A unique partnership between SEWA International TT and the Ministry of Labour’s On-the-Job Training (OJT) Programme is helping young professionals dress for success, one outfit at a time.
The initiative, dubbed “Suit Up 2.0,” is the second phase of a clothing drive that began last year.
They collect ‘gently used clothing’ from the public, sort them, and redistribute professional attire to OJT trainees and other young adults preparing to enter the workforce.
Varuna Samaroo, a representative of SEWA International TT, explained the heart behind the initiative and how it’s designed to give clothing, and people, a second chance.
“We take out the good pieces from the bad pieces and we give those clothing a second life. So the casual clothing usually goes to those in need, such as fire victims, the homeless shelters, etc. And we do end up with a lot of professional clothing, which last year we reached out to the OJT to see can you make use of this within your circle. We also reached out to the Hugh Wooding Law school and they also assisted in getting professional clothing to their students.”
Joanne David, who leads the OJT Programme as Director of the On-the-Job Training Division, said she sees the initiative as more than just a clothing drive.
“And it is critical that we continue to provide the kind of support not only to place them for that technical and personal development in the workplace, but to be there to give them the support and to provide that continuum of care. This initiative came out of our need to bring a professional psychologists on the programme and in evaluating our uptake data, we were able to see the need for us to again, provide that support for our trainees.”
She said the OJT programme currently supports over 6 thousand trainees across Trinidad and Tobago and emphasized that professional attire is often a hidden barrier for many young people entering the workforce.