Country Saint Lucia

CYEP’s target demographic was youth in conflict with the law, single mothers, and young people who had dropped out of school. We succeeded in helping young men like Job and Michael, former inmates, learn valuable life skills, gain new hope, and find jobs. By building a consortium of partners, we worked to promote lasting change through their relationships and individual capacity building.

In Saint Lucia, CYEP reached 1,010 youth from vulnerable communities, including AnseLa-Raye, Canaries, Dennery, Choiseul, Soufriere, Laborie, Micoud, Vieux Fort and urban Castries. Priority was given to those who had a previous court record, were in conflict with the law (including incarcerated youth), were single mothers, or had dropped out of school.

CYEP’s key implementing partners were: Centre for Adolescent Renewal and Education providing career guidance and support; National Skills Development Centre offering vocational training and job placement services; James Belgrave Micro Enterprise Development Fund providing entrepreneurship training, loans and business support services; RISE mobilizing youth for participation in the project and providing youth access to its Youth Drop-in and Resource Center and Computer Labs; and Saint Lucia Chamber of Commerce providing labor market information, obtaining feedback from employers and businesses, and advising on the training offered to youth.

Project achievements in Saint Lucia include:

At ex-post, despite Saint Lucia’s prolonged economic contraction, 59 percent of graduates from vocational training were employed. Of those working, 91 percent were salaried and under formal contract, and 65 percent were receiving one or more benefits.
20 percent of participants improved their educational situation through additional certification or enrollment in formal education or training.
100 percent of employers expressed satisfaction with the youth they had hosted as interns or hired as entry level employees.