On Feburary 5th and 6th the Youth Affairs Department of the Collectivité of Saint-Martin is organizing a forum entitled CAP AVENIR. The event is designed to provide young people with the maximum of information on employment possibilities as well as opportunities for Higher education.
It is primarily destined to an audience from the middle schools, high schools, the unemployed and the public at large.
This forum is a first for the Collectivité and it is driven by the policy that requires that the administration provide our young people with all of the tools necessary for their success in the job market. This is essentially why we have chosen the slogan "Define Your Future" for this event because we hope that when the participants leave this event that they will have a clearer vision on career choices, which schools are better adapted to their aspirations and how to plan for their future in the job market.
Invited to exhibit at this event are organizations from the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, and Metropolitan France as well as from the Guadeloupe and Martinique. Institutions of higher education such as the University of Antilles Guyane, University of Sint Maarten, University of the West Indies, University of the Virgin Islands as well as schools from Canada, Florida and France are also invited. Professional training organizations such as GRETA, CFA Saint Martin, Comptoir des Iles and institutions that counsel and orient youngsters on very simple but fundamental things such as how to interview, dress for an interview or on how to put together a CV will also be on hand. Businesses from both sides have been invited to inform participants about the careers that are available within their organizations and the criteria that are important for them in a future employee. Banking have also indicated that they will provide information on the financing aspects of funding tuition for university or trade school. The Collectivité will be represented and we will be able to present young people with all of the various aid packages and help that the administration has put together in the above areas.
The question might be asked, why are we doing this? The answer is simple. We are doing this in order to open new doors and avenues for our students. We have found that many of our parents and young people are unprepared for the challenges that a student may face when they leave home and enter the university environment. This is resulting in a large number of dropouts and discouraged young people. A lot of the issues that burden our young people and their families are problems with being able to adapt in a new environment, issues of budgeting, financing school as well as educational orientation and the amount of effort that it will take to succeed in a chosen stream. It is obvious, that in order to remedy the situation that there needs to be better planning before the university stage both in career choice and logistical preparation. With this forum we hope to answer many of those questions.
We also hope that this forum will open new avenues in career choices for our students as well as inform them as to the job possibilities that are open or will open on the job market here on Saint Martin.
For young people who may have left school with or without a degree we also want to provide them with the maximum of information so that they can either complete their education through university or professional training or enter the job market.
CAP Avenir is organized as a two day job, professional training and educational fair. For each of the two days there is a specific audience that is being targeted. On Friday, the 5th we hope to host all of the students from the junior and high schools from both sides of the island. That means the three colleges, the Lycée as well as the some of the upper class men from the high schools on the Dutchside of the island.
Day two, Saturday, February 6th is dedicated primarily to those who are interested in pursuing their education, in professional training or have left school and are confused about what to do about their futures. Parents are also encouraged to attend the forum at that time as there will be workshops and information sessions to help them and their children plan the next step in their career.
This occasion, is also an opportunity for the professionals in the various sectors to encounter a large cross section of the population of Saint-Martin. It will allow many the opportunities to encounter a part of the workforce that they might not have had access to.
CAP Avenir is a first for the Collectivité, and we have a number of partners who have been involved in planning this event including our counterparts from the Southern part of island in the Departments of Education and Youth Affairs. The Inter-Professional Chamber and National Education have also played key roles in helping us with this event. I want to thank and acknowledge, the Pole Developpement Humain led by Mr. Hughes MaGloire and Priscillia Bade who has worked tirelessly on this event.