Basseterre, Saint Kitts, July 2, 2025 (PMO) —Two young citizens of St. Kitts and Nevis, Mr. Dillon Simmonds and Mr. Rodison Jeffers, are set to depart this month, July 2025, for Germany where they will embark on an intensive three-year dual vocational training programme in electronics engineering, an unprecedented opportunity born out of a vision championed by Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Terrance Drew long before he took public office.
Both trainees, age 20, have signed employment contracts with German companies in Sylt and Niebüll and will pursue the prestigious ‘Bachelor Professional’ qualification as electronics technicians for energy and building technology. Under Germany’s renowned dual education system, they will combine paid on-the-job training with advanced technical coursework at the Vocational School of the District of Nordfriesland.
Speaking to the young men, Prime Minister Dr. Drew recounted the origins of the initiative. “I went to Germany, in 2020, just before COVID, and I did a tour. I was not in government, but I said, if I were to get in government, I would like our people to come to Germany because Germany has the best scientific method…I still believe they have the best method in the world.”
He emphasized how this experience will prepare them for leadership in the technical fields. “In Germany, when you finish school, you are proficient. They have a well-oiled youth workforce because of the system that is well, well, well oiled.”
Mr. Simmonds and Mr. Jeffers were selected after a rigorous process coordinated by the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College (CFBC) and the Advanced Vocational Education Centre (AVEC) under a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2024 with the Chamber of Crafts Flensburg, Germany. Over the past year, they successfully completed German language training, earning a B1 certificate of proficiency, and participated in preparatory workshops with German experts who travelled to St. Kitts and Nevis to help equip them for the transition.
Prime Minister Drew encouraged them to embrace the opportunity fully and to serve as ambassadors for their peers.
The successful placement of both Simmonds and Jeffers marks the first cohort in what is intended to be a sustainable, long-term partnership, designed not only to build capacity in priority technical areas but to expand cultural exchange and career pathways for Kittitian and Nevisian youth.
