CARICOM Skilled Workers Programme creating Advocates for Regional Integration

CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) Focal Points (Senior officials from Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Ministries of Trade within Member States) are being trained as effective advocates for CARICOM integration through the CARICOM Skilled Workers Programme (SWP).

From 22-28 October 2023, participants from Belize, Dominica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines will be hosted in Barbados, while participants from Haiti, Saint Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago are expected to visit Belize from 29 October – 4 November 2023. In addition, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago will host Focal Points in late November and December 2023.

The programme is managed by the CARICOM Secretariat CSME Unit and supported by the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) Strengthening the Framework for the CARICOM Integration and Cooperation Process (SFCICP) Programme.

Fostering advocates for CARICOM Integration

The initiative provides opportunities for learning best practices in the administration of the regimes of the CSME and to develop practical skills through work-related attachments to assist Member States in implementing the CSME and decisions of the Organs and Bodies of the Caribbean Community. The aim is to foster advocates for CARICOM integration through the exposure given to the participants.

CSME Focal Points

The CSME Focal Point (FP) Attachment is one component of the SWP. Each of the 14 Member States that participate in the CSME has a focal point for the CSME. The CSME Focal Points are usually senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Ministry of Trade. The attachment involves cohorts of focal points visiting a Member State for one week. During that week, they will meet with the various government departments with a crucial role in implementing and advancing the CSME.

Focal points will also visit business and private sector organisations to receive information about their participation in the CSME, the challenges experienced, and possible recommendations. They would also be involved in sensitisation sessions with youth and other stakeholders.

Focal points are also tasked with updating and sharing information on CSME implementation with their home countries.

At the end of the visit, the focal points are expected to deliver a collaborative presentation on their main findings and recommendations to the authorities responsible for implementing the CSME in the governments of the host Member States and the CARICOM Secretariat.

The overarching goal of the SWP is to advance regional integration and highlight the significant economic, social and cultural benefits of free movement by all Member States.

Source: CARICOM TODAY