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Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Senator Harry Husbands. (FP)

Impressed by the skill, enthusiasm and clothing displayed by students at the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic (SJPP), Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Senator Harry Husbands, has vowed to do all in his power "to impress on my colleagues what a skilled set of young people we have and that every effort should be made to encourage and promote their work."??

He made these comments yesterday as he toured the final day of an exhibition held by first year students in the Garment Making course, at the SJPP.??

Following the tour, Senator Husbands expressed satisfaction with the garments made by the 29 students, noting that everyone seemed to be fully engaged in the work that they had produced.?? "Even the basic concepts of design they seemed to have understood and there is a high skill level on display," he stressed.

??Explaining that this was important considering that it was essentially a first year class and many of the students did not have the skills when they were first introduced to the programme, he added: "It is also a tribute to the polytechnic and the members of staff who worked with these young people to produce this quality work. I would certainly encourage many of them to return next semester to take part in the second year course and further develop their skills."

While suggesting that business houses and agencies should lend assistance to the SJPP students, he said: "It is left to policymakers now to ensure that the employment opportunities both in private companies and for self-employment are there."

Course instructor, Joy Prime pointed out that the students were taught garment and pattern construction, noting: "It is not really about design; it is about the technical side of garment making."

And, she expressed delight at the exhibition while echoing similar sentiments as Senator Husbands: "It is fabulous. It is really exciting to see the display of work. It’s a celebration of what they have done this year. Students started last September; many of them not knowing how to sew; not even knowing what an industrial machine looked like. We think they have gone very, very far in a year.

"We are very impressed with their progress and what we are looking at for the future is for these young people to be the leaders of the garment industry…to get them to not only understand how to create garments technically but also how to design and how to be able to fit into the wider international market because that is something we feel the industry in Barbados is missing."

The three-day exhibition was staged under the theme: Leaders of Tomorrow’s Fashion.

joy-ann.gill@barbados.gov.bb

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