A new wave of skilled workers is emerging in Saint Lucia and across the Caribbean thanks to the Skills to Access the Green Economy (SAGE) apprenticeship program.
Over 180 Caribbean citizens, including 40 Saint Lucians, have received certified training for high-demand green jobs, demonstrating that apprenticeships can be a direct pathway into sustainable careers with real wages and recognized qualifications.
Pat Bidert, Senior Technical Advisor, highlighted the transformative potential of the program.
“The significance I think of SAGE and this apprenticeship program is that it’s working to look at people that are unskilled to help them get certification and get training in the field so they can become skilled trades workers,” he said.
Bidert explained the wider regional context, noting that “across the Caribbean and in Saint Lucia, there isn’t enough training opportunities. We have lots of people that have been trained by their aunt, their uncle, whoever, but they haven’t been trained fully in theory combining that with practice. We’re hoping that it’ll change how we look at skilled trades workers and how we can upskill workers in the country.”
Parry Thomas, Executive Director of the Saint Lucia TVET Council, emphasized the need to elevate apprenticeships to the same level as non-trade professions.
“As you know, a lot of our people over the years have acquired the technical expertise, have acquired the skills of functioning in areas such as HR management and accounting. However, we have not established the framework that says, okay, let us create parity between trades and non-trade skills. We have not done so,” Thomas said.
He added that the SAGE program aims to address that gap. “In this particular instance, we are trying to establish that parity and utilizing a framework that is applied so that persons both within trades and non-trade areas can actually proceed within the apprenticeship program.”
The SAGE initiative is being hailed as a model for the Caribbean, proving that green jobs are not only viable career options but also opportunities to formally certify and upskill workers in areas critical for sustainable development.