Twenty-five students from across the Caribbean, including four from the British Virgin Islands, have enrolled for a web-based training in “Introduction to Disaster Management” under the auspices of the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College.
The three-month course will commence on Wednesday 19 January and is being offered by the College in collaboration with the BVI Government’s Department of Disaster Management on behalf of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency.
Major subject areas to be covered include an introduction to natural, technical, civil and environmental hazards; various methods of managing disaster events, including mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery and incident management systems; and the roles and responsibilities of Government, business and non-governmental organizations.
The course forms part of the current Disaster Management Programme offered by HLSCC. The College will be utilizing its e-learning facilities to provide access to the students, who are mainly from 18 countries around region, via the internet. The sessions will involve, variously, online presentations, moderated discussions, assignments and examinations.
Facilitator is Deputy Director of the Department of Disaster Management Zebalon McLean, while course coordinator for HLSCC is Deputy Director of the College’s Virgin Gorda Centre Steve Lennard.
HLSCC President Dr. Karl Dawson said the College is pleased to join with the Department of Disaster Management to help meet the need for training in this critical area throughout the region.
HLSCC introduced the online offering in 2007 with support from the British Government’s Department for International Development, CDEMA and the Virgin Islands Department of Disaster Management.
The first course lasted five months and was successfully completed by 12 of the 16 students who enrolled from Belize, Barbados, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, British Virgin Islands, Jamaica, Montserrat, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks and Caicos Islands.
The current offering is a continuation of this initiative, with the overall aim of having more persons in the region certified in disaster management. By the end of the course, the students will receive a Certificate of Completion, which will carry three HLSCC credits toward the Certificate or Associate Degree Programme in Disaster Management offered at the College.
