A 21-member Vincentian contingent is in St. Kitts and Nevis to take part in a one-week CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) Student Exchange Mission, under the theme “Students Engaging the CSME through Field Promotion.”
The project, funded by the 10th European Development Fund, is a Public Education Component of the CSME’s Economic Integration Programme. The students, who hail from the several divisions of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Community College and the University of the West Indies Open Campus (St. Vincent), will be mobilised and trained to identify CSME career opportunities in the areas of movement of skills; movement of capital and the rights of establishment; movement of goods and the provision of services.
Over a five-day period, students will meet and engage with Ministries and Departments responsible for Labour, Commerce and Immigration, as well as the body responsible for the issuing of CARICOM Skills Certificates. Companies such as the local stock exchange, large financial institutions, and the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) will be visited where students will gain practical engagement with their operations. The project is a Caribbean-wide initiative, with students across the region visiting the various members of the CSME.
Also a part of the delegation is the CSME Focal Point for St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sylvonne Jack, lecturer in geography at the SVG Community College, Allanson Cruickshank, and the CARICOM Female Youth Ambassador for SVG, Chelcia Ferdinand.
The trip concludes on Saturday, when the contingent returns to SVG. SVG will similarly host students from Jamaica Nov. 1 to 7.
