Forty-five persons received certificates last Tuesday (September 20) for their recent participation in a Taiwan-funded Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop. The training was done in the following courses: Understanding Effective Training, Business Coaching, Accounting & Financial Record-keeping, Neuro Marketing, and Digital Technologies & E –Commerce.
The certificate presentation ceremony was held at Union Orchid Centre.
Last July, the Upskilling Academy Jennès Programme collaborated with the Small Business Development Centre (SBDC) in the Ministry of Commerce, Manufacturing, Business Development, Cooperatives and Consumer Affairs to host the first in a series of trainers’ training workshops held on July 21, 26, 27, 28 and 29.
Participants came from the Small Business Development Centre, Department of Cooperatives, BelFund, Saint Lucia Development Bank, Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, Saint Lucia Manufacturers Association, Saint Lucian Fashion Council, and Saint Lucia Bureau of Standards. Some participants were also recommended by the Castries North Youth Committee. The trainers were from Saint Lucia with various business backgrounds.
Thirty-two participants took Understanding Effective Training, 18 participants took Business Coaching, 32 participants took Accounting & Financial Record-keeping, 22 participants took Neuro Marketing, and 23 participants took Digital Technologies & E–Commerce training. Seven participants took five courses.
At Tuesday’s certificate presentation ceremony, His Excellency Peter Chia-yen Chen, Taiwan’s Ambassador to Saint Lucia, congratulated the participants while expressing gratitude to the various partners who made the initiative possible.
“Undoubtedly, today is a very important step in your career achievement, and I applaud you for reaching this far,” Ambassador Chen told the participants. “I would also like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to Hon. Minister Emma Hippolyte for her leadership and all the support, and to colleagues from your Ministry and the Taiwan Technical Mission for dedicating so much to make this happen. I think this is very instrumental for building up the capacity and developing business and industry in Saint Lucia. Only when the ultimate goal is clear with enough resources and support our project can be realized smoothly and successfully.”
Meanwhile, Hon. Emma Hippolyte, Minister for Commerce, Manufacturing, Business Development, Cooperatives and Consumer Affairs, thanked the Government of Taiwan for continuing to be a supportive friend to Saint Lucia. She said initiatives like the Training of Trainers workshop are critical to the nation’s economic growth and development, adding that the initiative was timely.
“This is particularly so as we endeavour to build capacity in various business skills sets in participants of the Taiwanese-funded Youth and Women Empowerment Programme,” Hon. Hippolyte said. “Research provided by the Organisation of Economic Cooperation Development (OECD) in 2000 revealed that investment in training and skills is believed to be one of the keys to the growth of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises. The Government of Saint Lucia recognizes and acknowledges the importance of empowerment and capacity building for MSMEs, as well as for the youth and the unemployed entrepreneurs, as they are at the forefront of rebuilding our economy.”
In her remarks, Ms. Leander Calixte, Acting Director of Small Business Development Centre (SBDC) thanked Taiwan for being a supportive partner in building the capacity of Saint Lucian entrepreneurs. She noted that The Ministry of Commerce will continue to aid in facilitating training that develops the skills of Saint Lucians.
“I can proudly say today that we now have a cadre of professionals who are well equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to provide support to the Taiwan-funded Youth and Women Empowerment Project, which was the overall aim of this Training of Trainers Programme,” Calixte said. “Our Ministry supports female and youth businesses in value chains and we hope to bridge the technology gap between youth and women entrepreneurs.”