By Lesroy W. Williams
Observer Reporter
(Basseterre, St. Kitts)— Business leaders and government officials had many words of praise for the young people who participate in the Junior Achievement Programmes and what those efforts may mean to the future of the country.
The remarks were made when the St. Kitts and Nevis Junior Achievement Programmes and their Advisory Committees hosted the annual Trade Fair on Friday, May 9, at Independence Square, Basseterre.
The Trade Fair started in November 2007 and is an activity organized as part of the Junior Achievement Innovative Company Project. The JAICP (Junior Achievement Innovative Company Project) targets students of the 3rd and 4th forms, and requires them to identify and propose business opportunities within St. Kitts and Nevis, operate a business, and provide performance reports at the end of their projects. The Trade Fair also provides the opportunity to showcase and sell their products and services to the general public.
In his welcoming remarks, Mr. Mark Wilkin, President of the St. Kitts-Nevis Chamber of Industry and Commerce said that the Chamber supported the efforts of the Trade Fair.
“Our organization envisions that the trade fair will go a long way in assisting in the development of our Federation youth. Junior Achievement is the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating students about work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through experience in hands on programs,” Mr. Wilkin said.
He further stated that the Junior Achievement worldwide focus is to expose and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy. He said that the programs are designed to help prepare young people for a range of work by showing them how to generate wealth and effectively manage it, how to create jobs which make their communities more robust and how to apply entrepreneurial thinking to the workplace.
“It is further noted that Junior Achievement maintains an active vision, front and center, on how we can have a positive impact on the lives of more students getting Junior Achievement core values and beliefs,” Mr. Wilkin said.
There should be respect for the talents, creativity, perspectives and backgrounds of all individuals, he said. He said there should be belief in the power of partnership and collaboration and conviction in the educational and motivational impact of relevant hands on learning.
The Hon. Hensley Daniel, Deputy Premier, in the Nevis Island Administration, spoke highly of the young people in the Federation.
“I sense a kind of renaissance of the entrepreneurial spirit in the society and particularly among the young, and in Nevis we are ensuring that we continue to do this,” he said.
“We believe that the engine for growth is the private sector but at the same time we are persuaded that there needs to be a new kind of thinking, a new kind of ingenuity which we see among the young people. It is in that context that we have established on Nevis the Youth Enterprise Scheme to nurture a new core of local capitalists to produce wealth through training and funding,” he said.
He encouraged the young people not to waste their talents.
“We want you the young people not to use your education as a doormat but to use your education to add value and help us to create value. We want you as young people to leave the business schools not only with your B.A.’s and M.B.A.’s but at the same time prepared for the establishment of new businesses rather than sending out large numbers of applications for work. People who study business must be prepared to start business,” Mr. Daniel said.
The Hon. Sam Condor, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Youth, declared the Trade Fair open. In his address to those gathered he thanked the teachers and all those involved in working with the young people.
“You have ignited a spark which has the greatest potential to blaze a fiery trail for our students to turn ideas into action, to go as far as their determination will take them and to make productive use of their talents. Your commitment to fostering a business mindset among students which hinges on creativity, innovation, independence and initiative augurs well for the resounding success of this program,” he said.
In lauding the progress of the students, the Minister stated:
“Our students have delivered real results; they started with ideas and turned them into action because of the specific benefits, business skills and knowledge gained in this program. They have demonstrated their unique productive capacities and have succeeded by virtue of their creativity, intelligence and hard work.”
Ms. Wendy Phipps, Executive Director of the St. Kitts-Nevis Chamber of Industry and Commerce, in her closing remarks thanked everyone who had attended or helped in the organization of the venture. She said that in the next few months there will be the establishment of a National Entrepreneurial Development Division which is being housed within the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. According to Ms. Phipps, this project is an outgrowth of a Chamber of Commerce initiative with the Ministry of Education and the International Labour Organization which began over four years ago looking at the development of the smaller medium enterprise sector in St. Kitts and Nevis.
The National Entrepreneurial Development Division is geared to facilitate business dreams, visions and plans for young people by providing them upon leaving school with alternatives as potential entrepreneurs and for those already involved in entrepreneurship to access financing.
After the opening ceremony, all were invited on a tour of the displays.
