One hundred and twenty-eight (128) students graduated from Cohort Three of the vocational training project known as the JENNÈS Upskilling Academy.
The project's Early Childhood Development programme contained a total of 42 graduates, the highest out of the four vocational programmes. Health Aide had 38 graduates, Digital and Creative Entrepreneurship had 32 graduates, and Hospitality produced 14.
40 participants also graduated from the second cohort of the Business Incubator for Start-up Enterprises programme, with 7 others receiving certificates of participation.
One of the ceremony's top achievers is Nataki Florentville, a student of the Digital and Creative programme, as well as a past participant in the Hunter J. François Library's WORRRD Up Poetry Slam Competition.
Other top achievers included Tanya Daniel and Alana Medouze (from the North and South classes of Health Aide respectively), Tyler Joseph (Hospitality) and Hannah Jn. Baptiste (Early Childhood Development Aide).
His Excellency Peter Chia-yen Chen, Taiwan's Ambassador to Saint Lucia, congratulated the graduates for showing the courage to complete an important journey in their lives.
Each one of you is here today through your own sustained hard work. This is a milestone we are delighted to recognize and honour. Your graduation, as hard-won as it surely was, is actually a beginning rather than an end. For many of you, it is also a marker in what will be a life-long pursuit of learning; a pursuit of broadening your knowledge and expanding your life experiences.
H.E. Peter Chia-yen Chen, Taiwanese Ambassador to Saint Lucia
Ambassador Chen added, The Government of Taiwan will continue to partner with the Government of Saint Lucia in order to empower youth and women to seek out new opportunities in their lives.
Guest speaker Mr. Royston Emmanuel, who was part of the team that formulated the JENNÈS project, said more than 70% of participants completed their programmes. He urged the graduates to continue their learning.
Learning is empowerment. Though in life everything is constantly changing, the one thing you can never truly lose is your education. Ultimately, learning never stops; it is life-long. There is no limit to the amount of knowledge and skills that you can obtain.
Royston Emmanuel,
Mr. Cletus Springer, Chairman of the Board of Governors at SALCC, urged the graduates to make the fullest use of the training they have received in the programme — Work hard to succeed because when you succeed Saint Lucia succeeds,
he said. Do not consider this as the end of your journey, your personal development. There are now endless resources all over the Internet to help you expand on what you've learnt in your programmes.
In her keynote address, Ms. Esther Rigobert, Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, said the programme afforded the participants the opportunity to demonstrate their innate abilities to rise above challenges;
Regardless of your background, you have achieved something worth celebrating,
Rigobert told the graduates. You have arrived at a very pivotal place in your career and personal development, and on your way to self-actualization to be your best you.
Sponsored by the Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and administered by SALCC, JENNÈS began back in January 2022. Prior to its launch, over 1,000 Saint Lucians had applied for the vocational programmes offered, with more than 500 having graduated since its launch. Of these 500 graduates, roughly 80% were women.
Though the third cohort may be its last, the JENNÈS initiative remains active, with a number of its participants set to attend the second cohort of the Business Coaching programme. Set to commence in due time, the programme will run for six weeks and cover a variety of businss-centric topics, including Marketing, Business Strategy, Operations Management, Financial Literacy, Accounting, Human Resource Management, and Customer Service.
