Last October, the Dominica State College signed a Memorandum of Understanding with CICan (Colleges and Institutes Canada), under the Skills to Access Green Economy [SAGE07] project. The focus of the two-year Ecotourism Thematic Partnership (2022-2024) is to research eco-tourism needs in Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, and St. Lucia and to develop five courses to supplement existing tourism programs.
Two representatives from the Division of Tourism & Hospitality Studies at the Dominica State College joined their regional counterparts, Jamaica and Guyana, on a recent study tour to Seneca College and Niagara College. The Canadian consortium of Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC – www.nscc.ca), Niagara College (NC – www.niagaracollege.ca/) and Seneca College (Seneca – www.senecacollege.ca) was delighted to have been selected to implement the SAGE-07 Ecotourism Thematic Partnership. Skills to Access the Green Economy (SAGE) is funded by the Government of Canada and managed by the Colleges and Institutes Canada’s (CICAN) regional program. The overall outcome of all SAGE projects is to strengthen the ability of partner Caribbean training institutions to deliver demand-driven, competency-based training programs and to attract and retain students within the training programs.
The study tour entailed the review of the modules being developed; tours of hotels, breweries, wineries and maple farms in Toronto and Niagara Falls. Ms. Katie Julien, Division Director, and Ms. Lenore Watty, lecturer within the Division, received opportunities to tour both colleges and view the various programs being offered there in comparison to what is offered at the Dominica State College.
The courses identified for development are Introduction to Eco-Tourism; Entrepreneurship for Eco-Tourism; Community Based Eco-Tourism; Blue Economy Eco-Tourism; Principles for Eco-Tourism Tour Guiding; and Green Events. These courses will also be offered as micro-credentials to tourism professionals as well as to students who are pursuing their education in this area.
Upon completion of the modules, the Canadian team will return to their Caribbean partners to facilitate train-the trainers’ sessions for instructors of these short courses. The Eco-tourism courses under review and development are as follows:
- Dominica and Belize who are partnered with Seneca College:
- Introduction to Eco-tourism
- Entrepreneurship for Eco-tourism
- Jamaica and Guyana who are partnered with Niagara College:
- Principles of Eco-tourism Tour Guiding
- Green Events
- Grenada and St. Lucia who are partnered with Nova Scotia Community College:
- Community Based Eco-tourism
- Blue Economy Eco-tourism
