Charlestown, Nevis, February 7, 2019 (DBSKN) — Manager of the Nevis branch of the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis, Ms Hyacinth Pemberton, while acknowledging today’s youth will be tomorrow’s leaders is congratulating the Gingerland Secondary School for preparing the youth for the world of work through career development.
Ms Pemberton made the observation on Wednesday February 6 following the hosting of a successful Career Day at the Gingerland Secondary School, where the Development Bank was one of the organisations that had been invited to put up stands at the Career Day exposition held in the school auditorium.
“The Gingerland Secondary School continues to shine the light by giving guidance to its students as to what to expect in the world of work when they leave school,” said Ms Pemberton. “As an institution which has the interest of the youth as one of its core values, we were more than pleased to join the other employers who went to the school to talk to the students.”
According to the bank official, two staff members were dispatched to the Gingerland Secondary School to man the bank’s stand at the exposition. They were accompanied by a Form 4A3 student of the Gingerland Secondary School, Miss Shemeica Prass, who is currently being exposed to career development on job attachment at the Nevis branch of the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis.
Staff members at the bank stand were Delinquency Officer Ms Hazeldine Lewis, and Compliance, Insurance and Securities Officer Mr Tyron Jeffers, who said that the bank participated during the morning session of the Career Day exposition. The students were given information not only about jobs available at the bank, but also about student loans and the Student Loan Investment Programme (SLIP) which gives parents the opportunity to start saving for the children’s further education from an early age.
Guidance Counsellor and Health Education Officer at the Gingerland Secondary School, Ms Shirley Wilkes, said that Career Day is one of the activities of the Guidance and Counselling Department. She noted that the first Career Day was held in 2016 where the school concentrated more on fifth formers, and getting them to be attached to a workplace.
“This year we decided to include everybody including first and second formers because they are the ones who are going to be choosing their subjects when they reach to 
third form,” observed Ms Wilkes. “So we have invited persons from the community in different careers to come and display what they have to offer so that our children could be knowledgeable when it comes to choosing a career.”
The Guidance Counsellor observed that there were about 25 different career fields lined up and the idea was for children to move around the different stands, ask questions, find out what the different persons who are in the career how it has been for them over the years for them to get ready for their particular career. The students were asked to dress in a way to depict their chosen careers.
“At least they would get out of their uniforms for today and they would depict whatever career they have an interest,” said Ms Wilkes. “They are all excited, and I see students dressed like air hostesses, lawyers, doctors, footballers, singers, actresses … I have seen several. They may or may not attain that, but right now as they are thinking, that is the career they would want to choose.”
Master Lebron Senior a Form 3A2 student, who was one of the many students who visited the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis stand at the Career Day exposition, said that he wants to work in a bank or to be a businessperson. He said that he had gathered a lot of information from the stand, including the offer of student loans, where students attending colleges at home or overseas could get a maximum amount of US$35,000.
“It is the first time I hear anything from this bank,” said Master Senior. “About the student loans, they give a good amount of student loans. With a student loan you could get an opportunity to go and study. I will want to take a student loan and this is the bank to come to.”