CUBA'S - techlife magazine

From far left, a student in a fourth-period Electricity class at CNCI; CNC machine training on computers provided by
NAIT; Fourth-period Electricity student maréa gámez Lambert is one of a growing number of Cuban women learning
trades; CNCI on the 10th anniversary of the beginning of its project with NAIT.
deficit, opening up the country to a world of economic
possibilities.
“Energy is the base of the development of modern
society,” says Longoria. But he’s mindful of taking
too much credit. “The Energy Revolution is huge. We
were only able to provide a piece of sand in that bigger
picture. But we are really proud.”
back in havana, the officers of MINBAS, one of Cuba’s
most powerful ministries, pay close attention to
progress and achievements at the school.
“One of the key points of the Revolution has
been education for the Cuban people,” says Daysi
Pineda Sánchez. As the Ministry of Basic Industry’s
vice minister, Pineda oversees 120,000 workers and
seven industry-related schools, CNCI among them.
With respect to realizing Cuba’s economic potential,
education has continued to play a central role in the
country. “One of the key focuses of the training at CNCI
is not only to help prepare operators and maintenance
people for industry, but to increase productivity.”
Boosting productivity is a priority of the Cuban
government, and it can happen in two ways. The
first is to realize the better, faster, safer workforce of
Longoria’s aims. The second – especially important
given the government’s announcement last September
of 500,000 state worker layoffs – is to attract more
foreign investors (that is, new employers).
That might seem contradictory to the
nationalization of foreign and domestic privately owned
businesses following the Revolution. But today, the
government considers carefully managed international
partnerships necessary for growth. A good example
sits right down the road from the school: the oil refinery,
currently ramping up as a joint venture with Petróleos
de Venezuela SA. Training that facility’s staff ranks high
amongst the school’s next projects.
“Foreign investment is important to the development
of the Cuban economy,” says Arnoldo Rodríguez
Lubían, specialist with the Ministry of Foreign Trade and
Investment. “With the development of [CNCI] it will be
possible that the workers needed by foreign investors
could be covered with the Cuban workforce. That’s good
not only for Cuba but also for the foreign countries that
invest here.”
“Ten years ago the country and the government were
struggling to find men and women who were prepared
to go out into industry and work,” says Pineda.
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