17/08/2026
🎶🥁 From Passion to Profession: Recognising the Skills Behind Our National Instrument 🇹🇹
Recently, Senator Professor Emeritus the Honourable Prakash Persad, Minister of Tertiary Education and Skills Training recently met with representatives from UTT - The University of Trinidad and Tobago MIC Institute of Technology, UWI St. Augustine and The National Training Agency (NTA)) for an exciting discussion on strengthening pathways for certification and professional recognition within the steelpan sector.
The conversation explored an important question: How can individuals who have developed years of knowledge, experience and expertise in pan gain qualifications that formally recognise what they can do? 🎓🛠️🥁
There is already important work happening in this space. UTT currently offers a Pan Tuning programme within the Performing Arts, demonstrating how traditional knowledge, technical skill, culture and education can come together.
Also contributing to the conversation was Dr. Mia Gormandy - Benjamin Assistant Professor of Music at UTT, co-founder of the Pastiche Steel Ensemble and the Virtual Steelband. A Trinidad and Tobago native, she has taken the sound of steelpan across the world, performing in Australia, Austria, England, Japan, the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and beyond. Mr Mervyn Taitt of the Fascinators Pan Symphony and Maintenance Manager at UTT, also contributed significantly to these discussions. 🌎🎶
Our steelpan is more than an instrument. It represents innovation, craftsmanship, culture, creativity and opportunity — and the people who dedicate themselves to the art and science of pan deserve pathways for their skills to be recognised, certified and valued. 🇹🇹
🥁 From skill to certification. From tradition to opportunity. From Trinidad and Tobago to the world.
There’s more to come — stay tuned! 👀🎶
