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Contact: Ministry of Education - Estellita Renee: (758) 468-5263
Monday, December 3, 2007 - An initiative, targeting youth with only two
or three CXC passes — and who are regarded as lacking adequate skills for the
world of work — will be launched here on December 11th, 2007 at the Coco say
Beach Resort, Vieux Fort.
Called “Skills for Inclusive Growth” it is a skills-enhancement project with two
main objectives: the first is to increase employability and career mobility of
unemployed youth and to strengthen the policy for delivering of the training.
Education Officer for Technical and Vocational Training in the Ministry of
Education and Culture says the new project will take a different approach by
concentrating on certification. “The training will be competency based, meaning
we actually look at what the participants can do.” Mrs. Renee notes that
students who left secondary schools without the CXC requirements for jobs in
mainstream areas will have the second chance to learn soft skills as well as
competency skills in specific areas. She added: “For that reason it is highly
hands-on rather than exam based.”
An innovation of the programme is that the training provided in St. Lucia is
also approved by CARICOM. Persons who successfully compete “Skills for Inclusive
Growth” training receive certification that will also be recognised across the
Caribbean and internationally. “We are not training only for St. Lucia but we
are training St. Lucians to standards that are recognised internationally,” Mrs
Renee confirmed.
The project starts with offering training in hospitality but will be expanded to
include agriculture, ICT - information communication technology - and
construction. Training programmes are of nine months duration where participants
will spend three months in the classroom and six months on-the-job for
practical, real-world experiences. At the end of the nine month participants
will be offered career assistance for permanent placement. “One of the real
benefits of Skills for Inclusive Growth”, according to Mrs. Renee. is that it
will develop a core of employees who are more capable, with more relevant skills
that connect more readily to the workplace.
This new project is being funded by the World Bank and the government of St.
Lucia, through the Ministry of Educations and Culture. The long term goal is to
reduce youth unemployment. The training will be conducted through the National
Skills Development Centre (NSDC).
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