Labour Department Apprenticeship Program Launched, over 100 regisiter

By Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer

#TurksandCaicos, June 24, 2022 – Just over 100 of the 180 tertiary students in the Turks and Caicos are already registered for the government’s new apprenticeship and internship program. The program was officially launched on Tuesday, June 21st but applications have been coming in for some time.

Minister of Education Rachel Taylor described the program as “a strategic mechanism to bridge the gaps, to empower our youth, to transform lives and achieve human capital development goals.”

Taylor referenced the National Skills Audit noting that youth were sometimes blocked from employment opportunities because they lacked experience and the program aimed to fix that.

The program will work in two parts providing 6-week internships for students in college and flexible 1-month to 9-month long apprenticeships for graduates leaving or out of college.

Labour Commissioner Edwin Taylor broke down the program and explained the main aims.

“There was a set of information that students gave to us which was troubling. A lot of students indicated that after completing university they didn’t plan to stay in the Turks and Caicos; a lot of them indicated they didn’t see opportunities for them. This program is not just to give them skills but to give them hope and to prove to them that there is a place for them here in the Turks and Caicos.”

The Government thus hopes to use the program to,  “Bridge the gap between employment and the education field. The program is geared towards giving them real-life experience in their field of study with a reputable institution in the Turks and Caicos Islands.”

The program is for all students whether they are studying in the TCI or overseas and will carry compensation for all participants, where companies lack the funds to compensate students the government will step in and cover the cost. Apart from experience, the idea is to connect students with employers so they know of companies that can use their skills when they graduate.

He explained that the program will be mutually beneficial for both students and employers and they will have guidelines to make sure both are getting the maximum benefit from the program.

“Companies will be obligated to pair them with a mentor who can monitor them and provide them with full rules of engagement and guidelines and descriptions of the jobs,” Commissioner Taylor said.

Students will also spend two hours a week learning the soft skills most desired by overseas companies including active listening, Critical thinking, customer service training, people management, emotional intelligence, and workplace protocol.

There were several success stories shared in the meeting. TCI Islander and UK-certified Lawyer Arnelle Taylor explained how internships had prepared her for work.

“There were many practical and pragmatic benefits to participating in internships while pursuing my tertiary education. They allowed me to supplement the theory of what was learned in the classroom into real work-life practice.” She said.

Minister of Physical Planning and Infrastructure Development Akierra Missick praised the program saying she was well aware of the acute lack of technical workers including engineers, road developers, land-use planners, etc. in her industry.

Director of Youth in the Department of Youth Jasmine Thomas explained that the internship would help to create the 21st century youth noting that they were fully on board with the program.

“The national youth policy speaks to enhancing social capital and enhancing the resilience of young people through intellectual capital in order to provide sustainable employment thus creating the 21st century youth to contribute to national development.”

To augment this program a Labour Market Information System will be developed in the latter part of the year to provide real time information for companies. Commissioner Taylor explained that students would have a passport-like document showing all of their work experience.

“We want to start a passport program where an individual will be able to carry around their resume showing every time, they attend any of these internships that you as partners in this initiative would be able to have direct access to through that Labour Market Information System.” He told business

Minister Taylor chimed in, “Your information will be presented to us in real time so that through our succession planning we will be able to ensure that our people with the right skill sets are placed in the right jobs.” She explained that a TCI delegation would be soon traveling to the Cayman Islands to observe their own system to advise implementation in the TCI

Minister Taylor was particularly grateful to the companies who had made themselves available for internships.

“The excitement that I get from the companies is so rewarding and so encouraging. I want to thank each and every one of you, you are our partners who are going to assist us in reaching each and every one of our goals.” She said.

The launch was attended by Premier Washington Misick, Deputy Premier E. Jay. Saunders, Minister of PPID Akeirra Missick, and representatives from companies across the TCI.

The deadline for more applications is Friday, June 24th and the actual internships will begin by early July.