 45%
01:17of what is needed.
01:19And for the mechanical engineering CBA project, for which a mechanical can sealer has to be
01:24built, only around 18% of the resources have been provided.
01:28A source states that examiners will come in periodically to mark the projects.
01:33We've been informed that when they came in November, there was nothing that could be
01:37graded.
01:38They expect another visit sometime this month.
01:41The trainees are said to be in a state of panic, with the time to their final exam date
01:46fast approaching.
01:47Correspondence has been sent to MIC's management since October to present, including to the
01:53program coordinator and upper management.
01:55However, the problem persists.
01:58TV6 News reached out to chairman of MIC, Professor Clem Imbert, who says the trainees are in
02:03industry at this time, which is similar to internships.
02:07He tells us they usually come in to MIC one day per week.
02:11Imbert says, quote, we should be getting all the parts by the end of this week that we
02:15need for them to do their project, so that from next week when they come in, on the particular
02:20day that they come in, they can start their project.
02:24We did have a bit of a delay, and you know students get a little anxious when we have
02:29those delays, end quote.
02:32We put to Imbert information we had received that about only 50 percent of trainees were
02:36in industry, while the others remained at home having not been successfully placed within
02:42a company.
02:43Imbert admits that placements in industry has been a perennial problem MIC has been
02:48facing as challenges such as companies wanting to use the trainees for cheap labor persist.
02:55Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
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