Facilities

Overview
INFOSERV dInstitute of Technology is committed to the task of providing alternate pathways for personal development and institutional strengthening through education and training. The primary focus is on the delivery of professional and tertiary-level training and education in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and related disciplines.

At its inception in 1992, INFOSERV transferred skills in the areas of office productivity tools, computer repairs and programming, primarily to adults in certificate programmes. In response to student demand, a one-year diploma in computer technology and an associate degree was added. The institute sought and obtained official registration as a tertiary institution with the University Council of Jamaica, the body responsible for the accreditation of tertiary institutions in Jamaica.

The operating environment in Jamaica is one in which less than twenty-five percent of students leave the secondary school system with qualifications that satisfy the traditional matriculation requirements for ICT disciplines at Jamaica's three degree-granting universities. In addition, the universities currently service less than thirty percent of qualified individuals with an active interest in pursuing tertiary & professional-level studies. At the same time, the imperatives of globalisation have placed a premium on higher education. Private tertiary institutions like INFOSERV Institute of Technology have sought to address the supply-demand imbalance by providing quality higher education.

One major challenge facing INFOSERV is the demand from students for increasingly higher levels of certification - notably associate and baccalaureate degrees. In response, the institute has embarked on a policy of certification-by-standardized-examinations. Under this scheme, students are prepared for standardized exams from external bodies. These include:

• The College Level Examination Programme (CLEP) and DANTES offered by the College Board from which students can earn college credits that are backed by the American Council on Education (ACE) and are accepted by over 2900 universities and colleges for credit in degree-level studies. Examinations from Excelsior (formerly Regents College) and Thomas Edison (TECEP) are also considered.
  
• CompTIA - A+ and Network+ professional certification exams.
  
• Microsoft professional certifications.

The programme has been working well and students have been receiving certification that is readily recognised internationally. However, pursuit of this strategy requires active partnership and collaboration with a wide cross-section of third party institutions and organizations. It is in this context that the business linkage with the University of Technology is being put in place. As the leading Jamaican university with a technology orientation, the UTECH linkage broadens the scope and relevance of the modules that can be offered under the certification-by-external-examination scheme. It addition, it adds marketing clout and programme acceptance in Jamaica.

INFOSERV Institute of Technology services

• INFOSERV Institute plays a leading role in the delivery of training in Information Technology to adults. It operates from headquarters at Hagley Park Plaza in Kingston and through facilities in St. Catherine, Manchester, St. James, St. Ann and St. Andrew. The institute also deploys notebook computers that function as a mobile lab.
  
  
• INFOSERV Institute of Technology is a Caribbean Institute of Technology centre in partnership with the Government of Jamaica for the training of Computer Programmers. This special programme and facility prepares batches of 48 candidates per 10-month period in programming that is essentially web-technology focussed.
  
  
• The institute plays an ongoing role in the institutional strengthening of corporations -primarily in the area of ICT. Corporate clients include Telecommunications of Jamaica, Colgate Palmolive, Victoria Mutual Building Society, National Commercial Bank, Zenith Insurance Brokers, Television Jamaica, CVM TV, the Jamaica Observer and The Gleaner Company. It conducts training on-site and in its own facilities and customises programmes to address specific customer needs. Under a unique partnering relationship with the College of Insurance and Professional Studies (a registered tertiary institution), INFOSERV Institute of Technology infuses ICT studies in the curriculum that is offered to the insurance sector.
  
  
• INFOSERV Institute of Technology has conducted extensive training for the public sector including the Urban Development Corporation (UDC), the Department of Correctional Services, HEART Trust/NTA, Metropolitan Parks and Markets (MPM), Office of the Prime Minister, JAMPRO, the Metrication Board and the Civil Aviation Authority. The institute was one of three contractors on the Ministry of Education's Internet teacher training exercise. The institute was successful in its bid for an IDB-sponsored contract and it is currently engaged in training over 400 Local Government employees in 8 locations across Jamaica for a massive roll-out of Microsoft Office XP technology.
  
  
• INFOSERV caters to individuals wishing to develop specialist skills, for example, in the use of applications/productivity tools; computer repairs and trouble shooting; networking; electronic project management; electronic accounting, web technologies and, in general, the use of appropriate technology in the quest for international competitiveness. INFOSERV has an established reputation for its delivery of computer training to individuals in day and evening courses and its Diploma in Computer Technology is recognised as a leading hands-on tertiary-level computer-related training programme. The fifteenth intake of students is now completing the diploma.
  
  
• INFOSERV Institute of Technology offers the Associate Degree in Computing and Management that is designed to address the ongoing shortage of middle management personnel who have a sound grasp of fundamental technical issues and an equally substantial understanding of business processes. The intention is that graduates from the programme will leave with a hands-on closeness to the core technologies in the areas of computing and data communications. They will be able to work in and actively supervise technical areas. However, there is a growing awareness in organizations of the need for computing specialists to have a deep understanding of the functional areas of a business. The A. Sc. CM graduate will be versed in the underlying principles of the core disciplines of business.
  
  
• Student intake into diploma and degree programmes is in October and March. Tertiary-level enrolment approximates to 200 per annum. Certificate level enrolment is in excess of 600 per annum.
  
  
• INFOSERV Institute of Technology is CLEP/DANTES National Open Test Centre - Jamaica and is a test centre for the Institute for the Certification of Computing Professionals (ICCP) and Cambridge International Examinations.
  
  
• In the education sector, INFOSERV played a pioneering role in offering computer training in Jamaican schools by establishing turn-key computer studies facilities, incorporating equipment and teachers, in some of the island's most prestigious teaching institutions.
  INFOSERV Institute of Technology continues its involvement at the secondary school level through its highly successful management and implementation of the GCE Computer Studies programme at Campion College. Of even more significance is the fact that the institute operates the FUTUREKIDS franchise in Jamaica. FUTUREKIDS is the world's leading provider of technology-related courseware for children and schools. Under an alliance between FUTUREKIDS and Cambridge International Examinations, INFOSERV Institute of Technology has the exclusive right to administer the Cambridge technology starter awards in Jamaica.
  
  
• With respect to community involvement, INFOSERV Institute of Technology has accepted the request of the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD - Netherlands) to serve as joint training partner for Jamaica with the Jamaica Computer Society Education Foundation. Under this programme a number of community-based projects are provided with ICT-related institutional strengthening and life long skills development. INFOSERV conceptualised and developed the UNTIED PROJECT - United National Technology Initiative Enabling the Disabled. The project has now been transferred formally to the direction and control of the UNTIED NGO. INFOSERV Institute of Technology has committed to hosting an UNTIED resource centre and to play an active role in facilitation of the work of the UNTIED NGO.
  
  
• In response to the woeful deficiencies in people skills in organizations and among individuals, INFOSERV Institute of Technology has established the PeopleSmith Consortium to address the issue through assessment and training initiatives. The group has the exclusive Caribbean rights to the marketing of Extended DISC technology-driven solutions for managing people, teams and organizations. These solutions support the human and organizational development training and consulting that is conducted in corporate and governmental entities in the region.
  

INFOSERV Institute of Technology is a registered tertiary institution with the University Council of Jamaica.

INFOSERV Institute of Technology is National Open Test Centre - Jamaica for CLEP and DANTES.

The INFOSERV GROUP celebrates over 28 years of providing valuable information and quality services.