A young Bermudian hotelier has been afforded the opportunity to attain his power engineer certification thanks to a joint sponsorship initiative between the Fairmont Southampton and the National Training Board (NTB).

Jamel David Minors has travelled to Canada to complete training sessions at the Cambrian College of Applied Arts & Technology in Sudbury, Canada gaining work experience while studying the principles and practices of power plant systems, energy management and conservation, safety and economics, as well as supervision of personnel in the classroom over the course of seven semesters or three years.

Mr. Minors is currently enrolled in the Power Engineering Technology Programme in pursuit of obtaining a second class certification at the Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) level.

He obtained his fourth Class Power Engineers certificate this year and is working on his third Class certificate in 2010/2011.

Fairmont will pay for his accommodation, meals allowance, health insurance and safety equipment (protective clothing) during the programme and Mr. Minors will work for The Fairmont Southampton during his summer break.

NTB will cover his tuition and Mr. Minors will arrange his own airfare.

The Fairmont Southampton has committed to sponsor Mr. Minors for a two-year period. He is expected to complete the training programme in 2012 with a Second Class Power Engineer's certificate. Upon completion of his training, he will be employed by The Fairmont Southampton full-time in the maintenance department as a shift building operator for a minimum of two years.

Anyone interested in vocational training can visit the NTB website at www.ntb.bm to learn more about available programmes.