IN keeping with its mandate to spur investment, Invest Saint Lucia has lent its support to a youth mentorship initiative organized by local company HR Wise. Called the EDGE Youth Mentorship Program, the not-for-profit program is designed to equip young persons between the ages of 16 and 21, with the information and life skills required to manage their transition from the school environment into the workplace and develop into well rounded citizens.
The EDGE annual 3-week summer workshop, followed by internship opportunities, serves as an induction program for young Saint Lucians about to enter the world of work and is designed to improve knowledge, clarify workplace expectations and build strong work ethic.
The program covers topics such as career planning and development, communication, workplace etiquette, customer excellence, employment essentials, personal brand, interview skills, social media and attitude, entrepreneurship, among others.
Speaking at the formal cheque presentation ceremony, Goretti J Paul, founder and Managing Director of HR Wise, expressed her deep gratitude for Invest Saint Lucia’s continued support and emphasized the value of this innovative exercise, “EDGE serves as a platform for responsible corporate citizens to work together and make a positive impact on the social transformation of our young persons. This important group is key to the future success of our companies and by extension our country.”
Commenting on Invest Saint Lucia’s sponsorship, Marketing Officer Shirlyn Elliodore stated that “For Invest Saint Lucia, the program is a perfect platform to engage young persons on the benefits of youth entrepreneurship. We see this program as a nursery for many young and aspiring business-oriented individuals to grow to appreciate entrepreneurship on a small and global scale as well as the intangible value of career-oriented mandates and goals. In addition, there is the added benefit of having access to a pool of job ready applicants but more importantly participating in engineering the overall success of Saint Lucia’s future business leaders.”