Minister Smith with BOPP graduates and ministry staff.
PHILIPSBURG–The Business Outreach and Placement Programme (BOPP) awarded certificates of completion to eighty participants in the programme during a ceremony held at University of St. Martin (USM) on Friday.
The graduates completed the training workshops organised by the Department of Youth Affairs in July. Varying government departments and agencies, as well as three private sector companies and two high council organisations, accommodated this year’s participants.
Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports (ECYS) Wycliffe Smith congratulated the graduates and the organising team, led by Faye Arnell. Smith described the graduates as “a cut above the rest.” He commended them, saying, “This programme is one vehicle that our government has been able to offer in preparing you for the world of work. Yet, it is your effort, winning attitude, and personality that guarantees your continued achievement.”
He said government has outlined several plans and initiatives to ensure proper education, training and job availability for young people in its Governing Programme 2018-2022. However, he emphasised that one’s personal efforts are key to success. Smith encouraged the graduates with a mantra from educator Camille Baly, saying, “Know who you are, do your best, and do the right thing even if no one is around to see you do it.”
The BOPP programme has been running annually since 1998 and rose to placements of 100 participants in recent years. There were 145 applicants this year, 90 of whom successfully completed the training workshops. However, with several partnering organisations still recovering from the effects of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, there was a reduction in the number of available placements this year, resulting in 80 job placements.
The Ministry, in particular the Department of Youth Affairs, encourages all companies and organisations in the private and public sectors to make preparations for accommodating the participants of the 2019 BOPP programme, it was stated in a press release issued by the minister’s office on Monday.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/79327-smith-says-bopp-grads-are-a-cut-above-the-rest
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