The National Apprenticeship Programme (NAP) was established in Feb. 2018. The Programme was implemented due to the high levels of unemployment in the south among the youth.

The initiative works by identifying the personal problems faced by those who are unemployed. Once these are established, the programme works alongside private organizations and individuals to place those seeking employment within vacant posts where qualifications, personality and experience fit the criteria. The organization also works at developing the skills of the youth, allowing their potential to develop.

NAP’s latest venture includes a qualification and skills base collaboration with Monroe College.

“We provide training in the field of hospitality and we do appreciate that the hotels that are on stream to be developed in the south of the island will have a demand for people,” said Dr. Windy Moncherry, Project Coordinator at NAP. “Presently we are conducting interviews with Monroe College and within two weeks of advertising the training programme, we had more than 100 persons coming in to register.  Monroe had asked us for about 160 persons for the first semester to start off with and we registered over 200. These are now being interviewed over a period of three days to start off their training in hospitality. This training will prepare them for work not just within the local tourist industry but also within the cruise ship sector.”

The NAP is also working to provide access to financial support for these individuals, in order to fund their training.

“Every individual accepted will be able to access the funding from SLDB to pay for the training, but the interesting thing about it is that they do not have to pay back the full amount, the government will provide part of this fund as a grant to these individuals. So they will only have to pay back a portion of it, but additionally during the process of training we understand that these are persons who are unemployed and have very little resources, and so we are also providing them with a monthly stipend to meet the cost of transportation, to meet the cost of food, and to assist them until they are certified.”