Nevis’ Premier Parry Addresses Group
Charlestown, Nevis
May 07, 2008
In keeping with its policy to train workers in all fields of endeavour on Nevis and to accommodate the demands of the Construction Industry, the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) selected 18 young persons to travel to Trinidad on May 12, 2008, to receive three months of extensive training in Construction and Auto Mechanics, at the Metal Construction Industries (MCI) in Trinidad.
The young persons met with Premier of Nevis Hon. Joseph Parry, Minister of Social Transformation Hon. Hensley Daniel and Minister of Land and Housing Hon. Robelto Hector on Thursday May 01, for an orientation exercise prior to their departure.
Premier Parry expressed contentment over the arrangement for young men and women to be trained, which he said would enhance their business, technical and social prowess.
“In this way these young persons will be able to become supervisors, foremen and eventually contractors. In addition to that, they will be able to operate at a high level in regard to working on some of the projects that we hope to have over the next few years.
“This is only the beginning of the training programmes that we have for young people on the island and we are hoping that it will help to create a pool of very good workers and it will also help to lessen some of the problems we have with delinquency and crime,” Mr. Parry said.
He indicated that, that level of training would foster community leaders and enhance the development of the construction industry.
Minister of Social Transformation Hon. Hensley Daniel, said the NIA sponsored training programme demonstrated the Administration’s commitment to empower local people through skills development and entrepreneurship.
“This is a landmark project. It is a landmark decision, it is the first group of people in such large number to connect in skills and we said in opposition that we are committed to training because whatever happens, the skills that you have cannot be taken from you.
“I have said repeatedly that if we are going to remain on the cutting edge of development, we have to train our young people and it is no easy decision to commit over $150,000 to the training of a group of young men and women.
“I want to underscore the point that while we do this, we are ensuring that we build a social safety net as it were for our young men because with skills they would be empowered, energized and their level of self esteem will be raised and would not feel the need to proceed down the road to crime and violence.” he said.
He also said the NRP-led Administration had embarked on spending the public’s money on education and training and referred to the cost absorbed by the government per person for the course.
Mr. Daniel further stated there were over 100 young persons in pursuit of academic degrees at regional and international colleges and universities that amounted to a high number of academic and technical training funded by the NIA. He indicated that the Administration had embarked on education and training for young people consistent with the demographics of Nevis.
“It is very important for the parents and family members of these young people to see that we are reaching out across the entire country. There are persons selected from every parish in Nevis and so we say to them to make the best use of what is available. We say to them we are depending on them to make this a model course so that other people in Nevis can benefit,” he said.