The Ministry of Commerce, Manufacturing, Business Development, Cooperatives and Consumer Affairs will host a closing ceremony for the Small Business Development Centre - Young Entrepreneurs in Action (SBDC-YEA!) Program, tomorrow.

The ceremony culminates a six-week job attachment program that ran from July 14 to August 22, and aims to equip students with the entrepreneurial skills required to establish their own businesses.

Now in its fourth year, the program targeted 100 secondary school students who were enrolled and assigned to 60 participating businesses across a range of sectors, from culinary arts to agro-processing, hairstyling, nailcare, building technology, automotive repair and electrical engineering.

The core objectives of the SBDC Young Entrepreneurs in Action Program are:

• To promote an entrepreneurial culture and afford hands-on experience to youth, in particular, secondary school students in Forms Four and Five
• To allow SBDC clients an opportunity to transfer skills and knowledge to students
• To provide SBDC clients with additional staff, with a view to improving productivity levels
• To increase diversity in the workplace through the interaction with the students and the SBDC clients

The closing ceremony for the SBDC YEA Program will be held on Wednesday, Sep. 10 at the Finance Administrative Centre (Fifth Floor, Conference Room), Pointe Seraphine, Castries. The ceremony starts at 10 a.m.

The day's program is attached.