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From:TheBahamasWeekly.com Bahamas Information Services Updates
Freeport, Grand Bahama - As the first cohort of trainees in Grand Bahama, 135 young people graduated from the National Training Agency’s Four-Week Mandatory Workforce Preparatory Programme, August 18, in ceremonies at the Grand Lucayan Hotel. The Graduation Ceremony took place five months after the training agency’s opening on Grand Bahama. Giving remarks, the Hon. Shane Gibson, Minister of Labour and National Insurance and Minister of the Public Service, told the graduates they had reason to be proud, having completed skills training that included internships with various companies, and also received Customer Service ‘in class’ instruction for City and Guilds certification.
The programme, said the Minister, was specifically designed to counteract the unacceptably high rate of unemployment among youth, and as such, in its role as a provider of training the NTA was designed as a safety net to catch those who may have fallen through the academic cracks of formal schooling and were unable to achieve substantial certification, resulting in unemployment or underemployment. Said the Minister: “This programme has opened new and promising doors for you. As you, graduates, continue on your journey we encourage you to take advantage of job employment opportunities as well as to take up your rightful roles as leaders in your various communities.”
To further encourage the students, Minister Gibson told them “heed the words of the former Prime Minister of Britain, Sir Winston Churchill who once said, ‘success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.’ With that said, I encourage you to be courageous in your pursuits for excellence on your journey to success.” The National Training Agency will shortly register applicants for its second cycle of training, which is scheduled to begin later this year. The Minister said he was very pleased with its work in Grand Bahama – preparing young people for gainful employment and building meaningful relationships with industry partners in Grand Bahama who provided 8-10 weeks of internship skills training.
He also announced that the Agency has been invited by Minister of Education, Science and Technology, the Hon. Jerome Fitzgerald to produce a 20-hour "Job Readiness" component for the new high school diploma that will be implemented in the public high schools. Minister Gibson thanked the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Labour and National Insurance and the Agency’s Executive Director Ms. Agatha Marcelle for the leadership of their teams. He also thanked training providers for collaborating so readily with NTA, and most especially, the trainees, who are now role models in their communities.
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