Institute for professional excellence: for the jobs of the future right here, right now

The Institute for Professional Excellence (IPE) was established May 26th 2016 upon initiative of Bureau Telecommunicatie & Post, Aqualectra and UTS. Both SOAB and Chata have joined as well since then.
IPE aims to prepare and re-skill our local workforce to equip them with the skill set needed to tap into the potential of the jobs of the future resulting from the fast changing world catalyzed by global technological developments. The Institute for Professional Excellence is a logical step which stems from one of the important pillars in the major effort to develop Curaçao into a Smart Nation.

IPE Vision

The vision of the Institute for Professional Excellence is to be the preferred innovated top-training provider/solution of Curacao in terms of workforce development for jobs of the future.

IPE Mission

It is IPE’s mission to:

  • Provide high quality training programs for the employees of the IPE participating entities, among others, BT&P, Aqualectra, Chata and other government service providers as well as to the general public, preparing them for the jobs of the future.
  • To benefit from the synergies that can be achieved among the training programs of those service providers for the benefit of the widest possible group in the community.
  • To raise the level of knowledge, skills and professional attitude of Curaçao’s workforce by offering SBO, Undergraduate and Graduate level training programs to re-skill and up-skill Curaçao’s workforce around the following areas*)::
    • Mental elasticity and (complex) problem solving
    • Creativity
    • People skills
    • SMAC skills (Social, Mobile, Analytical and Cloud skills)
    • Interdisciplinary knowledge

*) Taken from “Top Ten Jobs in 2030: Skills you need to know to land the Jobs of the Future” (Crimson Education, 2017)

IPE’s added value to the present workforce development

IPE’s objective is not to compete with the existing educational institutes, but to create a workforce, by offering perspective through retraining and labor market preparation while at the same time connecting the individual with this global process enabling him to get a job or provide independently for his own means of income. IPE doesn’t emphasize traditional but rather specialized areas of education such as: data analysis, cyber security specialization, waste management and data protection. In fact, there is already demand for these specializations – that are considered the jobs of the future – and it is precisely this gap that IPE wants to fill for our people. Jobs in tourism, the fastest growing sector of our economy, will also receive appropriate attention.

For your reference a few examples of jobs of the future: Cyber security Specialist, Coders, Ethical Hackers, Trash Engineer, Alternative Energy Consultant, Medical Mentor, Personal Productivity Person, Personal IoT Security Repair Person, Fiber Optic Technician, Fiber Optic Component Technician, Fiber Optic test, Engineer, Data center Technician, Database Administrator, Software Developers, Web Developer, Computer Systems Analysts, Market Research Analyst, Information Security Analyst.

Focus of the IPE program

Besides the employees of the participating entities in IPE, others with a secondary education (intermediate level education), who require re-skilling due to job loss in the past two to three years, can also be re-educated. This will re-qualify them and increase their chances for paid work through the jobs of the future. Additionally the focus of the IPE program lies on training low skilled workers for low skilled jobs arising from, for example, the renewable energy and waste to energy developments (circular economy jobs). With this their skill sets will be expanded, enabling them to fulfill positions that do not require much specialization in, among others, the production of and the facilities for durable energy and waste-to-energy processes in the so-called circular economy.

IPE starting projects & online portal

IPE started with its first training program in May 2020 on Regenerative Organic Agriculture, Aquaponics and Hydroponics. Courses were led by the University of the West Indies and catered especially to those looking for a new job perspective in modern agriculture and need help getting there. In June IPE followed with the training program on Online teaching.
Visit the IPE online platform to stay up to date with new opportunities and the latest training programs offered: www.ipe.cw
Or learn more in this information video on the first completed Hydroponics program.

(Source: IPE | BT&P publication period: 2020)