Several young men and women have successfully completed a professional barbering course and First Aid/CPR training spearheaded by Minister of Homeland Security and Tunapuna MP Roger Alexander.
Equipping young people with practical skills and opportunities for self-employment is the focus of barbering programme and First Aid and CPR course offered by Minister of Homeland Security and Tunapuna Member of Parliament Roger Alexander.
Addressing the graduates, Minister Alexander encouraged them to use the skills they acquired to build sustainable livelihoods.
“I prefer to invest in a program where the young men and women could find self-employment and not dependency on persons to give them something because when I give you something sometimes freely, I want you to do something for me that may not be lawful. So I prefer to give them something to work with forever and ever and according to my grandmother say amen.”
Minister Alexander encouraged them to recognise the opportunity before them and make positive choices for their future.
“Let what you learn help you to earn an honest dollar. Yeah? Plenty on this side, you would see many of you, I know you are our friends that would have died as a result of gunshots, robberies, murders, and I could go on and on. They are not here today. But you are. That means that God has a different gift for you, a different intention for you, a different place for you.”
Also addressing the graduates, Minister of Works and Infrastructure Jearleane John, encouraged them to view the certification as a stepping stone rather than an endpoint.
“I urge you do not stop there, this certificate is not a finish line, it is a stepping stone to greater things, today we celebrate, take your pictures and enjoy yourself, but tomorrow morning wake up and ask yourself what is next, maybe you are a morning person, maybe it is an advanced certification, maybe it is training to become a certified CPR instructor, maybe it is saving towards your own clippers and chairs, or writing that business plan, whatever it is keep stepping forward, as you step remember the fundamentals, because talents or skills alone will not carry you, discipline will.”
The programme’s instructors also highlighted the impact of passing on skills and knowledge.
“Pull the value and instil in yourself and pass it on to others. So don’t let the process stop at you, continue passing it on. I was encouraged by Mr Phillip here to teach and right now I have my first class community development this year.”
The graduation forms part of Minister Alexander’s efforts to equip young people with practical skills and opportunities aimed at steering them away from crime and toward self-employment.