A vocational school

The young people in Palmyra are to learn a trade. The local association Tadmorna, which means our Palmyra, has started a vocational school where most of the teaching is practical.

The tetrapylon in Palmyra, four groups of columns on a shared base, with desert and hills behind. — The tetrapylon in Palmyra Photo: Bernard Gagnon

The courses last from three months to half a year. About two thirds of the time is spent on practical work. The students work in a workshop, on a building site or in the field. The subjects are masonry, electricity and solar power, horticulture and fruit trees, and administration and office work. The classes are small, and the students are young people from the age of 14.

The girls have half the places on the horticulture course. In the first years the office course is to a large extent reserved for girls.

In a short time Palmyra has gone from about 2,000 to about 40,000 inhabitants. Many houses need to be put in order. The school gives the young people a trade they can use at once.