The Sir Arthur Lewis Community College (SALCC) has a new, well equipped electronics workshop. The new workshop, funded by the LUCELEC Trust, was officially opened on August 27, 2015.

The facility will allow the College to introduce more specialized and a wider range of courses in Electronics and Electrical Technology including Video, Audio, Lighting, Security Surveillance and Instrumentation. It will also allow the College to accept more students into the programme.

The LUCELEC Trust, contributed three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000) to refurbish and equip the workshop. LUCELEC’s Managing Director Trevor Louisy says this gift to SALCC and the nation fits in perfectly with the recurring themes in all the initiatives the Company supports - learning, education, excellence, providing opportunities, and laying foundations for the future.

Education Minister Honourable Dr Robert Lewis commended LUCELEC for its unwavering support for education, especially in Science and Technology.  He noted that the power company was the main contributor to the annual National Schools Science & Technology Fair and the annual Student Programme for Innovation in Science and Engineering (SPISE) intended to nurture and groom the next generation of technology entrepreneurs in the Caribbean. 

Bernard Theobalds and Joel Huggins, in whose honour the workshop was named, shared a passion for the electric utility industry, a commitment to hard work, discipline, and excellence.  The modernization of the electric utility industry in the Eastern Caribbean can be credited to their foresight, drive and determination.  

Mr Theobalds is a former Managing Director of LUCELEC whose vision, leadership and perseverance laid the foundation for the country’s current electricity infrastructure. Mr Huggins, a Vincentian by birth, was a highly respected and admired leader in the electric utility industry in the Caribbean who served on the LUCELEC Board of Directors for several years, most recently representing minority shareholder interests from January 2005 until his death in November 2008.

Mr. Theobalds and the widow of Joel Huggins, Clydella Huggins, unveiled a plaque at the entrance to the workshop and cut the ribbon to officially open the facility.