Youth Development and National Service Minister, the Honourable Foster Cummings, today, visited the Point Lisas and Woodford Lodge Campuses of the National Energy Skills Center (NESC), to explore opportunities for collaboration in training young people of Trinidad and Tobago.
During the visit, Minister Cummings highlighted his Ministry’s intention to “resuscitate the Youth Development Apprenticeship Centres (YDACs) formerly known as Youth Camps by modernizing their existing management model and restructuring the curriculum to meet the current needs of our nation’s youth.”
Minister Cummings also indicated that the Ministry of Youth Development and National Service (MYDNS) is seeking to establish strategic partnerships with key stakeholders to expand the delivery of youth training programmes in both technical and vocational skills and academics. “The Ministry is currently in discussions with the NESC to utilize some of their facilities to establish new Non-Residential Youth Development Centres while employing the expertise of the National Energy Skills Centre, the Youth Training and Employment Partnership Programme (YTEPP), the Military-Led Academic Training Programme (MiLAT) and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC),” the Minister added.
Minister Cummings, accompanied by a team from the MYDNS, including Permanent Secretary – Farook Hosein and Director of Youth Affairs – Sean Ramrattan, met with NESC President – Kern Dass; Vice President, Student Services – Rafael Mohammed, and Dean, School of Continuing Education – Ms Indra Ramroop to discuss the urgent requirements to synthesize the programmes to enable an environment for positive youth development through skills training.
The Ministry of Youth Development and National Service remains committed to bringing all stakeholders together to promote youth development and encourages civic-minded citizens to contribute to national service across Trinidad and Tobago.
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