During Wednesday’s meeting of the V.I. Career and Technical Education Board, members were told that progress was being made on setting up the territory’s first technical college.
Speaking on the issue, Dr. Monique Faulkner told board members that a project director to manage the administrative needs of such an endeavor had recently been hired to help navigate things like the accreditation process. “That person is slated to start the third week in September,” she said, declining to name the individual.
The college is being funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. “It’s a congressional grant through our delegate,” Faulkner explained, advising that the award to the Virgin Islands is the second largest in the history of the grant.
The college would include training in certain aviation sectors, as well as certification in electric vehicle maintenance. Attendees would be able to gain skill with fiber optics, drones, and all manner of technical competencies. “We’re going to be feeding our students from secondary into post secondary,” Faulkner envisioned, explaining that the already-accredited Raphael O. Wheatley Skills Center serves as the foundation for the forthcoming technical college. “CTEC is also the second component in the St. Croix District,” she continued.
“What we’re doing is we’re aligning…standardizing the entire adult technical component, and rolling them into one,” Faulkner explained. “Those two units are going to make up the Technical College of the Virgin Islands,” she said. The new educational institution is expected to work alongside the University of the Virgin Islands to coordinate offerings. “I don’t want to say too much, but it’s on the way,” she said. “We hope that we have a solid and definitive technical college within the next two years.”
The undertaking, CTE board chair Joane Murphy said, is being co-sponsored by the Office of the Governor.
