On Thursday October 3rd, 2019, the National Training Agency held an Orientation exercise to mark the start of training in four vocational programmes under the Climate Smart Agriculture and Rural Enterprise Programme (SAEP). Over eighty (80) trainees have been selected to participate in in the first round of training through the NTA. Over the next nine months which includes a classroom component and a three-month traineeship, the participants will acquire skills in one of four occupational areas, namely, Food Preparation and Cookery, Crop Production, Ago-Food Processing, and Community Cultural Production. Trainees successfully completing the programme will receive CVQ Level 2 certification.
Speaking at the Orientation, Hon. Pamela Moses, Minister responsible for Tertiary Education, Skills Development and Education Outreach encouraged the participants to take advantage of the opportunity to build and enhance their skills. She noted the relevance of, and quality of skills demanded in the market place and therefore the need to improve training.
A motivational address delivered by Jonathan La Crette, Human Resource Manager at the Grenada Union of Teachers Credit Union stressed on the word ‘accept’. He told the captive audience ‘what you accept is going to shape your thinking your mindset, your patterns and your attitudes. He went on to tell them to adopt positive thinking and to commit to go the course of the training.
Meanwhile, the NTA’s Standards and Planning Coordinator gave an overview of the work done by the organisation, while reinforcing to the new trainees the need to remain committed over the nine months of training in order to successfully complete the programme.
The overall aim of the programme is to reduce poverty by increasing income flow in rural communities. It will address two main vulnerabilities in Grenada: the high levels of youth unemployment and the high exposure of agricultural production to climate change and variability.
The US$13 million SAEP Project is funded in part by the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD), the Caribbean Development Bank and the Government of Grenada.
