"La Escuela" - National Centre for Industrial Certification
Nestled about 45 minutes from Cienfuegos, in a desolate place today called Castillo de Jagua, lies a technical institute, that with the help of the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) in Edmonton and the Government of Canada was able to become a leading institute in Cuba certifying thousands of industrial workers to international standards.
NAIT had been involved in Cuba for several years, when its president visited in the late 1990’s and decided that Cuba was territory waiting to be supported.
Cienfuegos is an important industrial city, particularly in the areas of sugar and energy and known as the "Pearl of the South of Cuba.” Open to the sea and situated right on Cuba's largest natural bay, the whole city enjoys an enviable coastal environment being declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2005, citing Cienfuegos as the best extant example of early 19th century Spanish Enlightenment implementation in urban planning.
In the early 2000’s, NAIT visited Cienfuegos, saw the empty training institute in Castillo de Jagua (more to come on this area) and started to work with the Ministry of Basic Industries in Cuba, which happened to be founded by Che Guevara - it later changed its name to the Ministry of Energy and Mines. And that is how the Centro Nacional de la Certificacion Industrial (CNCI) or as we all had come to know it as ‘la escuela’ was built (National Centre for Industrial Certification).
The school developed a variety of trades related programs such as Electrical, Machinist and Millwright, and so on and that increased over the years to include other trade and vocational related programs. Instructional facilities were built with donated equipment that came from NAIT and Canada, and NAIT instructors and staff helped to build the capacity of Cuban instructors and staff.
It was really considered a stellar institute, always highlighted as a star project in the international
development landscape by different sources in La Habana and the Government of Canada. For me it was an important project that led to important results in Cuba and will be forever grateful for all the opportunities it later offered me.
It began a journey over a
period of 6 years where I really got to know the insides of Cuban political and
social realities. The precursor to what
was to come. The foreshadowing of events
to unfold.
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