The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The National Training Agency (NTA) has assisted ‘more than half’ of its 2,000 graduates to-date to find full-time employment, its director told Tribune Business yesterday.

Former MP, Agatha Marcelle, told Tribune Business that most of the graduates to-date have received soft skills training and less than 90 per cent would have gone through some form of industry-specific skills training.

“We began our focus with the 16-26 age bracket because of the high level of unemployment in that group,” she explained.

“To-date we would have trained 2,000 persons.  We have been successful in helping them with job placement, and I would say that as a conservative estimate we would have assisted definitely more than half, 58-60 per cent that we know about, to find full time employment.”

The NTA, which was designed to be a competency-based training and job placement system for persons between the ages of 16-26, was launched in mid-2013.

Ms Marcelle explained that local as well as international partners are involved with its training programmes, which last 14 weeks; four weeks of soft skills training and 10 weeks of practical skills training with some going on to unpaid internships. 

“Graduates are certified through international bodies such as City and Guilds and the International Health Care Association,” she said.

“Then we have skills certificates from our local partners for those who would do things like auto service or basic auto body work. It’s important to note that we don’t provide career training. That would come under places like BTVI. What we do is job preparation.”

    Ms Marcelle added that the NTA is a part of the Caribbean Association of National Training Agencies (CANTA), whose aim is to standardiae technical and vocational training throughout the region.

“We are making an application for status with the City and Guilds Institute of Leadership and Management to begin to provide certificates certificates,diplomas and awards to people in the supervisory management category,” Ms Marcelle.

“I believe that this is a novelty and is something that is going to increase the level of performance and productivity in the workplace, so our next project related to training is to facilitate that; to make that happen.’

    Ms Marcelle added that the agency is operating in Grand Bahama, Exuma, New Providence and Eleuthera. Two groups have been trained in Exuma thus far, with more than 90 per cent finding employment. 

Ms Marcelle, added, though, that the situation was more challenging in Grand Bahama in finding employment for persons who completed the programme there.