ST. EUSTATIUS--Bettina Schroeter has been elected new Chair of the Council of Education and Labour Market Dutch Caribbean ROA-CN. The announcement was made during a reception at Old Gin House on St. Eustatius to celebrate five years of the organisation’s existence.
As its name suggests, ROA-CN creates a bridge between vocational education and the labour markets of Bonaire, Statia and Saba. Its advisers regularly visit businesses on these three islands to gain an insight into employers’ needs. They link the information obtained from employers with programmes to promote vocational education and set up on-the-job training for individual students.
Over the last five years, ROA-CN has facilitated more than 1,000 such opportunities for young people. Currently, 176 firms have joined the scheme. Collectively, these have been awarded 700 certificates for recognized areas of job activity.
Job trainers, certification and a host of workshops are organized by ROACN on each island. Schroeter has spearheaded ROA-CN’s work on Saba, where she resides. She takes over from former Chairman Herbert Domacassé.
“I am perfectly delighted to take on this new role,” Schroeter said during her acceptance speech. “And it will be challenging to match all the achievements of our former Chairman. We are giving our youth a worthwhile path to channel their skills and talents towards realizing a firm future on-island and not necessarily off-island. It is a community team effort, as it requires a great deal of professional push-and-pull and great collaboration from all stakeholders. Our achievements are continuously measured and speak for themselves.”
Statia’s Commissioner of Education Derrick Simmons was also present at the anniversary ceremony. “Whatever the job-be it plumber or plasterer, builder, barber or bartender-, this scheme is making a great difference in helping to give our youth on Statia a profession they can be proud of, and which the community values very highly.
“Information technology and the smartphone may be making the world smaller for us all, but vocational training is making the world of Statia more exciting for our youth. Some people look down their nose at vocational training in favour of academic education. But this is a mistake. A trade in craftsmanship is just as important, if not more important than say, a trade in stocks and shares,” Commissioner Simmons said.
Source: Daily Herald
ROA-CN presents new Chair at fifth anniversary celebration
