EVERYONE was in celebratory mood on Tuesday as lecturers, staff members, directors and past and present students of the Linden Technical Institute (LTI) were joined by regional officials and stakeholders to recognise and celebrate the institution’s growth and development over the last 60 years.

Under the theme, ‘Providing wealth through the acquisition of skills’, the official ceremony marking the 60th Anniversary, saw a packed-to-capacity audience converge on the institute’s auditorium to reflect on what was, while visions of what must be were part of the programme which featured several cultural performances.
LTI was established in 1958 by the then Demerara Bauxite Company Limited (DEMBA) as the DEMBA Training Centre, with 12 intakes (apprentices) to be trained in primarily vocational skills needed in the bauxite plant.

Current Principal (ag), Ms Shurla Brotherson noted that since its establishment, the school had gone through a number of managerial and operational changes, some of which have been in response to the changing fortunes of the bauxite industry.
But in spite of those changes, she said, the institution’s primary focus is to train and mould the minds of Guyana’s future workforce.
“We are thankful for the legacy that we have inherited, and promise to leave an even richer one for the generations to come,” Ms Brotherson said. Linden Mayor, Ms Waneka Arrindell, noted that in 60 years, the institution has done pretty well for itself.
“Linden Technical Institute is where the world is going,” Arrindell said, adding: “These skills are what you need to advance; I want to encourage you students to dedicate your time.”

HOMEGROWN AND GOOD
Former Chairman of the LTI Board and Guymine Training Manager, Mr Gordon Gomes said that just about every conceivable skill needed in the bauxite industry was developed right in Linden at the very LTI.
These include skills in the fields of machinery, welding, mechanics, carpentry, joinery, electrical installation and maintenance and electronics.
“I have, however, been fortunate to see graduates from this institution in all parts of this and other countries; in the Caribbean and North America,” he said.
“So we have provided skills for the country and for the world during the last 60 years, and we must congratulate ourselves.”

But while it is good to reflect on the positives, Gomes said, what is needed more than ever is to put forth visions that will allow the institute to progress another 60 years, by equipping students with employable skills that are not part of the curriculum.
And among these employable skills of which he speaks are discipline, good work ethics, importance of punctuality, importance of occupational health and safety, development of interpersonal relations, communication as well as problem-solving and reasoning skills.
He also encouraged lecturers to conduct more field trips; to visit more industries and encourage successful past students to return to the institution and engage the current crop of students.

Noting also that more emphasis needs to be placed on workshops, Gomes said: “We need to have a culture to promote this institution not as a school, but as a post-secondary educational institution; more of a bridge between trainee status and university.”

MEMORY LANE

Several past intakes of the LTI had the opportunity of reflecting on either their two- or four-year stint at the institution. Seventy-five-year-old Mr Desmond Bacchus was one of the 12 apprentices of the first intake into the institution in 1958.
He said in his emotional short speech that he is happy to be amongst the trailblazers.
“I am glad that I was able to blaze the trail for you students,” Mr Bacchus said, adding:
“It wasn’t easy going; we just had two lecturers who used to take us through the programme. Nevertheless, we got through.” He encouraged the present batch of students to love what they do and to pursue more than one trade in the event one doesn’t work out.
Member of Parliament Jermaine Figueira reflected on the two years he spent at the Institution in an effort to learn a trade. Words are inadequate, he said, to describe how profoundly the institution had moulded him into the person he is today.
“During my two years’ experience at this prestigious institution, it imparted knowledge, real-life experiences, discipline and long-life friendships, which were indeed a privilege,” he said.

Member of Parliament Audwin Rutherford also reflected on the more than two decades he spent at the institution as a staff member, which also moulded him into the person he is today. He said that the institution was a trailblazer in sports, and contributed significantly in this regard to making Linden the close-knit and resilient community it is today.
The creative skills he garnered were also noted by the MP, as he spoke about the penchant among students to make gifts for graduation rather than buy them.
Reflections also came from students of the 15th, 22nd and 23rd batches. Members of the 22nd batch donated a concrete pathway to the school which was also commissioned at the ceremony.

The pathway, which was previously grass-strewn, now adds to the aesthetics of the school compound.

The name DEMBA Training Centre was changed in the 1970s to Guymine Technical Training Complex, which was later renamed the Linmine Technical Training Complex. Following that it was called the BIDCO Technical Training Complex, and in 1996 when it was transferred from the bauxite company to the Ministry of Education, the name was changed to the Linden Technical Institute.

The 60th Anniversary celebration began in April, and will conclude on May 28, 2019 with an appreciation ceremony for staff members.
In the months ahead, there will be a march, cook-out and games day, talent festival, mounting of a billboard and the repainting and upgrading of the institution.