BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – OVER 30 young persons from the Federation now have the opportunity to receive free training in Information Technology, thanks to a new ITrepreneurship project that is being piloted.
Participants will be trained in key IT areas such as Microsoft applications, communication skills, entrepreneurial skills development, research and documentation, and web page design. The high-tech initiative is a collaboration of the Organisation of American States (OAS) and the Ministries of Education and Culture.
The project is designed to allow trainees to use Information Communication Technology (ICT) to research and document information on local history and heritage in selected communities. Each will receive a weekly stipend to cover transportation costs, food and other related incidentals.
“The primary objective of ITrepreneurship is to expose more young people in the Federation to the use of ICT…and to further develop and strengthen an entrepreneurship culture that will emerge as the foundation for a new generation of businessmen and women,” said St. Kitts-Nevis OAS Representative Starret Greene.
The diplomat revealed that approximately 70 percent of trainees would be encouraged to start their own businesses. He also expressed his hope that the project would result in the establishment of ICT-related businesses which would operate from the Old Road, St. Pauls and Tabernacle Community Centres.
The OAS has been responsible for the development of several youth-related initiatives, including the Agro/Eco-Tourism Project and the Partnership in Opportunities for Employment Scheme. They also award annual scholarships for students pursuing tertiary-level education.
“This exposure will not only make the country’s youth more competitive in the emerging global labour market, but will also provide the fundamentals for the development of their business acumen. Participants will gain the confidence, security and independence necessary for them to take their places as future captains of industry,” Greene explained.
He appealed to persons to take advantage of the training opportunity. Interested persons can call Fitzroy Wilkin at the National Skills Training Centre (465-2855) or Marlene Phillips at the Ministry of Culture (467-1396).
