Denisha P. Agard was an unemployed young woman attempting to earn an income by supplying baked goods to random people at very infrequent intervals. Then, she heard about the training opportunity provided by the Skills for Youth Employment Programme in the Caribbean (SKYE) in St Lucia.
Denisha Agard – Superior Catering
Having an interest and some skills in general pastry and baking, Denisha started the Bread, Cake and Pastry CVQCourse with the National Enrichment and Learning Unit (NELU). She says that the exposure at this training gave her the added boost of confidence needed to fine-tune her skills. She has gone on to take the next step to establish her own business which she calls Superior Catering, a decision she has not regretted!
Denisha describes the training as being “A very educational, enjoyable and rewarding experience”. She particularly mentioned the practical component of the training which taught and simplified the art of baking bread and cakes, mixing and kneading of the dough by hand, and the methods of preparation of sweet and savory pastries. ‘‘Preparing the beautifully designed cakes and delicate, flaky and tasty pastries was interesting and quite an experience’’, Denisha reveals.
FACTS
Skills for Youth Employment (SkYE) is a four-year, UKaid funded programme to provide certified skills training for 6,000 disadvantaged young people, including those challenged by disability, in four Eastern Caribbean countries: Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia and St Vincent & the Grenadines. The Programme will develop a more productive and inclusive workforce in sectors with good economic growth potential.
SkYE is supporting national training authorities and training providers to make systemic improvements to the development, delivery and quality assurance of technical, vocational education and training (TVET) in the four focus islands through targeted capacity building.
