Tertiary students value Carib Cement’s work-exposure programme

Student participants in the recently concluded Caribbean Cement Company Limited work-exposure programme, CEMEX Campus 2021, have lauded the initiative, which sought to acquaint them with the cement industry.

For the past five weeks, the 42 final-year students from The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, and the University of Technology (UTech), Jamaica, were exposed virtually to cutting-edge research and development in the cement industry, state-of-the-art technology, and the operations of a multinational company.

Leaders and technical experts of Caribbean Cement Company delivered presentations specific to their areas and provided coaching to the students.

Final-year student of UWI, Mona, Lesmar Murray, who is pursuing a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering, described the programme as eye-opening, sharing that she was able to garner hands-on experience about the cement-making process.

“Right now, I am doing my final project, which focuses on high-performance concrete. During the programme, I was given some great and useful information, which has guided me along the way in the project,” she said.

Murray was speaking following a brief ceremony to hand over certificates to students who participated in the programme at the Carib Cement’s Sports Club in Rockfort, Kingston, on May 19.

The 22-year-old said she was “definitely passionate about” working in the industry.

“It is from this staging of the virtual CEMEX Campus that I also gathered information on how to further my studies in the area of concrete, and it is something I will be looking into,” she pointed out.

Murray indicated that she would also recommend other engineering students to participate because of the wealth of knowledge that was made available.

Final-year UTECH student Shaneque Edwards, who is pursuing a bachelor of engineering in chemical engineering, said the programme taught her both the technical and non-technical aspects of running a cement business.