The past four weeks could be considered a glimpse into their futures for four students of the St. Vincent Community College, as they described their internship at the Centre for Enterprise Development ICT Development Programme a dream come true.{{more}}

The four were selected from a group of more than 15 students who attended a two-week workshop in ICT/ e- business training. They were selected for the internship after successfully presenting realistic business plans using the techniques gathered during the workshop.

The selected students: Ladesha Fraser, D’Andre Jackson, Shafika Burke and Phylmore Toussaint all agreed that both the training course and the stint with the unit were challenging, informative experiences, which kept them on the ball, but at the same time were fun and enjoyable.

While stationed at the unit, they spent most of their time assisting with the preparation for an upcoming National Business Forum, scheduled to take place here later this year.

There were also visits to the Edge Solutions Call Centre in Questelles, the unit’s North Union branch, among other duties.

Two of the students, Toussaint and Burke, indicated that they will be looking to venture into their own business on completion of their second year at college, while Fraser and Jackson, both looking at securing jobs in the teaching profession, claimed that operating their own businesses is also an option which they will consider.

All agree that the four weeks taken from their summer vacation will definitely make the process easier.

They also expressed the hope that the workshop would be offered to other business students in the years to come.

Last Friday, August 14th, an official closing ceremony was held for the workshop at the Ministry of Communications conference room, where all participating students were presented with certificates.

At the ceremony, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Telecommunications Shirla Francis congratulated the students for taking time from their vacation to be involved in the workshop, which she said indicated commitment to learning and development.

The P.S urged the students to build on the knowledge gained and where possible, try to expand on their business plans in efforts to make them into reality.

The workshop was conducted by consultants Allan Daisley and Jani Savolainen, and funded by the European Union and the government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. (JJ)