Pictured at the GTA University Centre presentation and awards ceremony at St James are, left to right, Professor Richard Conder, Kyan Frith, Martyn Mann, Alan Solway and David Willey. (Picture by Peter Frankland, 0877177)
LT-GOVERNOR Sir Fabian Malbon gave his support to the work of the GTA University Centre at its presentation and awards ceremony.
More than 100 of its graduating students were recognised during the ceremony, with 60 of them there in person to collect their scrolls.
Sir Fabian, who presented the certificates, said it was sometimes too easy for the island’s community to forget the things it did so well.
‘I think the GTA is one of those special things that happens and in many ways we take it for granted.
‘The GTA is one of the gems in the crown of the Bailiwick.’
His comments come in the same week as the deadline for responses to the Commerce and Employment Department’s review of local work-related learning and training provision.
That review includes considering whether the £435,000 Commerce and Employment contributes to the GTA’s budget represents value for money. This year, the figure represented 35% of its total budget.
Sir Fabian was not the only guest at the event to back the organisation.
Further praise came from Gavin Tradelius, chief executive of Generali Worldwide Insurance, which sponsored the ceremony, and student representative Alan Solway, who spoke on behalf of GTA delegates.
Mr Tradelius said the GTA provided employees of the highest calibre for the local business community, which in today’s global economy was vital.
He said Guernsey was not competing for business on just a domestic level but against competitors from across the world, so it was crucial to have staff with an increased skill set.
Mr Solway, who completed an MSc in corporate governance through the GTA, agreed and said the agency had provided an opportunity for islanders to achieve goals that would never have been possible in the past.
He said it was the envy of financial centres across the world and the best example of something Guernsey had that Jersey could not match.
GTA chief executive Professor Richard Conder said that since its creation in 1996, more than 4,000 programmes had been procured and facilitated through the institution, more than 50,000 students had participated in those courses and in excess of 7,000 examinations had been sat.
He said it was a unique set-up.
‘To the best of our knowledge, there is no other institution like it anywhere else in the world – a tribute to the founder and our supporters throughout Guernsey.
‘The concept of a procurer and facilitator of education and training is a remarkably innovative but essentially simple idea.
‘By embedding within one institution professional and organisational skills, sophisticated networks and an intimate knowledge of Guernsey business, the Bailiwick secures to itself some of the benefits usually associated with the establishment of a small university business school.’
David Willey, deputy vice-chancellor of Bournemouth University, which in 2006 awarded the organisation university centre status, said it was a source of pleasure to the university that it had a centre in the Channel Islands.
‘The value of these programmes is incalculable. It means students are able to benefit without having to travel to the UK.
‘Without this, these qualifications would be denied to the Guernsey workforce.’
Article posted on 26th November, 2009 - 2.30pm
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