PM commissions Entrepreneurial Training Institute

Prime Minister Patrick Manning has described the Entrepreneurial Training Institute and Incubation Centre (ETIIC) as the result of “public policy and private initiative working hand in hand.” Manning was delivering the feature address yesterday at the formal commissioning of ETIIC’s location on the Eastern Main Road, Barataria. ETIIC, an initiative of Nedco and the Ministry of Labour and Small and Micro Enterprise Development, is mandated to offer business training and consultation; seminars; secretarial and graphic design services; and conference and meeting facilities to small and micro entrepreneurs at a monthly cost of $100.

Manning said that technology and globalisation has changed the business environment, as such entrepreneurs are required to be “a step ahead of competitors and consumers,” and since there are many sole traders without access to essential professional business services, he trusts that ETIIC, which is located on the Eastern Main Road, Barataria, would serve to fulfil these needs. There are also plans to establish centres in South and Tobago. Manning hopes that through ETIIC and similar initiatives, the Government hopes to realise its target of creating and sustaining 5,000 new small and micro entrepreneurial organisations annually. He assured that “no one group or class would have the monopoly on entrepreneurship.” He acknowledged that the energy sector is a key contributor to the national economy, but he also praised the manufacturing industry as “an outstanding leader in the region.” Manning said that ETIIC would target youths, with the aim of reducing unemployment and poverty.