School leavers thronged to inaugural Youth Career Symposium

A significant public private partnership saw the first Youth Career Symposium being hosted on Thursday, geared towards equipping school leavers for the workforce and higher education.

The event was hosted at The Palms on February 9, and is a collaboration between the ministry of education and The Hartling Group (sponsorship).

The first Career Symposium, held under the theme Creating Innovators - Developing Our Youth Who Will Change the World’, saw scores of teens from the around the territory attending, as they absorbed the knowledge and advice shared by government and industry officials and other influential youth leaders in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Premier, Honourable Charles Washington Misick was in attendance, encouraging the students – primarily made up of fifth formers - to pursue a higher education and to take advantage of the opportunities the government has provided including free tuition at the TCI Community College.

Eight professional speakers from various industries were lined up for the day’s event, touching on critical areas from the TCI Building Human Capacity Program such as communication, teamwork, the importance of mental health and wellness, etiquette, and grooming.

The guest speaker was Ashley Brooks, who made history last year becoming the first Turks and Caicos Islander to sign a professional American Football contract with the Timisoara 89ers in Romania.

At the end of the sessions the highschoolers were invited to engage with companies that were represented.