ROADTOWN Tortola BVI, January 25th, 2012 – The Government of the Virgin Islands has this week commenced a two-week Job Readiness Seminar which will train youths on the importance of being prepared and ready to perform in today’s workplace.
This training seminar was derived from the Youth Unemployment Register (YUR) which registered close to 500 unemployed youths since its launch in December.
At the opening ceremony on January 23, Acting Premier Honourable Ronnie W. Skelton in his motivational remarks said, “You must prepare yourself for entering the job market. It is not as simple as walking into someone’s office and saying I want a job.”
Honourable Skelton also spoke of the importance of entrepreneurship and trades people in today’s marketplace as they will create jobs in the Territory.
He added, “We must help each other along the way. We are living in difficult times but we are asking you to not give up. Have faith. Have faith in yourself. Have faith that whatever is happening to you today or tomorrow is not a mistake. It is to mould you and lead you in the direction that you should be going and not in the direction that you want to go.”
Minister for Education and Culture Honourable Myron V. Walwyn reflecting on the Virgin Islands legacy of hard work and accomplishment said, “That legacy should give us an appreciation for hard honest work, just as the men and women that have worked cleaning hotel rooms, doing laundry, laying bricks, and essentially building our country, the country that we know so well.”
He continued, “That legacy also means knowing that you have a greater responsibility to give back positively, to advance our islands. We want to ensure that you are ready, willing and able for that responsibility.”
The Minister further highlighted men who came from humble beginnings to achieve greatness today.
“As I told you earlier, I started as a bus boy in a restaurant. Hon. Mark Vanterpool started by selling fruits and vegetables at the back of a car. Clarence Thomas started off as a one-man plumber going from house to house and look at where their businesses are today.”
The minister continued, “Bolo Crabbe was selling records and shoes, Hon. Ronnie W. Skelton and his siblings had to walk from Road Town to Fish Bay to help their father crush rocks, and James Todman was not always a big name contractor, he started from humble beginnings working on someone’s construction site. Young people, it is not how you start, but it is how you finish and today, this is your opportunity to start!”
Acting Director of Youth Affairs and Sports Mr. Patrick Harrigan, Coordinator of the Work Readiness Programme Mrs. Judith Vanterpool and Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education and Culture Dr. Marcia Potter also offered sound words of advice to the attendees.
House of Assembly Members in attendance included the Honourable Alvera Maduro Caines, Honourable Archibald Christian, Honourable Andrew A. Fahie and Honourable Julian Fraser. Also in attendance was the Acting Labour Commission Mrs. Janice Rymer.
The objectives of the Work Readiness Seminar are to match youths with best suited jobs based on their aspirations and personalities, promote good work ethic, understand appropriate work behaviour and teach youths the confidence needed to win any employer.
The training sessions will be facilitated by Mrs. Judith Vanterpool, and Mr. Albert Wheatley. Sessions will cover customer service, team building skills, personality profiling and effective communication between colleagues, supervisors and managers. Groups of 50 youths will meet daily until Friday, February 3rd to cover the training material.
The Ministry of Education and Culture stands committed to creating an environment that encourages young people to become responsible, enlightened and motivated to contribute to national development.
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