Cayman Current (https://www.caymancurrent.org/tag/michael-myles/)
WORC is currently offering 10 scholarships for Caymanian job seekers to participate in certification courses at Inspire Cayman Training Centre in the three key areas of Construction, Watersports, and Heavy Equipment Operation.
Last year nearly half of graduates received a diploma that the government considers to be equivalent to a ‘middle school’ qualification — and that can be obtained by scoring ‘straight Fs’ on external exams.
Should the education system be governed by a regulatory body instead of the ministry? How about a single ‘education czar’? Should every Caymanian receive universal free education from preschool to college? What about merging Cayman’s local universities?
Osbourne Bodden said the Cayman Islands education system is facing the same set of issues that have been known for decades. He said the establishment of a trade school is long overdue.
Comments made by Premier Alden McLaughlin about the limitations of legislation and prevailing cultural attitudes toward people with disabilities sparked disagreements from political candidates and parents of children with special needs.
Prospect candidates focussed their discussion on TVET programmes and how to get Caymanian students into trades that pay well and are in demand.
Incumbent Austin Harris and challenger Sabrina Turner focussed on parental involvement and vocational training, while challenger Michael Myles addressed a number of issues, including governance structure, the cost of school capital projects, early childhood education and the practice of social promotion.
Myles says the government must improve the recruitment, retention and deployment of high-quality teachers; link education priorities to the demands of the economy; and implement a national strategy for technical and vocational education and training.
Inmates at HMP Northward are upskilling as part of a programme to improve their chances of finding meaningful, sustained employment upon their release.