PRESS RELEASE – OVER the past five weeks, career guidance for the island’s secondary and tertiary level students has received priority focus at CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank. The bank’s approach has been to expose students to career counselling and mentorship geared towards developing a global mindset to be able to compete in today’s job market.
Recently as St. Lucia joined the rest of the world in celebrating International Women’s Day, Thursday 08 March 2018, fourth and fifth form female students were hosted by the banks’ female leadership team – who span across various divisions of the organization.
The forum served both as an avenue for dialogue between the students and female leaders on career opportunities within the banking industry as well as a mentorship exercise, where the critical areas of work ethic, service excellence and a professional development mindset for women in the workplace, were discussed.
On Friday 16 March 2018, the bank provided support to Sir Arthur Lewis Community College (SALCC) for the hosting of career counselling to final year students. The CIBC First Caribbean lecture team comprised Ms Elaine Borton – Human Resources Officer and Ms Portia Paul, who is currently undertaking an internship in the bank’s Human Resources Unit.
The dialogue with the students centred on the extensive range of careers available in the banking industry, how to prepare for an interview and professionalism in the workplace. Ms Paul also shared her experience as part of the bank’s internship programme. This was bolstered with the banks’ participation in the college’s career fair held on Wednesday 21 March 2018. Following on the success of these collaborations, the SALCC has requested a second encounter later in April 2018, where more students will be exposed to career counselling,
Over the course of two days from 27 to 28 March 2018, the bank also took the opportunity to support the Ministry of Education, District II Unit, during their hosting of a district career exhibition held under the theme “The Future Ready Student…Plan…Prepare…Achieve!”
The exhibition, which highlighted career and entrepreneurial opportunities in various industries, was geared at educating students from the island’s various secondary schools, on the vast array of opportunities they can pursue beyond secondary school, particularly in diverse and non-traditional disciplines. The exhibition’s aim was to promote and encourage empowerment, perseverance and success among youth, instilling in them a drive to strive for personal achievement.