Scholarships Available For Female Students To Pursue Studies At SALCC

The Department of Infrastructure, Ports and Transport, in collaboration with the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College (SALCC), is offering scholarships and apprenticeships to young women for the 2024/2025 academic year. The programme is administered by the Project Implementation Unit of the Renewable Energy Sector Development Project (RESDP). The RESDP aims at reducing Saint Lucia’s dependence on fossil fuels by conducting geothermal exploration drilling in Belvedere, Belle Plaine and Saltibus to determine the viability of geothermal resource of suitable quality to facilitate the establishment of a geothermal power plant.

The programme, financed by the Canada Clean Energy and Forests Climate Facility, seeks to reduce the gap in employment opportunities for women in the energy sector, by providing scholarships and apprenticeships to Saint Lucian females interested in pursuing studies at the associate degree level in Electrical, Mechanical, Computer Systems and Automotive Engineering and at the certificate level in Electrical Installation, Motor Vehicle Mechanics and Air Conditioning Systems within the Engineering Unit of the SALCC.

A minimum of 13 scholarships will be awarded for the 2024/2025 academic year. Scholarships cover the cost of tuition, a laptop, uniforms, school supplies, tool kit and transportation throughout the duration of the studies. Additionally, the programme provides the opportunity for students to have an extended paid apprenticeship in the energy sector.

“We are pleased to partner with the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College on this important initiative. We see this endeavor as critical to addressing the gender gap in STEM education and in the workplace and hope that by investing in these young women we can make a small but meaningful impact in tackling this issue,” says Ken Aldonza, Project Manager at the Project Implementation Unit of the RESDP.

In 2022, the programme awarded scholarships to 10 young women, its first cohort of recipients. In 2023, 7 scholarships and 3 apprenticeships were awarded. Interested students can only apply for the programme after gaining admission into the Engineering Unit of the SALCC. Interested persons can visit www.salcc.edu.lc for more information.

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