OAS-sponsored Advanced Training in Upholstery completed
By Joyette Mills-Ward
Business Reporter – SKNVibes.com
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Completed works of the 5 trainees
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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - IN a Quality Assessment/Progress Assessment visit, Mr. Starret Greene, the Organisation of American States [OAS] Resident Representative to St. Kitts and Nevis, announced that five women from the Federation completed an Advanced Training Course in Upholstery yesterday at the Don Farrell’s Upholstery establishment in St. Peter’s.
Greene revealed that no additional funding was needed to facilitate the course and proper planning resulted in the availability of a small surplus from the original project, which officially ended in December 2007.
Addressing the difference in course content between the Advanced Upholstery and the Basic Upholstery programmes, Greene revealed that skills taught at the advanced level would have been more technical, with quality control techniques being introduced.
He felt that the aim of the project was satisfactorily reached, which was to introduce the women/trainees to non-traditional occupations. Greene also expressed pleasure on behalf of the OAS at having been able to sponsor the project.
Mrs. Ingrid Charles-Gumbs, Director of Gender Affairs in the Ministry of Social and Community Development and Gender Affairs, who was instrumental in making the project a reality, expressed her pleasure to be associated with it. Gumbs pointed out that Greene was the main catalyst towards realising the “Livelihood Creation for Women” project. Gumbs said she felt that “investment in women is always well-placed, as it results in better care and education for children and a country in general”. ~~Adz:Right~~
The Course Facilitator, Mr. Don Farrell, indicated that the five participants had expressed genuine enthusiasm to learn more and were able to attend the classes because they are not employed on a full-time basis. The course lasted for four weeks and classes ran from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily, Monday to Friday.
All participants of the original/basic courses (Tiling and Upholstery) were exposed to training by representatives of Small Enterprise Development Unit (SEDU), a department of the local Development Bank, which taught them how to prepare business plans and source start up capital/funding, among other business-related skills.
In December 2007, 19 women completed the first stage of the Upholstery and Tiling Courses that were conducted within the framework of the Livelihood Creation Project. The project was managed by the Ministry of Social and Community Development and Gender Affairs, with substantial input from local facilitators, project coordinators and project consultants. These courses were sponsored by the OAS and form a major component in the technical cooperation project entitled “Livelihood Creation for Women made redundant by the closure of the Sugar Industry”.
Though it was not an official graduation ceremony, and all the participants were not present on the day of the visit, the names of the successful trainees are: Josephine Wilkin, Idetha Edmeade, Eldora Carty, Roberta Rawlins and Damali Davis.
The OAS remains the premier hemispheric body that continues to provide technical assistance to its member States for institutional capacity building and the development of human resources capacity.
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| L-R Eloise Herbert (ZIZ Reporter) and Starret Greene OAS Representative in St. Kitts & Nevis |
Don Farrell Course Facilitator in action at the sewing machine |
L-R Eloise Herbert (ZIZ Reporter) and Mrs Ingrid Charles-Gumbs, Director of Gender Affairs |
