27 trainees still to get certificates

FashionTT’s Ultra Bespoke Tailoring programme, hosted by Trinidad-born Savile Row tailor Prof Andrew Ramroop, cost $3.7 million, reported CreativeTT finance manager Antonio Maharaj.

He was speaking last week at a Public Accounts (Enterprises) Committee (PAEC) meeting. The intensive programme trained 27 students, both local and foreign, with locals paying $10,000 and foreigners US$10,000. Maharaj said $3 million went to Ramroop and $775,000 to MIC tailoring studio. PAEC chairman Wade Mark asked if the programme was accredited and CreativeTT chairman Calvin Bijou replied it was not. Trade Ministry Permanent Secretary Frances Seignoret said the process for certification was under way and she was hoping it would be finished at the earliest opportunity.

Mark asked if it was normal for taxpayers’ moneyto be spent on a programme with no certification, and Bijou replied it was unfortunate that the certification process was not in place at the time of the showcasing ceremony.

Bijou also said FashionTT has created a value chain investment programme which has matriculated local designers from being greenhorns to being ready for global value chain investment programme. He explained these designers were not being operationally efficient or achieving their revenue targets.

“And some of them are now proudly boasting of being able to go into the Caricom markets and even some of the extra-regional markets.” He said six designers were now “atop the pyramid” and their products were exportable.

PAEC vice chairman Dr Tim Gopeesingh asked how many jobs CreativeTT has created over the last three years but Bijou said he was unable to quantify, but the company has been able to build capacity in creatives and through FashionTT, for example, designers have become far more independent and autonomous.

“We may not have great thus far in adding new jobs, but we certainly have created greater sustainability and economic dependence among those creatives who have adhered to the capacity-building that we are doing.” Gopeesingh asked, with the surfeit of talent in the music industry, why CreativeTT had not been able to capture this and export it.

Bijou said music was a far more complex space than fashion, explaining that big music companies like Apple and Spotify still classify local music under “world brand music” and there was no category for soca. He said there was a need to define the music product so people know what soca is and lift “brand TT.”

“They won’t buy it if they don’t know it outside of TT.” McNicol Stephenson said one of the challenges of the music industry is that artistes have been basically doing it on their own for 100 years. She said the company has sought to assist with the artist portfolio development programme and the live music district to showcase artistes.

Bijou said to promote CreativeTT there needs to be collaboration with the Tourism Ministry and other agencies to promote “brand TT” for greater efficiency and spending. He said there is no specific initiative but it is at a dialogue stage.