The Minister of the Environment,
The Hon. N. Cole Simons, JP, MP
15 June, 2016, 11am
The Arboretum
As Minister of the Environment, it gives me great pleasure to be here today.
I would like to welcome our distinguished guests, member of the Parks Department, our program partners and stakeholders, our graduates and their families.
The Skills Development Program is an excellent training and development opportunity for our young people between the ages of 19 – 25 who are interested in learning about horticultural and the trade of landscaping.
The training course includes ten modules which have verbal and hands on assessments at the end of each module to ensure the participant has learned the material. Examples of the modules are;
- Plant pruning
- Pest management
- Plant identification
- Spraying
- Propagation
- Ground Preparation and planting
- Hand tools
- Operation and maintenance of small equipment
Since its launch, the Skills Development Program has achieved much success and accolades and we are very grateful for all of the support that has been given to this initiative. Last year, sixteen of the participants landed part-time jobs and four received full-time employment.
This year we have 10 graduates and all 10 have passed all of the modules. This is very commendable.
The official Skills Training Program was developed just three years ago and this is the first official graduation ceremony with certificates.
This program delivers the skills, knowledge and experience that will assist in making the participants suitable for employment opportunities in both the public and private sector. This training program offers structure, skills training and support and one of the key advantages of this program is that it focuses on decision making and has enhanced their quality of life.
This is the sort of career development that will enable participants to feel that they have truly accomplished a lot and they will, I’m sure, feel empowered to achieve great success as a result.
