Trinidad and Tobago job training programme hosts virtual outreach, offers extended virtual orientation in effort to get more youth involved
PORT OF SPAIN, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO — The On-the-Job Training Programme (OJT) recently held a virtual outreach programme in an effort to encourage more young people to take advantage of opportunities offering job training that renders them workforce-ready.
The OJT is defined on its website as a “pre-employment programme that offers participants between the ages of 16 and 35 an induction into the world of work and focuses on their acquisition of practical occupational skills and experience within organizations both public and private in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago”.
The On-the-Job Training (OJT) Programme of Trinidad & Tobago.
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic nearly two years ago, the job training programme has had to make some adjustments to its operations, but the virtual outreach hosted by La Horquetta/Talparo Member of Parliament Foster Cummings served to remind the youth of Trinidad & Tobago of the benefits to be reaped by enrolling in such a programme.
During that initiative, the Ministry of Labour reported that “over 100 young participants gained further insight into the objectives of the OJT Programme and were reminded that the programme offers an opportunity to gain hands-on work experience, with the goal of making trainees more marketable for sustainable employment”.
Expanded virtual orientation
Going even further, the programme also decided to hold an extended virtual orientation last month, during which participants were treated to several sessions designed to improve their job-readiness. Some of the most pertinent and practical job-training topics included workplace safety and etiquette, customer service and teamwork.
“The OJT Division has continually been adapting its operations to adjust to the ever-evolving nature of the pandemic,” noted the ministry.
A group of young people work at a shared table.
“Despite the shift to an online nature over the past year, trainees have been expressing their appreciation for the session; they participate in activities, polls and engage in fruitful discussion. Thus, for the month of October, the OJT Division has expanded the virtual orientation into a two-day session to afford over 300 young OJT ambassadors a greater training experience.”
According to the Ministry of Labour, the OJT director opened the session by “sharing words of wisdom, encouraging trainees ‘to be the best person that they can be, to be disciplined and always remember that OJT is a learning experience’”.
“To borrow the words of one of our trainees,” it said, “education has made you a good student and we hope that you all look forward to developing practical workplace skills over the next two years as an OJT.”
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