Urgent need for apprenticeship skills training, says Swan
United Bermuda Party candidate Charlie Swan has called for the "nuts and bolts" to be put in place to ensure the long-awaited National Training Board apprenticeship programme is a success.
Mr. Swan, who runs a plumbing company, said young people need to be taught trades skills at school so they are ready to make the most of opportunities offered by the NTB scheme.
Legislation is currently being worked through the parliamentary system to standardise apprenticeships for trades such as welders, electricians and mechanics.
The former Senator, who is challenging for a seat at next month's Southampton West Central by-election, said the history of the legislation dates back to 1997 when the NTB was introduced. He called for a time scale on when it will be put in place across the board.
"It's taken a long time to get to this stage but we need to see the nuts and bolts to make sure it can work," Mr. Swan told The Royal Gazette.
"Part of the process has to involve putting in place within our education system the avenues by which our students have the option of moving into the field.
"They need to let schoolkids use machinery, get a grounding of how machines work, hands on experience of different types of trades.
"So far, nothing formal has been put in place. Companies have been largely left to their own devices. For companies like mine, if you find someone interested in your own trade, you need to get them into a programme in college."
Regarding the timescale of the apprenticeship scheme, he said: "Why weren't they doing this 10 years ago? It's better late than never, but part of the problem is that you lose a generation of kids. You lose a lot of kids in one year; in 10 years you lose a lot more.
"We would like to find out whether there's a time line for these regulations to be completed. They are long overdue."
Mr. Swan will compete against Marc Bean of the Progressive Labour Party and independent candidate Raymond Davis (Khalid Wasi) for the Constituency 31 seat vacated by the UBP's Jon Brunson. The by-election takes place on December 4.
