25/06/2024

Taiwan, Saint Lucia Building Capacity for Saint Lucian Youth, Young Athletes and Women

By Taiwan Embassy

Over the past week, three important activities were hosted in Saint Lucia, all of which targeted
the human resource development aspect of Saint Lucians across the island.
On Friday, June 21, 2024, a registration and orientation session for the Business Planning
Training was held at the Youth Economy Agency (YEA) office in Castries. The Business
Planning Training is being held under the theme, “Building the Future: One Business Plan at a Time”.

A large number of youth entrepreneurs were present at the session where they were apprised of
what to expect from the training over the next three weeks. Classes will be held at YEA’s
Castries offices and Vieux Fort ICT Centre using a virtual and in-person approach.
Sixty participants will gain a solid understanding of what a business plan is, its purpose, and why it is
crucial for their ventures; gain and understanding the purpose and importance of a business plan in
securing funding, making informed decisions, and guiding their businesses to success; receive
practical guidance on market research, financial projections, marketing strategies, and operational
planning; and network and collaborate with fellow participants.
Also present at last Friday’s registration and orientation session were H.E. Peter Chia-Yen Chen,
Taiwan’s Ambassador to Saint Lucia; Mr. Daniel Lee, Chief of the Taiwan Technical Mission (TTM)
in Saint Lucia; Mr. Bryan Vidal, Chief Executive Officer of the YEA; Mrs. Khrystal Riviere, Chief
Operations Officer of YEA; Ms. Olivia Jn. Baptiste, YEA’s Project Officer for Training and
Development; and Mr. Peter Lorde, Programme Facilitator; and Mr. Rohan Lubon, Acting Deputy
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports.
In his remarks, H.E. Peter Chia-Yen Chen, Taiwan’s Ambassador to Saint Lucia, encouraged the
participants to take advantage of the opportunities being provided to them through the collaboration of
the Taiwan Technical Mission (TTM) and Youth Economy Agency (YEA).
“This is a very important opportunity for young people to equip themselves with business upskilling
and to become sustainably employed,” Ambassador Chen said. “This training stems from a Technical
Cooperation Agreement signed between the Taiwan Technical Mission and Youth Economy Agency
on April 30, 2024. It will provide entrepreneurial training and angel fund for 420 young people, and
establishment of an online platform and business forum.”
Mr. Bryan Vidal, Chief Executive Officer of the YEA, told the participants that the training is
essential if they need to be competitive in their respective businesses.
“The training is not just about writing a business plan, but really to teach you resilience, for you to
really understand your business,” Vidal said. “The key to success for MSMEs is that you must be able
to have knowledge of how to manage your business, how to differentiate revenue from profit. We
really want to take you to that level whereby you move along the MSME spectrum.”

On Thursday, June 20, 2024, an orientation session was hosted at the National Skills
Development Centre (NSDC) in Bisee, Castries, where fifty young athletes are now participating
in a Taiwan-sponsored sporting programme in collaboration with the Government of Saint Lucia.
Following a Technical Cooperation Agreement signed on Thursday, April 18, 2024, between the
Taiwan Technical Mission (TTM) and the National Skills Development Centre (NSDC), the
youth athletes will benefit from a SPORTS programme. SPORTS, or Specialized Programs and
Opportunities Relating to Technical Skills, aims to provide comprehensive upskilling
opportunities for Saint Lucians, with a particular focus on youth athletes, thereby enabling them
to enhance their capacity and life skills.
The programme offers participants career counseling, literacy and numeracy assessments, life
skills training, technical and vocational training, gender awareness training, internship, among
other areas. Through these technical and vocational training sessions, the athletes will be able to
gain the necessary certification to secure sustainable livelihoods and contribute meaningfully to
their country.

Also on Thursday, ten women entrepreneurs from the Micoud Women’s Cluster benefited from
an agro-processing training workshop conducted by the Taiwan Technical Mission (TTM).
During the workshop, the women learned how to use sea moss as a substitute for gelatin to
prepare vegan dishes.