Montserrat Based Company Develops new Property and Construction Training Programme.

Montserrat Based Company Develops new Property and Construction Training Programme
Author

McLaughlins Chartered Surveyors

Release Date

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

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Montserrat is encouraging companies to explore innovative products and services to boost the growth of the economy. After almost twenty years since the volcanic eruption devastated the former capital of Plymouth and the population dropped from 15,000 to 2,000 the island is beginning to regrow.

McLaughlins Chartered Surveyors is a company taking full advantage of this growth and has developed a structured training programme for Property and Construction Professionals. The programme is set up to train graduate Surveyors in all areas of the sector in the first instance prior to extending to other professions.

Based on membership of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the programme will provide mentoring, professional leadership and assessment to those candidates who are wanting to become Professional members.

The programme is the brainchild of Sean McLaughlin who is a Chartered Surveyor from the UK; he recently relocated to Montserrat with his Montserratian wife where he has formed a Caribbean branch of the company. Sean McLaughlin has partnered with local Montserratian Surveyor, Charlesworth Phillip, to establish the branch in Montserrat.

“Training in Valuation Surveying and Building Surveying is only going to prove beneficial to the economy and Region, by undertaking a Professional training programme today will prepare Professionals for the growth in the sector tomorrow. This is most prevalent with the ECCB undertaking the development of a Valuation Association in the region. McLaughlins and Montserrat will be at the forefront of the industry” says Sean McLaughlin Partner at McLaughlins.

McLaughlins has developed the programme encouraging Montserratians, who have left the island to study overseas, to have the opportunity of returning and undergoing training to achieve professional status in their field.

“There is a significant ‘brain drain’ in the industry with an entire generation of graduates succeeding in their degrees but having little or no post degree training opportunities either in Montserrat or the Caribbean Region as a whole. There are very few opportunities in either the private or public sectors for graduates to continue training and we are looking to fill that void” continues McLaughlin.

Initial interest in the programme has been overwhelming with McLaughlins taking on two trainee Surveyors immediately and assisting several others in acquiring their Professional RICS membership. The company plans to develop the programme quickly to encourage participation form Regional candidates and trainees.

“Trainees and graduates in other construction professions such as Engineering and Architecture have also approached us and asked for assistance. Once the programme is established in Surveying we will grow to accommodate these professions” adds McLaughlin.

Montserrat is providing the perfect location to develop training, with a growing economy and plethora of abandoned properties, trainees have an opportunity to develop as experts in the sector unlike anywhere else.

McLaughlin says “This is a fantastic opportunity to have exposure to abandoned and destroyed buildings not possible elsewhere and also due to the unique nature of the island many more factors have to be considered in construction than would be encountered in other locations.”

On-going development of the programme is including the development of a training base in Montserrat to encourage overseas students and trainees to visit the island on a short term basis to study and experience the unique industry the Caribbean offers.

Montserrat is undergoing a huge development programme and the programme is looking to fill the void of non-Montserratian and non-Regional Professionals in the property and construction sector reducing the requirement to employ overseas consultants.

The next step for McLaughlins is to develop links with International Universities and Companies to encourage trainees to join the programme and further enhance their skills in a Caribbean island undergoing a rebirth.

For more information visit www.mclaughlins.ms or contact montserratsurveyor@outlook.com

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