Jobs project bears fruit

Scores of young people are finding jobs thanks to the Startwise programme.

On Friday, participants in the first cohort of the employability six-month training programme graduated during a ceremony held at the Savannah Beach Club in Hastings Christ Church.

Director of Operations, Celeste Foster explained that the programme was an initiative to help young people and other individuals gain employment globally.

“What you’re seeing here are people who have already reached a particular standard where they’re employable. Some are employable locally and those who would have attained a silver [recognition] are employable globally. We have 15 persons who’ve already been placed,” she said, adding that by month end about 100 people would have completed the programme.

“This morning we are celebrating 58 people who have reached that first level. But we have some persons who we’re giving until the end of the month who just have like one or two more skills to complete. And we expect that 100 persons will complete [the programme] by July 31st.”

She said the graduates acquired skills in specialised fields such as data, marketing, customer success, design and sales.

Startwise is a public/private partnership under the office of the Attorney General and executed in partnership with the National Peace Programme, the Barbados Youth Advance Corps, the Ministry of Labour, the Barbados Community College and the University of the West Indies.