The T A Marryshow Community College (TAMCC) in Grenada is the beneficiary of an initiative that resulted in the establishment of a Regional Pilot Training Centre for low-Global Warming Potential (GWP), flammable refrigerant technology.
The training centre is part of a regional project implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) with funding for this project provided by the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal protocol on Substances that Depleted the Ozone Layer.
This facility was officially launched by the National Ozone Unit of the Energy Division of Ministry of Finance in collaboration with UNIDO, during a ribbon cutting ceremony held at TAMCC on Friday, 25 August 2017.
The symbolic cutting of the ribbon was done by Petra Charles-Joseph, Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Energy, accompanied by Ozunimi Iti, representing UNIDO, and Marlene Findlay, Dean of the School of Arts and Applied Technology (SAAT) at TAMCC. Also present at the ceremony were John Auguste, Senior Energy Officer and Leslie Smith, National Ozone Officer, Ministry of Finance.
This centre has been equipped with state of the art tools and equipment specifically designed to handle flammable refrigerants. The total cost of the equipment is in excess of EC $150,000 and include recovery machines, vacuum pumps, refrigerant identifiers, electronics scales and leak detectors, charging stations, welding machines, multi-meters and several other tools and consumable items required for good refrigeration practices. The training centre will benefit not only local technicians but also the technicians in the region, who will be able to host training sessions for their student/trainees.
The ceremony also formed part of the closing exercises of a 4-day Regional Train-the-Trainers workshop in low-GWP flammable refrigerants that was held for refrigeration and air conditioning technicians of 5 Caribbean countries namely: Bahamas, St Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname and Grenada.
