Minister of Finance Camillo Gonsalves during an interview on WEFM’s Issue At Hand program in response to a question from a listener, addressed the concern by many in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, that there are now enough mechanics that specialize in the maintenance and repair of hybrid vehicles.
The question came as the Finance Minister was discussing incentivizing the purchase of more efficient vehicles such as hybrids, by Vincentians.
“Well, the short answer is we don’t have a lot, but the question is which one do you want first? It’s a chicken and egg kind of situation. You don’t have a lot of mechanics who can fix hybrids right now because you don’t have a lot of hybrids, but we are increasing the coursework at the level of the community college, the technical and vocational institution. The Taiwanese have promised to give us some tutors and instructors who can help to qualify people in working with these types of engines. Star Garage, I’ve spoken to the people at the Toyota dealership, they have certified and qualified mechanics to deal with hybrid and electric vehicles in their particular models,” Gonsalves said.
Minister Gonsalves said it is something that will have to be built up over time, saying that if there is a demand for these specialized mechanics, that demand will be met, using the introduction of vehicles with automatic transmissions to the local market as an example.
