JUNIOR PARLIAMENTARIANS from across the region held court in Barbados’ historic Parliament Buildings in The City yesterday.
The assembled youth, representing the Cayman Islands, The Bahamas, Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago, Bermuda, Guyana and host country Barbados debated the passing of a resolution for Government to pick up the slack concerning job creation incentives when the private sector failed to do so with youth unemployment and education coming under sharp focus.
Youth Prime Minister Roshanna Trim said employment creation programmes were failing and it was time to take the focus off traditional career paths and start teaching entrepreneurship in schools.
“We must teach youth they do not need to work for somebody; they can work for themselves. When you have discouraged youth, they turn to crime and violence. This is something we cannot and will not allow,” she said.
Trim called for special grants for youth interested in niche markets; a commitment to regional integration and free movement and incentives for businesses which employ youth.
“This is the day where insularity and prejudices must end . . . without regional integration, we will lose our youth and a country without youth is doomed,” she said.
In rebuttal, Youth Parliament Opposition Leader Krystal Hoyte said while her side supported the resolution in spirit, there were some inconsistencies, such as not outlining whether the youth would be trained adequately for the jobs and the age group identified – 16 to 24. According to Hoyte, that group did not accurately represent those seeking jobs. She instead suggested the age group should be 18 to 34.
“The resolution is innovative but needs tweaking,” she said.
The two parties debated the issue back and forth, with matters such as foreign interests, higher education and technical and vocational skills being discussed. (CA)
