The Office of the Prime Minister announced on Tuesday 23rd November that Monroe College, a leader in educating first-generation and international students, formalized an expansion of its partnership with the Government of Antigua and Barbuda to provide additional academic opportunities and vocational training programmes.
The Honorable Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda finalized the details of the agreement with Marc Jerome, president of Monroe College at a meeting Tuesday morning. Ariel Titus, an Antiguan and proud Monroe College alumna, also attended the meeting.
There are three core components to the exciting, new collaboration emerging from the meeting. All are designed to prepare local residents for sustainable jobs that align with the country’s economy.
The first component is a three-year agreement to provide matching scholarship funds to make a Monroe College education highly affordable to residents, regardless of whether they study online or on the College’s campuses in New York or St. Lucia. The scholarship would cover tuition and fees related to any degree programme Monroe offers. Students would cover the room and board costs associated with on-campus studies.
The next two components will be especially well-received by those seeking careers within the travel and tourism industry, which is a significant contributor to Antigua and Barbuda’s economy.
Residents seeking a professional career track will be delighted to know that, through the Prime Minister’s office, the College will seek to partner with the Antigua Barbuda Hospitality Training Institute (ABHTI) and The University of the West Indies (UWI) Five Island Campus on a baccalaureate degree programme in hospitality management that includes a two-semester study abroad opportunity at Monroe in New York. While at Monroe, students will participate in internships designed to gain practical work skills while learning the fast-paced, high-touch customer service expectations of today’s business and recreational travelers.
The third component of the expanded partnership between Monroe and the Government is designed to meet the needs of those eager to prepare for entry-level, non-managerial jobs within the hospitality sector. Monroe will open a new branch of its International Hospitality Training Institute (IHTI) at a location yet to be decided within Antigua and Barbuda. It will be modeled after the highly successful programme launched in St. Lucia with the country’s National Apprenticeship Programme to prepare young residents there for starting positions with cruise ships, resorts and hotels.
The Institute offers five certificate programmes, with training on professionalism and the essential “soft skills” that hospitality employers demand incorporated into each track. The available programmes are: Bartending, Event Planning and Logistics, Front Office / Guest Services, Food & Beverage Service, and Housekeeping. The College will work with leading hoteliers in Antigua and Barbuda to ensure IHTI’s vocational training meets local employers’ needs.
Prime Minister Browne said, “ ….Antigua and Barbuda has been building relationships with outstanding tertiary institutions in the USA and elsewhere. The relationship between Monroe College and UWI Five Islands can only be beneficial to the ambitions of our youthful citizens who are pursuing college education. I welcome this new drive.”
“We are delighted to embark on this new partnership with the Government of Antigua and Barbuda, and are honoured to work with Prime Minister Browne in realizing his vision for improving educational access and affordability for local citizens,” said Marc Jerome, president of Monroe College. “Monroe has a long and proud history of educating Antiguan and Barbudan students, which will continue to grow under today’s announced programmes.”
ABOUT MONROE COLLEGE
Founded in 1933, Monroe College is a recognized leader in educating first-generation and international students. The College is proud of its innovative programs to increase college access, affordability, and completion outcomes, and the recognition it has received nationally for its impact on students’ social mobility.
Monroe educates more than 8,000 students each year, offering Certificate, Associate, Bachelor’s, and Master’s degree programmes from New York campuses in the Bronx and New Rochelle, as well as in the Caribbean nation of St. Lucia. Students may also pursue degree programmes through Monroe Online.
Currently there are over 100 Antigua and Barbuda students pursuing studies with Monroe College. Monroe College has had a long standing relationship with Antigua and Barbuda, educating its citizens for over 25 years.
Programmes are offered through Schools of Allied Health Professions, Business and Accounting, Criminal and Social Justice, Education, Hospitality Management, Information Technology, and Nursing, as well as through its King Graduate School. Liberal arts and continuing education programmes are also available. For more information and admissions criteria, please visit http://www.monroecollege.edu
Advertise with the mоѕt vіѕіtеd nеwѕ ѕіtе іn Antigua!
We offer fully customizable and flexible digital marketing packages.
Contact us at [email protected]
So crickets again but if he woulda open he mouth or post pan he fb page some bs the comment woulda light up lakka shouls pan christmas eve
Young people these days, unless they are not interested, have no reason not to pursue tertiary education. In my younger days, it was something only achievable by the haves. Those whose parents had a ‘good’ job. But these days, there are so many opportunities, scholarships such as the PM scholarship, the landing of the fifth UWI Campus right here at their doorstep. And the many foreign countries offering scholarship as well. From China to Rusia to Polen, Mexico you name it. Some countries we hadn’t even known before. Our young folks have all these opportunities. I really hope they cease of these and make the best of their life and our future. Because eventually they will be the new leaders of this country. And the better or higher the education the better the contribution they will make to the advancement of our country. Young folks please do not waste your youthful years. You country depend on you.
eh eh me wonder if de dawg go tek a course in “soft skills”. he and he fleas dem surely need it. maybe dey have courses in trustworthiness to because i telling you this crop of labour party politicians can’t get help from even a truth serum.
A lot of training and certificates to spend money on but where are the jobs to justify the investment?? Jobs usually come with their own free training opportunities. Just saying
With regards to the third component, why do we need a foreign entity to open a hospitality training centre here when we have our own? We have world class resorts on island and many Antiguans have moved up the ranks here to take on managerial positions at prestigioues resorts around the world. If its one industry we have our own know how on locally its tourism and its something we should be attracting international students too rather than outsourcing.
@dadlian…I can concur with your thought process on this.
It would also serve the Nation well, to restructure, the #All #Inclusive #Model which have served the owners/investors well.
Properties should to be limited to operating certain services where the locals can invest in🇦🇬, and grow their businesses.
Does this have anything to do with “a politician’s son”?
Comments are closed.