March 2 - 8, 2013
NEWS 19
TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
Prison Service extends award scheme – Sylvester Thomas named officer of the year HER Majesty’s Prison Service, last Tuesday (February 12) extended its award scheme and named Sylvester Thomas as officer of the year. This is the the latest initiative to recognise and reward service and dedication among its members and build on the quarterly service recognition that is already in place. Officer Thomas received the most nominations from his peers and was presented with a plaque and cash award by Governor Ric Todd. He is regarded by his colleagues as professional, reliable, motivated and dedicated, qualities that Superintendent of Prisons Mr. Ian Sargent said authorities hope to highlight with the introduction of the Officer of the Year Award. Sargent said: “The introduction of this prestigious honour demonstrates both the Ministry and the Prison Service’s commitment to ensure that members of staff who produce excellent standards of work are recognised and rewarded. “These are the qualities that the management team wishes to encourage in our staff. “We need to ensure we have processes in place to demonstrate the value we place on staff dedication, motivation and professionalism. “The Prison Officer of the Year award allows us to recognise the hard work of prison staff.” Minister of Environment and Home Affairs, Porsha StubbsSmith, who also presented awards to outstanding officers, said: “The introduction of this prestigious honour emphasises the Ministry’s and the prison’s commitment to
ensure that staff who demonstrate ‘excellence in service’ are recognised and duly rewarded.” Governor Todd was pleased with this new initiative and provided sponsorship for the award. He said: “This token of appreciation for Mr Sylvester’s work is made in recognition of his and his colleagues’ sterling efforts on behalf of the entire Turks and Caicos Islands community. “I hope that this cheque for $500 from the Governor’s community fund proves to him that we really appreciate what he and his colleagues do for us.” The criteria for the Prison Officer of the Year is strict and assessments are based on the candidate’s competences, professionalism, and performance of duties as well as the overall impact of the officers’ performance in the core functions of the service to carry out its national directives. Other factors include the individual’s commitment and motivation in executing his or her responsibilities and going beyond the call of duty. The process commences with nominations from staff and is followed by appraisal from prison management and the Ministry. Mr. Perez Lightbourne and Officer Benicile Smith also won awards as part of the existing quarterly staff recognition scheme. They were presented with their certificates by Minister StubbsSmith. Nominations for Officer of the Year are accepted throughout the year.
Charge Anywhere’s mobile payment platform to be deployed in TCI CHARGE Anywhere, a leading provider of award-winning mobile platform services announced during the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, the signing of a distribution agreement with Islandcom Wireless. Marketing and procurement specialist at Islandcom Wireless, Chandra Craigg, said: “Through Charge Anywhere, customers will be able to use their handsets within their business operations to complete credit card transactions by way of an application installed on their smartphone or tablet. “Small business owners will be able to use the app for all POS
transactions while providing in the moment payment services for their customers. “This application completely connects the customer to their banking facilitator and replaces wired credit card terminals. “This partnership will increase productivity within the business community of the Turks and Caicos and connect them to the world.” Charge Anywhere’s mobile payments applications are compliant with the Payment Card Industry Payment Application Data Security Standard (PADSS) and the ComsGate Payment Gateway has been Level 1 PCI DSS certified since 2004.
Governor Todd in conversation with Senior Officer William Dickenson and Officer Justin Francis at the Officer of the Year Ceremony held at HM Prison
Representatives of the CCCJ, Howard Isaacs and Gregory Fletcher, along with TCCC vice president Samuel Forbes
Workshop hosted for Community College lecturers LECTURERS from the Turks and Caicos Community College engaged in a workshop facilitated by administrators of the Council of Community Colleges of Jamaica (CCCJ). About 18 lecturers attended the sessions held at the Providenciales campus on February 28 and March 1, and about 15 attended similar sessions earlier in Grand Turk. CCCJ’s institutional transformation and examination officer Gregory Fletcher said: “As lecturers we have to keep ourselves relevant and current in our field…ever so often we have to refresh ourselves.” The workshop – ‘Testing Objectively and Subjectively,’ involved “the construction of test items in a manner that it reflects the learning that we expect from our students”, explained Fletcher. It also involved discussing ideas and techniques, and offered a platform for professional development and
exchange of information. “The CCCJ’s mandate is to provide continuous training and ensure a high quality of education among the students and faculty particularly the facility, so that high standards can be maintained,” said vice president of the Community College, Samuel Forbes. He added: “Part of being the best is to remain current and improving yourself. A workshop like this can help to refresh yourself and help to improve on your mistakes.” Hoping that the college will progress to university status in the future, Forbes is pleased that they are a part of a bigger body and have access to resources that are already available. CCCJ is responsible for the Bachelors programmes presently being offered by the college in the TCI as well as different levels of educational programmes at several other colleges in the region including
Jamaica, Anguilla and Bahamas. Since 2011 the Community College has established a relation with the CCCJ, offering Bachelors programmes in hospitality, education and business studies. Executive director of the CCCJ, Howard Isaacs, said: “The programmes we offer in Jamaica have merit, we have met the international standards and we felt it necessary to go beyond the boundary to reach out to our neighbours.” He said that the students who have completed their studies in the various programmes can compete anywhere in the world and are easily accepted for the Masters programmes at the University of West Indies and other internationally recognised universities. This workshop was the first of many that the CCCJ intends to facilitate and plans are being made to hold at least two per year to maintain a high quality of education. (KH)