Young persons in Barbados have been advised to consider entrepreneurship as a viable business option.
This advice came recently from Minister of Labour and Social Security, Dr. Esther Byer Suckoo, while addressing graduands of the LIME Summer Student Experience Programme at the Barbados Community College, Howell’s Cross Road, St. Michael.
Noting that being one’s own boss could be empowering, the Minister maintained that Barbadians needed to "shake free of the mindset that says your destiny in life is to be an employee; that your education is for you to get a job."
She added that small business development was an important aspect of Government’s Medium-Term Development Strategy, which was designed to guide this country towards recovery from the current global recession.
"Small business development is an important aspect of the Medium-Term Development Strategy.?? This age of rapid technological change and global competition brings certain expectations. The Barbados economy needs to innovate and adopt to change if it is to be successful.?? New enterprise provides a source of competition and new ideas that lead to innovation, enhanced productivity and better economic performance," Dr. Byer Suckoo explained.
The LIME Summer Student Experience Programme also came in for high praise from the Labour Minister, who hailed it as a laudable one which would prepare participants for the world of work.
"I was really heartened to learn that as part of their Summer Student experience, the interns embarked on a community project entitled LIME: Live for the Youth, Connect a Community, which was aimed at brightening the surroundings and spirits of the island’s sick children, by upgrading the playroom of the children’s ward at the QEH.?? The project was funded through a number of avenues, but I particularly want to highlight the fact that a monetary contribution came from the students themselves," she said.
Forty students participated in the programme and were selected from a number of institutions including, the University of the West Indies’ Cave Hill Campus, Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic, Barbados Community College and some secondary schools.??