Board of Industrial Training graduation: Hinterland youth says training ‘life-saving’
Davin Noel with his certificate
Davin Noel with his certificate

– Tops class in IT

By Shirley Thomas

FROM being an unassuming and introverted lad who dropped out of school to endure a rough life toiling in the “gold bush,” Davin Noel has had his dream of having “a certificate” come true.

He was named the Best Graduating Student in Information Technology and Office Procedure during the graduation exercise of the Board of Industrial Training (BIT), which caters for out-of-school youths and other young people looking to develop a skill.

Noel, 24, received his certificate last Wednesday during the graduation ceremony held at the National Cultural Centre, at which the Minister of Social Protection, Ms. Volda Lawrence, and Chairman of BIT, Mr. Clinton Williams, were among guests making presentations.

Noel, who hails from Kato, Region Eight, left the village at the tender age of four and relocated to Georgetown with his parents, taking up residence in Campbellville and later in Sophia. He attended Campbellville Secondary School, but at that time he did not fall into the category of the high-flyers.

He left school about eight years ago, at age 16, and being of an independent mind, travelled to the gold-mining interior, where he was employed as a labourer, providing physical labour at a mining camp.

“It was strenuous, but okay, because after a while you would get accustomed to it,” he said.

He recalled that his job entailed assisting in lifting heavy engines and the like. He explained that gold-mining work can be kind of nomadic, since, whenever you’re not finding gold, it becomes necessary to move to other locations; and also, whenever someone needs workers, or as he put it in local parlance, when “you get a shout.”

But one thing he found repulsively inherent in the gold-mining business of late was that almost everywhere you turned you hear about camps “taking blows”; and so “everywhere it was difficult to make money,” even though he was prepared to give a hard day’s work for a fair day’s pay.

To make matters worse, a few months before Christmas, he contracted malaria and was forced to give up the job. On recovering, he went back into the mining interior, but this time selling diesel and soft drinks. But given the constant threat of malaria, he considered it dangerous to his health, and returned to the city, where he took up employment as a porter with a private business. But things did not work out, since the payment was always “very small.”

Conceding that probably the odds were against him, he in time grew despondent and introverted. He did not make a lot of friends. In his sober moments, he would reflect, introspect and make projections for the future.

“Personally, I wanted to elevate myself. I began surfing the Internet and was learning things, but I wanted something like a certificate. I started looking at the newspapers, but most of the ads called for CXC subjects and I hadn’t that,” he said.

Then one day Noel’s sister left a card on the table. He looked at it and it read something about youth employment. He called the phone number and learnt about the BIT National Training Project for Youth Employment. He elected to pursue training in Information Technology and Office Procedure, signed up for it and was successful. His base was the Eccles Training Centre, where he spent the entire period of training.

In a presentation, during which he shared with the audience at the graduation his experience about how he fared on the course, Noel recalled that he was shy, introverted and was never one to make friends. On the other hand, everybody seemed busy and just getting about what they had to do. Perhaps it had to do with his past experiences of being shortchanged and taken for granted in his early work life.

Recounting his early experience, Noel told the Sunday Chronicle: “When I first started the course I didn’t know what to expect, and so I kept to myself, and no one wanted to be a partner.”

He said he continued in that vein and he felt lonely and depressed, and it was at a time that was critical to his performance at examinations.
“I can’t make it anymore,” Noel told himself, but purposed in his heart that there had to be some way out.
He looked around the class and found that there was someone somewhat easy going and who tended less towards socialising as well, but had a ready smile. This, he thought, could be his opportunity to exert his strength over someone less vocal. He made a spirited advance towards the colleague, asking him why was he being so withdrawn, adding that it was not good for his health or personality. Surprised, the other person turned and looked towards him. Noel seized the opportunity to engage him in a conversation, and before long they had become friends.

That encounter served them both well, and Noel, for his part, was able to focus better on his class work, to the extent that his grades began to improve dramatically. He continued in that vein, with the result that he emerged ‘Best Graduating Student in Information Technology and Office Procedure.”
That accomplishment was for him a “dream come true,” since during his years of instability, he had always longed to acquire “a certificate” to boost his status.

“For me, the experience was mind-changing as well as life-saving,” he confessed.

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