By Shamar Blunt
The head of island-hopping carrier InterCaribbean Airways has inked a deal to fund select students in a new University of the West Indies (UWI) aviation management degree programme with an optional commercial pilot’s licence, declaring that the industry’s full potential in the Caribbean must be unlocked.
Lyndon Gardiner, the Turks and Caicos Islands-based airline’s founding chairman on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding, to provide scholarships for two new degrees also launched at the same time: Bachelor of Business Administration in Aviation Management, and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Aviation Management with a Pilot Licence.
Given the high demand for aviation links and services in the Caribbean, Gardiner said, the new agreement along with the degrees, will unlock new opportunities.
“There is still immense untapped potential. The MOU announces the next phase in making aviation a driving force for Caribbean development and unity. Our partnership with the University of the West Indies, a beacon of economic excellence and innovation, signals a new chapter in our commitment to not only connect our islands, culture, and people but to build bridges between education and industry.
“Our goal is to develop aviation sustainably, increasing competitiveness while nurturing talent, fostering innovation, and building our region’s human capital.”
The chairman also noted that two Manville Gardiner Memorial Scholarships – named for his brother, a former air traffic controller and pilot – will be offered to postgraduate and undergraduate students in aviation and allied areas.
The InterCaribbean Airways chief highlighted that this new agreement should be viewed as a positive step by regional authorities, who have all expressed an interest in enhancing travel in the Caribbean, as aviation continues to demonstrate its relevance not just in tourism but also trade.
“Aviation is a vital strategic industry for the sustainable development of our region, and for the industry to reach its full potential, collaboration between the private sector and academia is crucial,” Gardiner said. “The benefits of this collaboration are manyfold. UWI students will gain practical industry exposure, academic inquiry would inform evidence-based policy and planning for the sector, Caribbean transport links would be strengthened and, ultimately, this partnership will spur the growth of quality jobs and economic opportunities across the region.”
Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the UWI Cave Hill Campus Professor Clive Landis said: “I think we can all agree that a comprehensive approach is necessary to restore Caribbean air travel to the required standard, particularly inter-regional travel that has been battered by successive external shocks. The scope of this cooperation envisaged in this MOU is indeed comprehensive, led by an evidence-based analysis of the demand and scope for increased airlift across the Caribbean, initiatives to build a skilled, indigenous workforce to service the sector, and advocacy at government level to help promote inter-regional travel.”
The two new academic programmes were developed in collaboration with Barbados Aircraft and Aviation Services Company (BAASEC), a state-owned enterprise in commercial aviation business development, and CAE Inc., formerly Canadian Aviation Electronics Ltd, one of the world’s leading providers of airline flight training services and flight simulators. Flight training is to be completed in the United States.
Professor Landis said the degrees were built from the ground up with sustainability in mind.
BAASEC CEO Diane Shurland said the new programmes came at an ideal time for Caribbean citizens, given acute job shortages in aviation in the region and further abroad.
“The programme is critically important, as the airlines of our region are not isolated from the ongoing global pilot shortage,” said Shurland, quoting forecasts that there will be a need for more than 250 000 new commercial pilots by 2032. “The UWI is holding fast to its responsibilities to contribute to the development and growth of Caribbean economies by its focus on this highly valuable industry.”
The degree offerings were first announced earlier this month on the Jamaican leg of an inaugural interCaribbean Airways non-stop service between Barbados and Jamaica.
In making that announcement, Dean of Science and Technology at the UWI Dr Jeanese Badenock said the programme would offer “rigorous and analytical” teaching in the fundamentals of business and general management across core subject areas, after which students attend flight school in the US.
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