Ameen offers options at career fair

St Augustine MP Khadijah Ameen says she wants to continue doing her part in helping people to maximise their potential.

Speaking to Newsday at a career fair she held on Friday, Ameen said, "One of the things that most young people come to the MP's office for is concerning jobs. There are people with master's degrees whose fields are saturated, and they are working in minimum-paying jobs. What we want is to bring the ideas to young people and to parents about what opportunities exist."

She stressed the importance of people broadening their horizons and not limiting themselves, saying it is vital to be aware of every possibilitye.

The career day, hosted at the Tunapuna Community Centre, Centenary Street, was held under the theme Connections for Success. It featured a number of tertiary-level educational institutions including: UWI; SBCS Global Learning Institute; the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of TT (COSTAATT); SITAL College of Tertiary Education Ltd; and CTS College of Business and Computer Science Ltd, among others. Industries providing guidance on the culinary arts, as well as skills training, were also present, such as the Academy of Baking and Pastry Arts, Electrical and Plumbing and the National Energy Skills Centre (NESC). They offered information and brochures on what types of careers people can go into, as well as the prerequisites and qualifications needed. Many developmental courses were also promoted, to help people boost essential everyday skills such the ability to carry on conversations.

In addition to providing academic guidance and personal development, the event also aimed to help people discover potential job or internship opportunities, as well as enabling a smooth transition into the world of work and practising and enhancing their networking skills.

Ameen said although the event was held in St Augustine, because the venue is so close to the Priority Bus Route, many people from other parts of the country also attended.

She was pleased how well-received the event was, saying, "I must say, the stakeholders, the participants, both the service providers as well as those coming in, have been really warm in their reception."

She added that this great reception had led to requests from other communities to host similar events, which she is more than happy to do.

"In Oropune Gardens area, where we have a lot of young unemployed persons, we want to have barbering and hairdressing, along with entrepreneurship. In the St Augustine south area, where there is a high concentration of agriculture, we want to have things like agro-processing and so on."