YES secures win for participants

Participants in the Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme (YES) Development Training Program will soon be certified by the University of the West Indies (UWI) Open Campus.

This announcement was made by Joy Adamson, Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Community Empowerment during their graduation ceremony on Saturday evening.

Some 87 participants from 2023 to 2025 received their certificates during the event hosted at Sandals Royal Barbados. The theme was, Create! Innovate! Make it Happen! – Striving for Excellence, Demonstrating Resilience.

Adamson revealed, “YES has established relationships with the University of the West Indies Global Campus to undertake what we are calling a credentialing exercise where the entire training program will be assessed to ensure that the standards and robustness of the curriculum are consistent with UWI institutional standards.”

She said the initiative will also provide clients with a designation that is regionally and internationally recognised as it will now carry the UWI logo.

“There will also be a strategic effort undertaken within our training thrust where community-based training in entrepreneurship and business modelling will be targeted to all corners of the island, and this effort will be operationalised within the upcoming financial year utilising the business labs methodology.”

The programme aims to create a new generation of entrepreneurs by providing a network of technical and financial support while fostering a supportive culture.

Currently, entrepreneurship sensitisation training sessions are being delivered at primary, secondary, and tertiary institutions under YES Juniors and outreach programs.

The department intends to continue partnering with business development organisations within the entrepreneurship ecosystem to collaborate on projects aimed at strengthening the micro, small, and medium enterprises sectors. This includes hosting themed market days and pop-up events called Youth City.

“YES will focus on the establishment of new and exciting access to markets for the coming year and will continue to develop partnerships within the hospitality sector,” Adamson noted.

Providing words of encouragement for the graduands was past participant and entrepreneur Shamelle Rice, who advised, “Be willing to give whatever you commit to your all. You don’t get any brownie points for dimming your light and playing small and pleasing people.”

Also sharing the benefits of being involved in the program was participant Jeremiah Cadogan.

The owner of Furious Karting said, “I would have learned to plan things in advance, set goals for myself, set goals for the business. I learned to document things so that everything flows smoothly.”

The inaugural Entrepreneurial Development Training Program Stalwarts Award was presented to Clive White in recognition of his over two decades of mentorship and facilitation of business labs.

Special awards were also presented by the Minister of Youth, Sports, and Community Empowerment, Charles Griffith, to the Most Outstanding Business Labs Chief Executive Officers from the various cohorts. The recipients included Aleisha Bourne, Keisha Drakes, Vanessa Gaskin, and Damian Sobers.

Additionally, prizes were awarded to the Best Business Labs Teams. For their dedicated service, members of the YES team received surprise gifts from their manager, Ryan Moseley. (STT)