Community Engagement and Educational Programme Launched
August 22, 2024
Government has launched a new initiative aimed at helping young Barbadian men and women acquire much needed social skills for the workforce.
Titled ‘The Community Engagement and Educational Programme’, the initiative was launched August 14th, 2024 at the Valley Resource Centre in St George by the Community Development Department.
Minister of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment, the Honorable Charles Griffith says one of the things that is done in his ministry is to provide training for young people in several areas, including the Employability Programme.
He says this includes a whole range of vocational training to get people started and provide certain qualifications for the world of work.
However Minister Griffith says the ministry has realised that “there is a struggle within the ranks of young people to produce Tamis numbers, and to be able to interact NIS and the banking system.”
He says government is moving to be pro-active to empower our young people .
This as he saluted Sagicor and the Barbados Public Workers Co-operative Credit Union “for investing in the future of Barbados, our young people, since they will be taking care of us down the road.”
He says the programme will travel the length and breadth of Barbados, providing the opportunity for those young people interested in joining the world of work, or starting an account in the banking or credit union systems.
Lauding the initiative, he stressed that “the areas covered under it are absolutely critical for our young people, since many queries of this nature arise at the constituency level.”
“I fully expect that this programme will be welcome within the ranks of young people across Barbados, since in excess of 400 people have just completed Project Dawn and several of them will be interested in self-employment,” Minister Griffith posited.
Acting Chief Community Development Officer, Kay Hinds, disclosed that the first edition of the Community Engagement and Educational Programme, runs from August 15th to October 24th.
She says it starts on Thursday August 15th at the Valley Resource Centre, then it moves to the Holy Innocents Church on August 21st and the Bush Hall Community Centre on August 28th.
The programme will then break for two weeks before continuing in September and October at several locations including community and resource centres across Barbados.
Ms Hinds says “community initiatives and programmes are essential factors in the development of our nation, with several being made available to the average Barbadian over the years.”
She says they allow citizens to access basic opportunities and knowledge necessary for their development.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment, Mrs Joy Adamson, delivered the Welcome Remarks at the launch ceremony, contending that the programme “will be welcomed throughout Barbados from the north to the south.”
The ceremony was also attended by Emmerson Bascombe, Director (Ag), National Sports Council, officials of the Barbados Revenue Department, Sagicor, the NISSS, the Barbados Public Workers Co-op and staff of the Community Development Department.
