Students explored various job and entrepreneurship opportunities at the 3E’s Fair, hosted by the Pinelands Creative Workshop (PCW) at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.
The initiative is an extension of PCW’s 26-year-old Career & Life Management (C.A.L.M.) Programme and was made possible through the support of the Maria Holder Charitable Trust, along with the ministries of labour, environment and health.
For St Michael School Upper Sixth student Rylan Beckles, the fair provided practical information that could help students prepare for the world of work.
“The different booths, they talked and helped me learn how to build CVs, character, and that overall confidence in what you do helps project yourself and could assist you in the world of work,” he said.
Schoolmate Kaitlin Balgobin, a Lower Sixth student, said the fair gave students the chance to explore careers they may not have previously considered.
“I was literally quite able to learn about the 3 Es: education, entrepreneurship, and employment,” she said.
“I think this fair was really beneficial to students because you were able to walk around and see many different booths that may be a part of your career, or careers outside of that, that could have really impacted you.”
Lower Sixth student Siân Pniak said the experience also helped students understand that there was more than one route to building a career.
“I truly believe that it was a great opportunity as well for the students as we are truly the future of Barbados,” she said.
Pniak said students should not feel pressured to follow only one path.
“It’s okay to go into either or both and not having to feel ashamed if you, like, you know, start off at a lower level and build your way up, or if you start and build your way up as a single business.”
The exhibits also encouraged students who were already certain about their career choices to explore related fields, she added.
“Personally for me, it was podiatry and I want to be a sports therapist, so I think that my research on that now is going to go hand-in-hand.”
St George Secondary School fifth-former Ariel Barker- Yarde said the fair also helped clarify the subjects she needed for her future Community College studies.
Barker-Yarde also learned that entrepreneurship could be incorporated into different professions: “So even though you might be a nurse or a doctor, you can still be a entrepreneur.”
For fellow alumna Anique Waithe, the fair provided lessons beyond the traditional classroom.
She said she learned about the Sports Council, despite not being involved in sports, while a visit to the medical booth taught her about “the types of blood and the heart and how to treat your hand”.
The fifth-former also said the fair showed her that entrepreneurship could begin at an early age.
“You don’t have to start when older to start your own business. You could start from small and grow big to get better at it,” Waithe said.
Christ Church Foundation School Lower Sixth student Reane Alleyne said: “What really interested me about this whole entire affair was just the different exhibits that we have all around, like the dietitian exhibit, and even the marine, and just different environments exhibits we have here,” she said.
The environmental displays introduced her to information she had not known before, including an endangered species found in Barbados, Alleyne said.
“I really enjoyed learning everything, and then I also enjoyed the speeches that we had on stage. It was very informative.”
Her schoolmate Zion Kellman said the fair also showed him that careers and businesses could extend beyond what people traditionally associate with particular industries.
“What I found interesting about this… is that business is very broad,” he said.
Kellman pointed to the marine and food nutrition exhibits as examples, explaining that both fields could incorporate business opportunities.
“Food nutrition can be a lot more than just cooking and culinary arts. They can also go into like making dietary supplies to help with people like with dietary issues,” he said.
Alleyne School student Jonathan Ward said: “What I found interesting about this fair is the laughter that I have with my friends and also, too, the environmental thing and chef work.
That’s what I found fun in this fair.” (LE)
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