President Abinader Opens Infotep Center in San Pedro de Macorís With Capacity for 3,800 People a Year

The government has opened a technical training center in San Pedro de Macorís that already has 176 students enrolled. Here is what it offers and who it will serve.

President Luis Abinader led the inauguration on Saturday of a center of the Instituto de Formación Técnico Profesional (Infotep) in San Pedro de Macorís. The facility is located on Eduardo Mañón Street, in the Santa Fe sector, and is intended for young people and workers in this province and other communities in the Eastern region.

The project was built with an investment of more than RD$140 million. It has 14 equipped workshops offering training in welding, electronics, industrial mechanics, and culinary arts, among other fields. According to official information, the center can serve up to 460 participants per session and about 3,800 per year.

During the inauguration, Abinader said that, in a province that hosts the country's second free trade zone, not having an Infotep was nonsensical. He said technical education is essential for better wages and job opportunities, and that the new center will help attract higher-value industries, such as the assembly of medical devices and electronic equipment.

The president also noted that since 2020, the Infotep institute network has grown almost tenfold, from eight centers to a much larger network. He said demand for this facility had come for years from business leaders, deputies, senators, and other productive sectors.

Abinader invited free trade zone companies to form direct public-private partnerships with Infotep. He reported that, after only three weeks of operation, the center already has 176 people enrolled.

Infotep's director general, Maira Morla Pineda, explained that the center aims to bring technical training closer to communities and to help companies in the region have trained staff. The offering includes more than 20 occupations, such as industrial sewing, computing, electrical work, refrigeration, automotive mechanics, and renewable energy. Weekend training will also be available for free trade zone employees who cannot attend during work hours.

In addition to residents of San Pedro de Macorís, the center will serve people from Guayacanes, Ramón Santana, Consuelo, Quisqueya, San José de los Llanos, El Puerto, and Gautier.