Background
The Saint Lucia Coalition of Service Industries (SLCSI) is one of the twelve national service coalitions within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Dominican Republic (CARIFORUM collectively) and also the Caribbean Network of Service Coalitions (CNSC).
The SLCSI was borne out of a drive by Caribbean governments to diversify their respective economies, increase foreign exchange, generate employment and create wealth from the emerging services sector.
In 2001, the CARICOM Heads of Government mandated the formation of the National Services Coalition in each member state to seize new economic opportunities in the services sector. The SLCSI was incorporated as a not-for-profit Business Support Organization in 2005 and officially launched in 2009 as the lead business support organization for Saint Lucia’s services sector, to promote global relationships, and support the development of services in all professional and skilled areas.
The Mission
The Mission of the SLCSIisto facilitate the growth and development of the Saint Lucia services sector, through the adoption of high service standards, fostering activism and education on trade in services issues, and promoting the pursuit of strategies to sustain service providers’ competitiveness in the global marketplace.
New Members of the Board of Directors
In November 2017 at the Annual General Meeting, a new Executive Board of Directors was elected and consists of the following:
Verne Emmanuel – President, Representative & President of the Association of Professional Engineers of Saint Lucia (APESL)
Dr. Lyndell St. Ville – Vice President, Representative & President of the Saint Lucia ICT Association (SLICTA)
Sabrina Odol – Representative of the Hair, Beauty and Spa Association (Saint Lucia)
Keith Millar – Representative of the Association of Management Consultants
Jackie Cherebin-Weekes – Representative of Association of Music Producers and Performers/Creative Industries
Terrance Elliot – Immediate Past President
EsliLafeuillee – Representative of the Department of Commerce, Industry, Investment, Enterprise Development and Consumer Affairs
Yvonne Agard – Executive Director of the SLCSI
Following its launch in 2009, the SLCSI began mobilizing service providers into professional associations which became members of the SLCSI.
The Member Associations of the SLCSI include:
Association of Management Consultants
Saint Lucia ICT Association (SLICTA)
Hair, Beauty and Spa Professional Association (Saint Lucia)
Garage Proprietors Association
Realtors Association (Saint Lucia) Inc
Saint Lucia Institute of Architects (SLIA)
Saint Lucia Association of Professional Photographers
Institute of Construction Saint Lucia
Institute of Surveyors Saint Lucia Inc.
Association of Audio Visual & Films
Association of Professional Engineers of Saint Lucia (APESL)
Institute of Chartered Accountants of Saint Lucia
Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Association of Saint Lucia
St. Lucia Institute of Architects,
Institute of Chartered Accountants of St. Lucia.
St. Lucia Floral Co-operative Society Limited
The new Executive Board of Directors of the SLCSI is dedicated to working with the Department of Commerce, Industry, Investment, Enterprise Development and Consumer Affairs and other private and public sector stakeholders in the implementation of the National Services Policy. The organization remains committed to its mission, which is to facilitate the growth and development of the services sector in Saint Lucia and excited about the prospects that the policy’s implementation has for the advancement of its vision for the sector.
National Services Policy
In December 2017, the SLCSI achieved a milestone when the National Services Policy which had been a work in progress since 2012, was approved by the Cabinet of the Government of Saint Lucia. This National Services Policy encompasses (1) A regulatory and institutional framework; (2) Cooperative mechanism for the development of Services Sector. The policy focuses on removing impediments to growth within the sector, whilst leveraging enablers that can catalyze the expansion of four priority Service Sectors, namely:
Information and Communications Technology (ICT)
Spa and Wellness
Creative Industries
Professional Services
The Ministry of Commerce played a key leadership role in the policy formulation process as the lead Ministry, with oversight of the SLCSI. Therefore, the SLSCSI was very pleased to present its new Executive Board of Directors to the Minister of the Department of Commerce, Industry, Investment, Enterprise Development and Consumer Affairs, Bradly Felix, and the Permanent Secretary, Titus Preville. At the February 6, 2018 meeting, the discussions centered on the implementation of the Action Plan of the newly-approved Services Policy.