ST LUCIA GOVT INVESTS 16.8 MILLION EU GRANT IN JOB TRAINING INITIATIVE FOR UNEMPLOYED YOUTH
On November 16, 2022, Prime Minister Hon. Philip J. Pierre and Ambassador of the European Union to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean States, Malgorzata Wasilewska, ratified the terms of a XCD 16.8 million grant from the European Union [EU] to support the Generation of Employment through Private Sector Development Project [GEPSED].
The GEPSED Project is a comprehensive and integrated skills training system that provides unemployed youth and vulnerable groups free access to occupational training programmes facilitated by the Saint Lucia Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training.
The EU grant will be used to provide stipends for participants and also make available seed capital to trainees who have attained National/ Caribbean Vocational Qualifications under the GEPSED Project and wish to pursue a micro and/or small to medium-scale business venture. The EU funding will also be used to establish a Workforce Development Centre in the island’s south.
Seven [7] local institutions who provide occupational training progarmmes, namely:
- Sir Arthur Lewis Community College
- Monroe College
- Saint Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association Training Academy
- National Skills Development Centre
- Centre for Adolescent Renewal and Education [C.A.R.E]
- The School of Art and Design
…have agreed to train at least 600 Saint Lucians enlisted in the GEPSED Project. To this end, the Department of Economic Development and representatives of the respective occupational training institutions have signed a Memorandum of Understanding [MoU] to place each of the 600 GEPSED participants in a private sector based job training programme for a minimum of three [3] months.
The EU grant of XCD 16.8 million will also support related initiatives in the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Commerce and the Saint Lucia Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training.
The Office of the National Authorizing Officer [NAO] is the implementation agency spearheading the GEPSED Project.
