Caribbean youth profit from training in financial management

The Commonwealth Secretariat trained 54 youth leaders from Caribbean countries on helping young people manage money and be more enterprising, at a two-day workshop in Nassau, The Bahamas.

The Secretariat Train-the-Trainers Youth Leaders Initiative from 16 to 18 June brought together youth leaders from 17 Caribbean countries and islands.

Cheryl Bruce, Economic Adviser at the Secretariat, said: “The initiative aimed at developing a cadre of youth leaders with the necessary skills and resources needed to teach young people how to manage their finances and make choices on financial products that best suited their needs. There was also a need to ensure that the future trainers were themselves more confident about their own money management skills.” 

She added that the participants displayed a high degree of motivation, focus, and professionalism throughout the entire programme, which included sessions on youth enterprise development with examples being drawn from successful initiatives taking place in the UK.

"The Commonwealth Secretariat recognises the need to stimulate youth employment and enterprise and to help foster growth and development in the region," Ms Bruce stated. 

Two hours after the official activities had ended on the final day of the programme, the youth leaders appeared to be in no hurry to leave the training room. They were still asking questions about money management and were focused on exploring the most effective approaches on teaching young people how to manage money.

"The participants came here with a hunger to learn how to impact the lives of young people in their schools, youth and community groups, and we have tried to ensure that they leave here equipped to do so,” said Cecil Sylvester, a Trinidad and Tobago-based financial consultant who was one of the trainers.

Participants placed great value on the training, not just for the techniques provided, but also for the personal benefits that would accrue to both them and the youth they hoped to train.

Crystal Alexander, a high school teacher from The Bahamas and a Commonwealth Youth Ambassador, recognised how much young people in her country needed programmes in financial literacy.  

"A lot of the young people I interact with aspire to work in the tourism industry because of the money, however, they lack the right mindset to handle money responsibly.

“I feel really privileged that I can, not only put into action what I have learnt, but also go into the community as one young person to another and say to them, if I can do this so can you.”

Natasha Yeeloy, who works with the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports in Dominica, said: "I am at the age where I'm thinking of buying a home and starting a family. I also want to be an entrepreneur and I feel so empowered by what I have learnt at this workshop. It came at just the right time."

As part of the programme, the trainers were given a chance to hone their newly developed skills when, on the final day, over 60 young Bahamians aged 14-17 from various schools and youth groups were invited to learn about money management and business enterprise.

Through drama, games, visuals and improvised raps with lyrics like: "If I don't have the cash I ain’t gonna splash", the youth leaders kept their audience engaged as they taught young people how to be responsible with money.  Later that day, the initiative culminated with a financial literacy exposition and outreach to the public at one of the country’s malls. Here financial institutions, NGOs, and regulatory authorities partnered with the group to make the event a success.
 
While the three-day programme in The Bahamas has ended for participants, the work is only just beginning. The newly trained group has been tasked with the responsibility of taking the training forward to young people in their home country. 

Kerry Edwards, a youth leader who works as a Monitoring Officer at the Ministry of Youth, Empowerment and Sports in Grenada, was busy pulling together materials to disseminate training in financial literacy to youth in Grenada. 

"I really want to make an impact, so I was paying attention to everything because I just wanted to grasp it," Mr Edwards said.

"I need to go back home and take forward this message when school reopens in September. I want our ministry to have a financial literacy programme ready to reach the young people in every village."