Labour Minister Shane Gibson said there will be 900 young Bahamians employed in the first program of the National Training Agency.

At the official launch last evening, the minister said the program will see the employment of its first group of trainees next month.

Mr. Gibson said the session will begin during first week of August and last for 10 weeks.

However, sessions after will consequently lead to the “training, development and eventual apprenticeship, internship and job placements of thousands of young, industrious, hard-working Bahamians, thereby creating a seasoned and well-trained Bahamian workforce fully dedicated to service excellence.”

“We all are cognizant of the fact that greatness is not achieved in a vacuum,” he said.

“Hence, we realize that the success of this most significant initiative required a multi-faceted partnership, inclusive of government, public and private sector partners”

“The National Training Project will work in partnership with City & Guilds, one of the foremost leaders in vocational education, which bases itself on the core principle, “learning has no limits.”

“The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology currently partners with City and Guilds on our BGSCE Exams and so the National Training Project is indeed honoured to be affiliated with this globally recognized training institute. “
Parliamentarians are currently debating the legislation for the agency.

However, Prime Minister Perry Christie said that he will see to it that the legislation is passed before the House of Assembly breaks for summer.

“The National Training Agency when established, as an autonomous body, will develop a competency based training and job placement system that would be responsive and flexible to actual requirements of the workplace via a network of suitable training institutions, organizations and programs involved in the process of supplying qualified and skilled labour for the country,” he said.

“By mandate, the Agency’s training programmes will be designed to develop and improve employable skills and competencies; transform undesirable attitudes and behaviours toward work; reduce functional and numerical illiteracy, encourage and increase civic pride and positively influence the reduction in crime.”

“The most cited areas of training needs were improving production, soft skills (social graces, communication, personal habits, friendliness, optimism) and computational skills. The National Training Agency will be more than equipped to ensure that these critical skill sets are taught to the cohorts of participants.”

Former South Beach Member of Parliament Agatha Marcelle is the director of the programme and has vowed to give her all in ensuring that the programme is as effective as it can possibly be.