The Vieux-Fort Special Education Centre has made a determined effort to prepare its students for the world of work when it enrolled them in the National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ) program in hair dressing.
The centre hopes to take their training to another level by later enrolling them in the Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) program.
The NVQ program is being taught by Jeanie Stephen, owner of JBS School of Cosmetology Inc. Stephen is a trainer, assessor and verifier with the TVET program from the past eight years.
The students undertaking the program are between the ages of 13 to 20. They attend classes twice a week. Among them is a student with a hearing impairment, who has shown keen interest in the program.
According to their teacher Kneeshar Joseph, they are yearning to commence the TVET program.
She added that they are doing their best to ensure that the students are successful in the NVQ program.
“They are doing very well because they enjoy going to the salon. Some of them were not even able to plait and now the can corn row. They have learnt how to blow dry and are now doing shampooing and conditioning. They have also gone into styling, hair braiding, and even pin curls,” she said.
She described her experience with the students as wonderful.
Joseph said her main concern at the moment is funding, adding that they would appreciate if they can get funding to enhance the students’ learning, and purchase some much needed equipment for their classroom.
“We need better classroom conditions,” she said.
In an interview with Stephen, she expressed delight in training the students.
Stephen, who is paid by the Centre, said she did not hesitate in providing her service to the institution when she was asked to do so by a teacher.
According to her, she sees her service to the centre as a meaningful way of giving back to the community.
“I decided to teach them what is being taught at the TVET schools, and so far it has been going good,” she said, adding that the program has taught them a lot because right now they are not just doing hairs.
“We just don’t want to stop with the girls, we want to do the boys as well,” she said, adding that they are also doing barbering.
According to Stephen, when she completes the program with the students she would like to see the centre renamed the Vieux-Fort Special Education and Vocational Centre.