The official ceremony to mark the handing over of tools and equipment to trainees in The Mustique Charitable Foundation (MCF)/Barrouallie Technical Institute (BarTech) Startup Grant/Loan Project took place on Friday, July 29, 2022 from 10 am at the Barrouallie Learning Resource Centre.
The Startup Grant/Loan Project has been made possible by a grant from MCF and will enable ten (10) trainees from six (6) specialty areas to receive tools and equipment to start their own business after completing training at BarTech. The specialty areas chosen for this Project are Housekeeping, Cake Baking and Decoration, Front Office Operation, Garment Production, Amenity Horticulture, and General Administration.
Mrs. Pearlette Primus-Hannaway (Principal of BarTech) stated that the idea for this Project came about as many BarTech trainees started businesses within their specialty areas to earn extra funds during their training year. However, most would have had to ask to use tools and equipment at BarTech. BarTech saw this as an opportunity and brought forward the idea for the Project to MCF. Mrs. Primus-Hannaway also expressed her immense gratitude for the funding received from MCF for this project and thanked them for the continual support over the years.
At the ceremony, during her brief address, Natalia Gill (MCF Project Director) encouraged the ten (10) recipients to “become not only physically, but emotionally invested into their business and to not take the training received at BarTech for granted”.
The Project, as the name suggests, takes the form of a grant/loan agreement which would see recipients pay back 20% of the total cost of the tools and equipment three (3) months after their business becomes operational. This will help trainees to gain a sense of responsibility and ensure that they are able to sustain a profit-making business. The funds that are paid back will then be used to assist trainees in the 2023-2024 academic year.
