Minister within the Ministry of Finance, Jaipaul Sharma delivered the charge to 24 graduates, who recently completed the Financial Literacy and Small Business training programme, which was organised by the Office of the Advisor on Youth and called on them to use what they have learned to help them open an run profitable business enterprises.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the training programme, which was held at the Racquet Centre on Woolford Avenue, Mr. Sharma said, “This programme is for young entrepreneurs, so be your own boss… but you must have a vision and a plan that can be implemented and executed.”
The Minister also said that the Ministry of Finance will try to collaborate with other Ministries like the Ministry of Business to further to provide further empowerment training for young people.
Furthermore, Sharma told the graduates that he expects profitable business enterprises to be birthed from the training initiative and mentioned that financial assistance for start-up enterprises can be accessed through the Ministry of Business’ Small Business Bureau. He urged the graduates to seize the opportunity of agencies like the Bureau to create a profitable business for themselves.
Meanwhile, Advisor on Youth Empowerment, Aubrey Norton said that the programme emerged out of the Government’s recognition that there are only two ways to empower the youth; education for employment and education for business.
He said that the programme seeks to educate the youth so that they can develop the inclination of business while being involved in business with the aim of empowering themselves and making themselves their own boss.
The Advisor later cautioned the graduates that what they learned is not set in stone and they should be aware of the changes in the business world and urged them to use their real-life experiences as learning opportunities.
“Education is a mere guide. It is not a recipe, it is a guide you can utilise skilfully to achieve your objectives but never make the mistake to believe that what you learn is the exactly reflection of reality. Reality changes from the time you would have completed it to its implementation so be cognizant of the fact that there is need to adapt,” Norton said.
He further charged the graduates to develop the correct habits and right attitudes in order to succeed in the world of business.
During the programme, which ran for six weeks between August and September, to the participants were required to develop a business plan. Two sisters, Ms. Sasha and Ms. Sashell Thompson said they developed a plan for a communications service, which they hope to implement in the near future. The women said that apart from creating a plan, the course helped them to learn to better manage their finances.
The participants learned how to calculate their credit score, improve their chances of accessing small business loans and developed time management and communication skills.
Present at the closing ceremony was Head of the Administration of the Office of the Advisory on Youth Empowerment, Ms. Fayon Marshall, Programme Facilitators, Ms. Patsy Russell, Ms. Adeti De Jesus, Mr. Samuel Saul and Mr. Ronald Austin Jr. (Extracted and modified from Ministry of the Presidency)
