385 Community Education Programmes courses set for 2020
The Ministry of Community Development, Culture and Arts launches its 2020 Community Education Programme (CEP) tomorrow March 6, 2020 with the publication of the schedule of three hundred and eighty-five (385) free courses being offered throughout Trinidad.
The Ministry has commissioned 36 new community centres over the last four (4) years with, five (5) of these being used for the expanded Community Education Programme. This expansion provides for a boost to communities and supports the tenets of sustainability through skills and knowledge sharing. This highly anticipated annual programme, runs between March and August and caters to over ten thousand (10 000) persons annually.
Coming out of the explosion of craft markets and CARIESTA XIV, the CEP will provide training for both an enhanced quality of life, as well as targeted efforts to empower individuals with the right competences to progress as professionals, sustainable self-employment and entrepreneurship.
According to Community Development Minister Dr. the Honourable Nyan Gadsby-Dolly “this skills training programme gives people from all backgrounds the opportunity to better adapt to change and enable them to be engaged citizens. We need to harness the potential of entrepreneurship and foster social cohesion, to do so, we have to build on our communities and provide them with essential tools for sustainability.”
In 2019, 11,454 persons completed the CEP. The 2020 cycle offers both basic and advanced courses designed to meet the changes in various industries, demands for skills in key areas of construction, cosmetology and fashion and provides skills and training that would allow for home-based and scaled ventures. Some of the courses offered include Barbering, Cabinet Making, Tiling, Makeup Artistry, Hairdressing, Event Management, Care of the Elderly, Catering and Hospitality, Child Care, Fabric Design, Food Preparation, Garment Construction, Plumbing, Domestic Air Condition Servicing and many more.
Registration begins on Monday 9th March, 2020 at Community Development Division district offices. Classes begin March 16, 2020 and run for twenty (20) weeks for the basic programme and twenty-five (25) for the advanced. Students receive a certificate of participation upon completion and are immediately able to market their skills at the Community Festivals and Sales Day hosted by the Ministry.
Later in 2020, the Ministry will offer additional training for previous graduates of the programme in key areas including business and marketing skills. The aim being to further support their burgeoning entrepreneurial pursuits.
For further information, interested persons can visit cdca.gov.tt, follow the Ministry’s social media pages or call 225-cdca.