Caroni’s new world order

Discover your entrepreneurial spirit, Caroni workers are being told. Be prepared for new jobs, arm yourselves for retraining; words that are becoming Government’s mantra for re-deploying workers whose lives are wedged to the sugar industry.    

Some $953 million will go towards Caroni’s enhanced VSEP programme, of which $25 million will go to help train employees for jobs outside of the sugar industry. Even as the government faces strident opposition on how it goes about the restructuring of Caroni, government is pushing ahead with plans to provide training opportunities for cane farmers wishing to enhance their current skills and take up new careers under its VSEP programme. Employees’ VSEP letters include forms that can be used to request specific areas of training available at some of the leading institutions in Trinidad and Tobago. This training is being provided by government at no cost to employees.

Easier said than done. “Leave to go where, to do what?” a cane cutter said as he sat under a tree in a canefield in Freeport last week. “This is what I know,” said another, waving his cutlass towards the cane.  According to Agriculture Minister John Rahael, the training being provided by government through various institutions across the country are to help employees find jobs outside of the sugar industry. “What we are trying to do is make these people marketable and help them find jobs with new and enhanced skills,” he said. Over 2,500 Caroni employees have already opted for VSEP and Rahael expects that over the next few weeks more people are going to apply for VSEP. “I want to encourage them to take the VSEP and all the other non-cash benefits like land and skills training because it is in their best interest,” he said in an interview.

Rahael noted though that while this training is being provided, it does  not mean that they will be absorbed into the restructured sugar industry. But UWI economist Dr Dhanayshar Mahabir disagrees with Rahael. He said the government does not have a plan for labour adjustment in a declining sugar industry. He said the creation of job opportunities required investment in infrastructure and a recognition that time is needed for such an an exercise, noting that economic adjustment would take at least seven years. “Accordingly,” he said, “the ‘cold turkey’ approach of government will result in social fallout, and government will have lost its opportunity to convert a large loss-making state farm into a profitable agricultural network comprising numerous family farms producing for both domestic and foreign markets.”

As it stands now, cane farmers have over 75 academic, technical and vocational courses from which to choose. These will be made available through institutions like the Youth Training Employment Partnership Programme (YTEPP); the Ministry of Agriculture; UWI School of Continuing Studies; the Employers Consultative Association; the National Energy Skills Centre (NESC), and Cipriani College of Labour and Co-operative Studies, among others. The government has hired the Employees Consultative Association (ECA)  to provide confidential counselling, psychological and financial advisory services.

Linda Besson, executive director, ECA, said the organisation is providing training and re-training activities to those persons who opted for VSEP. She said consultation sessions have already started at centres in Usine, Ste Madeleine, Sevilla and Woodford Lodge to assist employees in dealing with the unease that often accompanies separation — whether due to financial anxiety or family tension. “Our counsellors will also guide employees in how to take charge of their future using the many opportunities available to them through Caroni’s enhanced VSEP,  including the challenge of self-employment.”

She said these services are currently available to all employees and will continue to be accessible even after their separation from the company. Besson said financial and investment advice will be provided by financial  institutions like Unit Trust Corporation, First Citizens Bank, Scotiabank Limited, Eastern Credit Union and the National Insurance Board. “What we are really doing,” she said, “is helping people cater for a career change and to enhance their skills to become employable or become self-employed.” Zameer Mohammed, business development manager, NESC, said NESC’s package includes custom-made programmes designed with the Caroni employee in mind.

In a presentation on February 28 to Caroni’s board, Mohammed told Caroni’s board that compressor maintenance, project management and applied computer and controls system could be offered.  Mohammed said the aim of the programmes is to offer Caroni employees a choice, rather than a short one-off course. He added that their research into Caroni’s competency gaps revealed that there are four distinct categories of personnel who needed re-tooling:  tradesmen/helpers; trainee/technicians; foremen/technicians and engineers. There are competency gaps in all categories, he said. “The NESC,” he said, “will make every effort to match industry experience, maturity and other variables to create an active learning environment for Caroni employees.”

Mohammed explained that most of the programmes offered by NESC to Caroni require little entry qualifications, stressing that its customised programmes can create the groundwork for entry into the programmes. One of the unique features of NESC’s offering to Caroni is that all full-time participants are eligible for placement in existing organisations for specified periods. “This allows for industry adaptation and application of new technology.” He said he could not guarantee that all persons who enroll in NESC’s programmes will get a job. “The NESC,” he said, “is about increasing the probability at securing a job. We do this by relating our programmes to labour market studies, competency gaps and new and emerging trends in industry and technology.” Mohammed said the cost of these programmes to the government has not been determined. He said Caroni has to determine how many and what kinds of programmes they are interested in and the delivery mode (fulltime or part-time). “The NESC is open to all these options for delivery. Only then can an assessment of the cost can be determined.”

He said the NESC has not received any applications as yet from VSEP applicants for enrollment, but he noted that the institution has indicated to Caroni of its readiness to begin its customised programmes immediately. YTEPP’s Paras Ramoutar said the programmes will cater to everyone at Caroni, regardless of age. Those enrolled in YTEPP on a full-time basis will be placed in a “skills bank,” where they can find jobs, he said. With skills training, Rahael  is confident that most, if not all, of Caroni’s employees will be able to find jobs. “We anticipate a boom in the construction sector with all the schools, houses, office accommodations and government buildings that have to be constructed,” he said. There will be a shortage of skilled construction workers, noting that Caroni workers can help fill this void. “This is just one of the sectors that we are catering for,” he said, adding that he hoped workers “will discover their entrepreneurial spirit,” he said.