Mapex gives Lae students new skills

A TECHNICAL training institute in Lae graduated 312 plant and motor vehicle operators on Friday.
They were the first batch of graduates to come out of Mapex Training Institute’s Lae campus, which was established last year.
They also received their vehicle and machine licence.
The skills training programmes were for operators of mobile cranes, excavators, forklifts, dump trucks, graders and drum-rollers.
Director and founder Marcus Kara said people should be given a second chance.
“Institutions should be helping students to find a job. Most education institutions do not do that today,” he said.
“The government should also be providing employment opportunities for people.
“People, who receive skills like this, should forget about crimes and other illegal means of making a living.”
Kara said his school provides basic training for school leavers to help fight crime and other social issues affecting the communities.
The director of the Morobe education reform directorate, Haring Qoreka, thanked the institute for its contribution to the province’s zero dropout policy.
“How can we help everyone to have a good, decent job and make a honest living?” he asked. “The MTI was one of the trading institutions that raised its hands to implement the zero dropout policy.
“The provincial government will be supporting its programmes in the years to come.”
The oldest participant, 65-year-old Barnabas Duk, graduated as a grader operator.
He said such training supported development in rural areas and empowered people to be self-reliant.