BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – TEN persons of St. Kitts who applied for employment at the soon-to-be opened Church’s Chicken and were hired, have been selected to travel overseas for training in the business.
The ten persons left the island on Saturday (September 22) for St. Lucia.
According to Country Manager, Nadia La Fond of Sparrow Foods Ltd, the umbrella firm of companies such as Rituals Coffee Shop, Rituals Sushi and Pizza Boys, they have hired about 50 persons to work for their new establishment, Church’s Chicken.
“Out of the 50 persons, these ten were the most outstanding. When we hire people we identify people who have experience in working in a fast food establishment and they will just need some fine tuning. Some of them don’t have experience but were impressive during the interview and we identified that they may have leadership qualities,” she said.
La Fond said the staff will be in St. Lucia for two months of training and will be expected to return to the Federation on November 18.
The persons that left the Federation on Saturday, were Seth Saheli who will be a Manager at Church’s Chicken, Zahmoya Nisbett, Dylan Dias, Nakita George, Cleo Nelson, Marcia Rawlins, Shauntel Wilkin, Filesha Sutton, Simone Hanley and Vanessa Morris.
“We have not yet finalized the area in which they will be working as yet. These ten persons will be multi-trained in all aspects of the business. We have hired a total of 50 persons and they are going to be trained in all aspects. It’s not just about learning the rudiments of the business but also building a team, identifying their leadership qualities and giving them an opportunity to showcase themselves, we’re extremely excited about this new venture,” she said.
SKNVibes met with the ten persons just before they jetted off to St. Lucia at the airport and found they were overall extremely excited and thankful for the opportunity.
Seth Sehali said that it was a great opportunity for him and the others and believes the new establishment will help to boost the economy in St. Kitts.
“It’s another addition to my personal improvement and awareness in the business sector; I have had managerial jobs in the past, and this would be one of a very high caliber and I am going to give it 110%,” he said.
“The opportunity that has been given to me is one that I have to appreciate. I am very proud to represent myself, and staff, and St. Kitts overall, I’m looking forward to this experience.”
Shauntell Wilkin 20, and Nakita George 22 both said it was their first time traveling.
Wilkin said that she was looking forward to the experience as it would be her second jobt to date, while George said that she is excited about the opportunity and has been unemployed for over a year.
Boyds resident, 19-year-old Dylan Dias, who has been laid off from his last employment for several months said that he looked at the opportunity as a blessing.
“I know it’s a blessing. It’s what I’ve always wanted not specifically the traveling part but true I was praying for something like this all the time; God has blessed me. And to see the first time I have to travel is for this, it’s a real blessing.
“I’m gonna just give God thanks and do my best. I’m looking forward to doing what I have to do, make customers and everyone happy,” he said.
La Fond said that while other businesses were closing they are very committed to building St. Kitts and creating jobs.
And Church’s Chicken will officially be opened in December and just in time for National Carnival as its location will be on Central Street, operating from the section of what was TDC’s City Drug Store.
“We offer a premium product at exceptionally good prices, with value for your money; we like to think we give more than what you expect and it’s going to be a dynamic product that will have an indelible impact on St. Kitts,” she said.
