One hundred and six Community College and university graduates will on Monday, March 17, begin one-year internships under the government’s Support for Education and Training (SET) programme, launched on Thursday.
The EC$1.5 million initiative, funded by Petrocaribe, Venezuela’s oil alliance with several Caribbean governments, will see the graduates attached to central government and statutory agencies.
Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, who is also Minister of Finance, said that interns who have A’ Level and associate degree qualifications will receive a stipend of EC$1,100 per month, while those with university degrees will receive EC$2,200.
He said that while the stipend could have been higher, this would have meant that fewer persons would have been allowed to participate.
“So, I have to balance it between the money that I have and how I can be reasonable to you,” he told the interns at the launch on Thursday.
He said that the interns have a wide range of qualifications, including in computer science, water resources management, linguistics, law, divinity, accounting, information systems and technology, life sciences, and biology.
“Among this 106 persons, you are a vindication of the government’s policy and your parents’ sacrifice and investment,” the prime minister said.
He said that public servants had selected the interns.
“All I said to them, make sure … you select, … competitively, and make sure there is a wide spread, from Union Island coming up all the way from North Leeward to North Windward, and every place in between, so that there is no geographic discrimination,” Gonsalves said.
He further warned the interns that the programme “not a joyride”.
“Laziness is an absence of virtue. You must work. A progressive society has never been built anywhere in the world on leisure, pleasure and nice time,” Gonsalves said.
“Please have a good work ethic and produce,” he further stated, adding that the Public Service has “its own peculiarities” to which interns might have to adjust.
Meanwhile, Cabinet Secretary, Kattian Barnwell explained that the SET programme is a pilot in a project expected to become an annual programme.
She said the aim is to provide recent graduates of the Community College and university with the opportunity to gain work experience.
Barnwell further said that it is anticipated that many of the interns will find permanent employment in the public or private sector.
Most of the interns have been assigned to the Ministry of Education and the Community College and will be involved in clerical and administrative work.
THE GOVERNMENT MUST BE CONGRATULATED ON THIS HISTORIC, IMPORTANT, ECONOMY BUILDING, JOBS CTREATION, YOUTH TRAINING AND EMPOWERMENT PROCESS WHICH WILL FACILITATE THEIR TRANSITION INTO THE WORLD OF WORK AND SO AID SIGNIFICANTLY IN THE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR COUNTRY VIA THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR HUMAN RESOURCES( OUR MOST VALUABLE RESOURCE).
WE CAN NEVER INVEST TOO MUCH IN OUR HUMAN RESOURCES. LET DO SOME THING FOR MORE YOUTHS TO GET INTEGRATED INTO OUR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION PROCESS AND SO HELP IN OUR FOOD SECURITY.
this program was done in St. Kitts by the illegitimate leader of that country on the eve of the election to bribe young people. While the youth in SVG needs work I see this as another ploy with the same objectives of the kittitian illegitimate leader The inability of the ULP government to create meaningful and long term jobs for the country’s young people is evidence that Ralph has ran out of ideas. He is literally digging a hole to get the dirt to fill another hole. SVG is in urgent need of sensible economic planning and activities geared at stimulating the economy in effort to increase growth and naturally employment will follow.
Election around the corner. Don’t be bribe young people. Yu are most deserving of a job for which you are qualified but a temp job with no idea of what the future holds just will not cut it.
As a participant in the S.E.T program, I am most grateful to the government of SVG for giving me the opportunity to gain various skills, job experience and a stipend at the end of the month. Yes, it is only for a year but the work experience that I will have gathered by the end of my tenure, will increase my marketability and aid in my holistic development as a young person. At the end of the day, half of a bread is always better than no bread; and as I put my best foot forward contributing to my country, I am sure that other opportunities will arise that will propel me towards achieving my goals in life.
Beware all !!! Everything that the PM does, has an ulterior motive. He simply does not have a pure heart. Believe nothing. Remember the saying that “everything that glitters is not gold”.