By Sheria Brathwaite
From honeycomb to hearse, fishing to firefighting, the world of work that awaits Grantley Adams Memorial students when they leave school was on show for them to explore at a career showcase on Wednesday.
The Blackmans, St Joseph school was transformed into a job expo as several professionals in many fields of work showed off their expertise.
Among those in the showcase were The Barbados Fire Service,The Barbados Police Service, Ministry of Agriculture, a funeral home, Barbados National Union of Fisherfolk Organisation, Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute’s building division and motor vehicle engineering technology department, as well as the Barbados Apiculture Association.
The children got to interact with the professionals and students, took part in live demonstrations and even won participation prizes.
Guidance Counsellor and coordinator of the career showcase Shauntée Walters.
What stood out during the exhibit was the manner in which SJPI students interacted with the secondary school students who were a few years their junior. They carried themselves in a professional manner and, in a relatable way, gave the Grantley Adams students insights into their various assignments for their respective courses. Those students also displayed some impressive woodwork pieces that could rival what is seen in retail stores.
Another highlight of the day was a fish boning and cleaning demonstration from the fisherfolk. The children were taught how to debone and clean dolphin and flying fish and a few brave students donned an apron and scaled the fish.
Dimario Blackman showing off his barbering skills on BUT President Rudy Lovell, who teaches at the school.
A large honeycomb was displayed at the beekeeping booth. The mass of hexagonal wax cells wowed the students and teachers and generated a lot of interest.
Guidance counsellor Shauntée Walters who coordinated the event said it was important for the students from forms three to five with some from the junior school to get a sense of the world of work at a young age.
“It’s important for us to ensure that our students are well prepared for life after school and a part of the career showcase is ensuring that the first and third-year students are able to identify particular subjects that they can choose to carry them through the rest of their time here with us and for the students who are in fourth and fifth year, who are going to be starting to think about what it is they want to do, where they want to study next and after they leave school. We want to make sure that they are adequately prepared,” she said.
Brave Amari Ellis (right) wanted to try cleaning a flying fish for the first time. Here he is guided by two experienced fish vendors.
The Blackmans, St Joseph school offers a variety of subjects through which students could obtain a Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ) and a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ).
Walters also pointed out the necessity of having a skill, especially in hard economic times.
Fisherman Wade Gittens watches as Anjon Price tries to set up a hook for long line fishing.
“I think that the importance and the value of skills is not truly recognised in the world, we tend to promote certain types of professions,” she said. “But during the heightened periods of COVID-19 where a lot of persons would have lost their jobs, we found that those persons in human services, the skills and the professions that are always in demand, were able then to perhaps survive better than a lot of the others. So we encourage our students even if they choose to go into traditional academia and traditional jobs to always have a skill as well, because the world that we live in the cost of living is high and it’s good to have an additional source of income.”
sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb
