Great Bay:--- On Friday afternoon Minister of Public Health Social Development & Labor, Cornelius de Weever encouraged the participants at the information session of the "Employability through Training" project to take advantage of this unique opportunity afforded to them.The "Employability through Training" is a Social Economic Initiative (SEI) project, which is aimed at taking people from welfare to work and giving them the opportunity of on the job training. The goal of the project is to assist unskilled unemployed individuals to acquire basic job skills and knowledge to help bridge the distance between them and suitable employment within the local labor market by offering specialized training and mediation for a period of two and a half years. This will allow them to not only get familiar with the supply and demand but will also develop their social, communicative and professional work related skills which will motivate them to actively participate in the local labor market.
The target groups for this project are those between the ages of 18-55; Dutch nationals registered on St. Maarten; unemployed and have a willingness to learn and accept work.
More specific objectives of this project are as follows: reduce the welfare assistance list to only those that truly are not able to perform work; prepare the target group to be professionals; provide the target group with coaching, training and mediation to a suitable job; develop a constant structured working relationship with the business community and promote more job creation and lastly to establish contacts with the Chamber of Commerce and unions for close collaboration and participation in various activities.Over the next two and a half years 250 participants between the ages of 18-55 will be given specialized training whereby the curriculum is adapted to their specific needs, whereby their chances of unemployment will be alleviated and/or lessened.
At the information session held on Friday for the participants, representatives of the three training institutes were on hand to give the participants information about the training being offered at their respective institution. The job coach was also on hand to explain to the individuals what her role will be throughout the process, which will be keeping in contact with them and assisting them throughout the entire process. At the end of the session, participants were given the opportunity to ask questions.
Minister De Weever thanked the participants and the training institutes for coming out and reiterated to the participants the importance of the project, which has his full support.
