PUC, SIT strengthen partnership through renewal of MoU |23 October 2021

(L to r) Mr Lesperance, Mr Barbé, Mr Valmont and Mr Morin during the signing ceremony (Photo: Thomas Meriton)

The Seychelles Institute of Technology, a technical and vocational education and training institution, and the Public Utilities Corporation which provides dependable and safe electric power, water and sewage services, have renewed their partnership through a memorandum of understanding signed yesterday.

In existence since 2016, the memorandum of understanding (MoU) serves to uphold the existing framework for communication, cooperation and coordination, while putting in place a training platform for the Public Utilities Corporation (PUC) to support the Seychelles Institute of Technology (SIT) in its mandate to provide skills training to the youth of Seychelles and its employees, building the capacity of the local workforce in areas related to installation, maintenance and servicing of PUC’s electricity, water, sewerage facilities, as well as in the field of renewable energy.

It is also in line with SIT’s mission to work in partnership with industry, using quality and responsive programmes which incorporate innovation and research to enrich learners’ competences for employment, entrepreneurship and lifelong learning in a globalised environment.

The agreement was signed by director Hubert Barbé on behalf of SIT, while PUC was represented by deputy chief executive Joel Valmont, in the presence of the corporation’s chief executive Philippe Morin and principal secretary for education development within the Ministry of Education John Lesperance.

Mr Barbé said the agreement, other than setting up an essential partnership with PUC, equally facilitates one of SIT’s components of studies which is work-base experience.

He explained that securing such partners ensures placements for students during the process, while it also makes provisions for future employment for potential graduates.

Mr Barbé added that SIT has been a bit lucky in the process of obtaining PUC as a partner since Mr Morin sits on its board of directors, while, he, himself was at one point a board member of PUC, thus easing interactions between the two organisations.

Among the support received from PUC, SIT has benefitted from donations of workshop machineries, as well as computers, while the former has greatly benefitted from staff training.

Mr Barbé is also welcoming more organisations onboard as partners.

SIT is a technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institution established as a professional centre in January 2015 under the Tertiary Education Act (TEA) 2011.

It operates under the aegis of the Ministry of Education.

Roland Duval