New Vocational School and Textile Mill Boost Economy

Defend America News ^ | Sgt. Waine D. Haley

[SandRat]

New Vocational School and Textile Mill Boost Economy

School offers training in masonry, carpentry and auto repair.

By U.S. Army Sgt. Waine D. Haley
133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

TIKRIT, Iraq, July 18, 2006 -- The seeds of trade and industry are taking root and springing to life as Coalition Forces and Iraqi leaders dig in and try to bring new life to Iraq’s economy.

Capt. Daniel Cederman, projects officer for the 402nd Civil Affairs Detachment, and Kadhin Nori Abid, Ph.D., expert in vocational education representing the government of Salah Ah Din province, are working together to build a self-sustaining economy in Tikrit and the surrounding areas of Iraq.

One of the many projects they are working on is building an industrial vocational school in the Tikrit area. The school will teach local people skills in different fields of technology, which will help to build and improve Iraq’s economic stability.

The curriculum will educate men and women in multiple occupational fields such as the production of high-tech products, plastic production technology, masonry, carpentry, petroleum equipment maintenance and repair, farm machinery and automotive repair.

This self-supporting educational institution estimates the graduating students will work in jobs ranging from the oilfields in Bayji to textile mills that will produce uniforms for the Iraqi army and police. This will help with local jobs and national oil production, in turn helping the local and national economy.

The school owns a textile mill where many of the graduates will work producing uniforms. The mill is scheduled to begin producing and selling products within the year, with the profits from the mill going to fund the school.

The vocational school’s operation, support and funding are modeled after a system South Korea used in another part of Iraq.

An Iraqi woman works on a computer in the new Internet department at the industrial vocational school, which will open later this year in Tikrit, Iraq. U.S. Army photo

U.S. Army Capt. Daniel Cederman, projects officer for the 402nd Civil Affairs Detachment, and Kadhin Nori Abid, Ph.D., expert in vocational education, look over plans for rebuilding the industrial vocational school in Tikrit, Iraq. U.S. Army photo

The curriculum is being co-sponsored by companies in the United States who provide donations and educate Iraqi instructors.

The school will also have an Internet center so students will have access to different types of educational resources from around the world.

“The computer and internet center is especially important because it will supply people with different learning facets, including scientific education, social education, and historical education,” Abid said. “I feel it’s important this center can educate people how free and democratic countries around the world operate and how (their) people live.”

Abid said the school will employ about 50 instructors and the textile mill will employ 100 workers and 50 administrative personnel.

Cederman explained that the building of a stable economy in Iraq is a key step to Coalition Forces pulling out of Iraq.

“The Coalition Forces will be stepping back from the governing and economics pieces and letting the PRT (Provincial Reconstruction Team) step up and take the advisory roll and now you have a civilian face,” Cederman said. “Now you have the civilian State Department face and no longer the military face; we’ll just be in the background. Eventually we’ll step all the way out of the picture and there will only be a civilian face. Then they will step out of the picture and you’ll only have a fully functional Iraq ... so is the plan.”

[SandRat]

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