KINGSTON, Jamaica – The government of Canada donated an Electric Vehicle Charging Station to the HEART/NSTA Trust Jamaican-German Automotive School (JAGAS).
The Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Station will support the government of Jamaica’s capacity building programme for the electric mobility market in Jamaica. More automotive technicians, through the expansion of the EV Maintenance Training at JAGAS, will now be able to upgrade their skills to work on electric vehicles (EVs).
At the official handover ceremony, High Commissioner of Canada to Jamaica, Emina Tudakovic, said:
“I am delighted that Jamaica has chosen Canada as their preferred partner on this important EV initiative and I am pleased that the charging station, sourced from Xergy Energy, a Canadian company, will complement this initiative and support the capacity building efforts.”
On hand to officially receive the EV charging station was Professor Alvin Wint the HEART/NSTA Trust Board chairman. Professor Wint in his remarks lauded the partnership between Canada and Jamaica and thanked the Canadian High Commission for the gift of the EV Charging station. He welcomed the donation as an opportunity for the HEART/NSTA Trust to pivot away from an internal combustion system to the future which is electric vehicles.
Through the joint initiative between Canada and Jamaica, students from the HEART/NSTA Trust automotive academy and tertiary level engineering students in Jamaica will receive a two-part training on EV Fundamentals and Charging Infrastructure.
“While the COVID-19 pandemic may have delayed the planned delivery of the EV Mechanics “Train-the-Trainers” Course for forty (40) mechanics from HEART/NSTA Trust and other technical institutions in Jamaica, we look forward to continuing the EV partnership and to the expected upskilling opportunities, resulting from this collaboration.” said the High Commissioner.
Canada and Jamaica have been long-standing partners in education, training, development, trade and business. The objective of this initiative is to leverage Canadian successes in the EV sector by partnering with local agencies and institutions to design and implement training programmes for the required skills and infrastructure to meet the needs of the EV industry in Jamaica.
