UTech, Jamaica, through its Faculty of Science and Sport, and the UTech Open: School of Lifelong Learning and Professional Development in partnership with the National Water Commission (NWC), has graduated the first cohort of Leak Detection Technologists under their Non-Revenue Water (NRW) Management Partnership Programme. The batch of 20 NWC professionals received their completion certificate on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, at a special ceremony held at the university’s Papine Campus.

The training programme forms part of a broader strategic collaboration under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in June 2025 between UTech, Jamaica and the NWC to strengthen Jamaica’s capacity in addressing water loss challenges. The MoU also provides a framework for a series of specialized short courses, including the recently concluded five-week Leak Detection course, aimed at equipping industry professionals with theoretical and practical competencies in Non-Revenue Water Management (NRW) and resource optimization.

Dr. Kevin Brown, President, University of Technology, Jamaica, described the occasion as a milestone in the partnership while emphasising the importance of continuous workforce development. He noted that tackling NRW issues requires both practical field expertise and the integration of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and digital modelling systems:

 “We’re living in a world of rapid change and no longer can any organization have staff members who are not continuously being trained and upskilled,” Dr. Brown stated, adding, “I would expect that in the future, NWC will have a digital twin that is replicating the performance of these assets, predicting fatigue, the life cycle, predicting maintenance cycles, etc.” He stressed that if the nation is going to achieve real sustainability in the water sector, this direction is critical for the natural commodity entity.  

He commended the participants for completing the short course while also thanking the NWC’s leadership team for acknowledging the significance of investing in the upskilling of its employees. He also reaffirmed UTech, Jamaica’s commitment to producing a highly skilled, STEM-driven workforce ready to contribute solutions to the sector and to fill emerging labour gaps.

Professor Samson Omoregie, Dean of the Faculty of Science and Sport, lauded the NWC and UTech, Jamaica teams for their shared vision in harnessing the power of science and technology to address water loss issues.  He expressed confidence in the graduates, noting that their newly acquired skills provide them with “a greater level of efficiency in managing the commodity (water)” for the benefit of our people.

Mr. Kevin Kerr, Acting President, National Water Commission, in his address, underscored the organisational significance of the training initiative:

“This training is one key initiative under our objectives for operational efficiency. We are advancing our islandwide Non-Revenue Water initiative. We will soon commence an audit of all our network islandwide and this cohort is key in this activity,” Mr. Kerr stated.

He noted that the audit will take place over 10 years, with new elements of work to be undertaken after further upskilling of the newly trained leak detection technologists.  “While they have concluded this training, it is not the final training for them. There are other activities in Non-Revenue Water that they will be exposed to,” he said, adding that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is another area of exploration, as the area of study has shown other ways to analyse and assess a network more efficiently. He noted that continuous training is critical as Non-Revenue Water remains a significant issue, driven by leaks, infrastructure challenges, and climate-related impacts.

Dr. Zeyar Min, Lecturer, Division of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Sport, UTech, Jamaica and Project Lead for the Leak Detection Technologies and Methods Short Course said the certification marks a significant academic and national development achievement. Underscoring the scale and urgency of NRW management, Dr. Min stated, “Non-revenue water for Jamaica is 70 percent and at an approximate annual revenue of $40 billion for the National Water Commission, 70% loss means that there is over $80 billion being lost due to water loss.”  He added that a key recommendation emerging from the programme is the need to embed NRW considerations into national infrastructure planning and a shift towards technology-enabled solutions unique to Jamaica’s context.

“There should be someone focused on non-revenue water at the table when infrastructure decisions are being made,” he said. “What we experienced on the ground is that we have to adapt…one of the goals of this programme is not just content delivery but identifying challenges and developing solutions that are applicable to Jamaica and the Caribbean,” he added.

Outlining the programmes trajectory, Dr. Min also stated that the hope is to expand the training programme to regional utility providers. “We hope that our team and our partnership, both from the National Commission and UTech, will expand this training programme and NRW education to an online delivery of these courses, to have teams consult, educate and train utilities in Trinidad and Barbados, who are some of the countries with the biggest NRW problems,” he said. Dr. Min also noted that the second cohort of NWC professionals are already in training and will shortly complete their final assessment.  He added that the programme will eventually be expanded to include participants from both the public and private sectors to enable more citizens to tackle the widespread issue of water loss.

Dr. Sophia McIntosh, Head, UTechOpen reinforced the role of the continuing studies branch of the university in facilitating flexible, industry-driven training solutions that directly respond to national needs. “In Jamaica, there is a productivity gap and a skills deficiency. Initiatives like this demonstrate that our partners are keen on ensuring that their people have the requisite skills for national development…we are not just delivering training, we are building communities and a nation,” she said.

Delivering a testimonial on behalf of the graduates, Mr. Akeem Roberts described the training programme as “transformative.” He referred to his fellow graduates as “frontline defenders of the water network,” while also thanking the NWC and UTech, Jamaica training teams for their dedication and patience in delivering meaningful content over the five-week engagement.

Contact:

Michelle Beckford (Miss)
Corporate Communications Manager
Corporate Communications Unit
University of Technology, Jamaica
237 Old Hope Road, Kingston 6
Tel: (876) 927-1680-8 Ext: 2299
Cell: (876) 818-5893
Email: mbeckford@utech.edu.jm