Cudjoe: Prepare youths for modern world

Kinnesha George-Harry

YOUNG Tobagonians can feel more optimistic of finding employment or even creating their own jobs upon completion of school. This was the consensus as the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs has partnered with the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Division of Sport and Youth Affairs and Global Campaign for Youth Employment (GCYE) to launch the Tobago leg of the Life Skills, Employability, Entrepreneurship, Activism and Patriotism (LEEAP) Programme.

The programme is geared towards advancing the human capital development agenda and to create more opportunities for youths to secure a brighter future.

Speaking at the launch last Tuesday at the penthouse of the Victor E Bruce Financial Complex in Scarborough, Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs and MP for Tobago West Shamfa Cudjoe took a candid approach in her presentation to a roomful of secondary-school students and teachers. She said the programme would provide young people with the requisite skills, knowledge and abilities that would enable them to establish decent livelihoods for themselves.

Cudjoe said teachers need to do more to prepare students for the world of work outside the Tobago environment. She lamented that as society advances, schools have not been keeping pace with the changes.

She said, “As a result, many students are not graduating doers, makers and cutting-edge thinkers that the world needs right now. There has been some improvement over the years as some public and private schools are modernising, having students work in groups, but we must admit that most institutions have not mastered what should be the centrepiece of a contemporary education, and that is entrepreneurship.”

She encouraged teachers to take the practical steps to teach students the importance of computer literacy from early and said it was imperative that students be able to do PowerPoint presentations, rather than wait until they have reached a work environment or university to do so. Students were also urged to aspire to become their own employers and not depend on the government.

Training courses will begin in Tobago three days a week, three hours a day from April 29 in Roxborough and Golden Lane.

The ministry is collaborating with GYCE for a five-year period. GYCE is a consortium of individuals, non-governmental organisations and institutions based in London. The programme was launched in Trinidad on February 8.