ROAD TO NOWHERE
A graduate with an Associate Degree in Social Sciences but still unable to secure a fulltime job. This was 26-year-old Kurt McDonald from a rural community in the Parish of St. David, Grenada. He had a fleeting interest in real estate, but that market was dormant at the time. Uncertain of his next steps but having to make ends meet as a provider in the home and the main carer for his elderly father, Kurt resorted to minimum wage jobs, such as security services and construction.
A FRESH START
During a stint in construction, a senior female community member shared with him a Facebook link to the SkYE-supported Centre for Enhancing Educational Performance (CEEP) programme. She encouraged him to apply as she thought it was a very good opportunity. Apart from an after-school programme in Introduction to IT during high school, Kurt had very little knowledge about the field. However, he was always versatile, as revealed through his various jobs in construction. He saw this as an opportunity to transfer that proclivity to IT, therefore he registered and was selected for the CEEP training in Graphics Design under the SkYE programme funded by UKaid.
In his opinion, the training sessions were very interactive and thorough. “I admire the patience and passion of the trainer who went beyond the hours required to ensure that we understood the content and to assist students”, Kurt recalls.
BUMPS IN THE ROAD
The dynamic within the group changed when classes transitioned to online delivery only with the spread of COVID-19 in Grenada. Kurt notes that trainees became very anxious and focused more on understanding the material. Fortunately, he was aided by another community member in procuring a laptop and was able to continue training virtually.
Training became a bit challenging, especially for the trainer when showing demonstrations or troubleshooting. Kurt suggests that if virtual training should become the norm, especially for highly technical courses like graphics, then students and trainers should be coached and counselled on ‘home-schooling’. SkYE has been able to offer support for remote training in partnership with Lincoln College from the UK.
Despite the difficulties, Kurt is ecstatic about a close brotherly bond formed with another trainee whose friendship continued post-training and he highlights the broader benefits of
the training. “I am really happy that I went through the training, the soft skills component really helped me to understand myself better, helped build my self-confidence, taught me how to navigate conflict resolution, and how to be more considerate especially when working with groups”, Kurt states.
FINDING THE WAY INTO WORK
Kurt McDonald putting his new skills to work
Kurt was paired with another trainee as interns at the same business place but the nature of the skills required was mainly IT development rather than graphics. With his fresh focus on graphics, Kurt was intent to apply his new skills. A few enquires through the IT network secured him a permanent job with Pipeline Promotions before the internship was completed. He currently assists community groups and organisations with their graphics needs. He is optimistic about learning more and understanding the full gamut of graphics and hopes to specialize in illustration since it provides a broader scope of opportunities in design. Kurt intends to establish his own design and print shop.
FACTS
Skills for Youth Employment (SkYE) is a four-year, UKaid funded programme to provide certificated 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.
