BYAC grads find employment, start businesses

A growing number of private sector businesses, government departments and state agencies are stepping up to assist the scores of youngsters who have enrolled in the Barbados Youth Advance Corps (BYAC).

This was outlined by the Director of the BYAC Hally Haynes, as almost 200 participants from the third and fourth cohorts graduated last weekend from the organisation which operates under the aegis of the Ministry of Youth and Community Empowerment.

In a very detailed report at the graduation ceremony staged at the Major Noot Hall, Combermere School, Haynes showered praise on the successful young people who undertook the two-year training and developing programme.

Among the entities providing support to the BYAC included Sandals Resort, Barbados Institute of Management and Productivity (BIMAP), Barbados Cooperative & Credit Union League Ltd (BCCULL), Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology (SJPI), Barbados Community College, Princess Trust International, the National Transformation Initiative, and the Ministry of Labour.

Many of the graduates in the programme are exposed to an array of subject areas, including traditional academics, such as Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) sittings, as well as financial literacy, life skills, soft skills, and on-the-job training.

Haynes said: “The training options offered through the programme are varied, ranging from food preparation and cooking to animation and graphics to carpentry and joinery to photovoltaic design and installation. There is something on offer to suit the desires of all the trainees enrolled in the programme. Outside of the more traditional training courses, trainees also have the option of enrolling in alternative training programmes that offer more of an apprenticeship style training.”

“Trainees who participated in the ALL-Greens Green Spaces programme received the bonus of receiving Instant Kitchen Gardens fully equipped with seedlings as an investment into their entrepreneurial start-ups,” Haynes added, noting that graduate Tenisha Daniel had started her own business from that programme.

Of the Technical Vocational programme, the BYAC director said many trainees were able to gain employment while others started their own businesses.

He said 10 trainees of the third cohort enrolled in BIMAP’s Animation and Food Preparation courses, while nine participants from the fourth cohort pursued a three-unit course of Principles of Microsoft Office, Business Communications, and Introduction to Social Media Marketing.

Hayne also congratulated BYAC graduate Kemel Jeffers-Spooner who received the highest grades in these courses, while simultaneously pursuing a certificate in Photovoltaic Installation Level 1 and Photovoltaic Electrical Installation at the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology and was outstanding in that area.

Praising the entire team of BYAC, the Director also highlighted the efforts of the Ministry of Labour’s Job Start Plus Programme and the Sandals training and employment opportunities provided to several BYAC graduates.

(IMC1)