(Basseterre, St. Kitts, July 26, 2013) Several months ago, the Government of St. Kitts-Nevis announced its People Employment Program (PEP) – a high-priority nation-wide initiative via which any national interested in upgrading their job skills would be able to do so, supported by a Government-provided stipend. This was designed in order to ensure that the many massive investment projects that the Government has been successfully bringing to the Federation would redound to the benefit of the people of St. Kitts & Nevis – not merely in a general macro-economic sense, but in direct and personal ways as well since they would be in a stronger position to enter into various types of contractual relations with these new businesses.
The public response to the PEP has been highly enthusiastic due to nationals’ awareness of (i) the scope of the investment projects the Government has brought to the Federation, and (ii) the importance of nationals positioning themselves to capitalize on these projects’ need for employees, service providers, and other specialists, both during their respective construction phases, as well as after these businesses become fully operational.
Underscoring the clarity of vision displayed by the St. Kitts-Nevis Government when they decided to establish this project months ago, Mr. Min Zhu, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair of the International Monetary Fund, just this week made a point of stressing the link between upgraded education and training skills for job seekers and St. Kitts-Nevis maintaining its upward growth trends. A position very much in keeping with that of Eurozone nations which, just last month, decided to follow the urgings of the economic powerhouse of Europe – Germany – by implementing a continent-wide program of broad-based skills training and apprenticeship programs. This, Germany had made clear to them, was essential if the nations of Europe were to stand any chance of withstanding the seemingly never-ending shocks precipitated by the 2008 global economic crisis. And this the Government of St. Kitts-Nevis had realized and made a reality several months back.