BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE success of last year’s inaugural Savings and Investment Course on the island of Nevis has prepared the platform for the 10-week financial course to be offered again as a way to empower citizens to make prudent fiscal decisions.
The course was organized through the collaborative efforts of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), University of the West Indies (UWI) Open Campus and the Ministry of Education, along with assistance from local financial institutions. The course will begin on September 9 and will be held every Wednesday from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Charlestown Secondary School.
According to ECCB Deputy Director Corporate Communications Sybil Welsh, the course is designed to help persons develop basic budgeting skills, improve their money management and learn the fundamentals of investing. She added that savings, wealth creation and a basic knowledge of the regulation of financial markets would be taught at the programme.
“This is crucial because what persons are recognizing is that it is not good enough to work for money, but you also have to let your money work for you. If you lose your job but have some sort of investment that is bringing in an income, it might not cover all your expenses but it would at least give you a living income,” Welsh told SKNVibes in an exclusive interview.
Welsh said the thrust of the course is to ensure participants get a “practical knowledge” of the financial products available to them. She added that the ECCB has a responsibility to empower citizens by enabling them to forge their own path to financial success.
“The Central Bank recognized that the only way to enrich a society is through knowledge and information. So, outside of our mandate to financial system regulation and making sure we have a stable currency, this is core to our mandate of making sure we empower the citizens of the region,” the ECCB official informed.
The Savings and Investment Course was first introduced to the Federation in 2004 after being piloted successfully in Montserrat the year before. It has graduated almost 400 students in the Federation alone, and has spread across to all of the member territories of the ECCB. Last year’s course in Nevis had 30 participants, and this year’s is expected to have an equal number.
A nominal fee of EC$ 100 is charged for the course, and according to Welsh, participants would be exposed to a wealth of information from roughly nine expert facilitators.
Registration can be completed at the University Centre Open Campus. For further information please contact Mr Telbert Glasgow at 469-0389.
