Youth Link grads told to persevere

SIXTY-EIGHT graduates of the Republic Bank Youth Link apprenticeship programme have been reminded of the old saying — perseverance seldom fails. In emphasising the point to the youths, managing director-designate of Republic Bank, David Dulal-Whiteway, said, “I learned from watching our very own Brian Lara. While there may have been difficulties with our cricket team recently, he didn’t just settle for his “duck.” “He went back to the pavilion, worked out what was wrong and played a better shot the next time. The message to you is always persevere.” Dulal-Whiteway expressed his sentiments when he gave the the feature address at Tuesday’s graduation function held at Hilton Trinidad.

The graduates, their parents and friends listened to Dulal-Whiteway’s words of encouragement as they prepare to enter the world of work, after seven months of training by Republic Bank. “I am sure that looking back on it now, you will realise how admirably you rose to the challenges, and how necessary that push was to get you started on your journey. “That’s professional life in a bank — dynamic and challenging — with many hurdles to overcome before you succeed in your chosen area,” said Dulal-Whiteway. He told the graduates that they were now in a more marketable position, fully aware of what it means to work for an institution that takes social responsibility seriously.

“What we tried to do with you over these seven months was to motivate and empower you with new knowledge and experiences. “We also tried to instil in you, a culture of proper work values and ethics. “It is necessary to take comprehensive steps to achieve far-reaching improvements in work attitude and habits, discipline, teamwork and capacities for leadership, innovation and creativity,” he said. Republic Bank introduced the Youth Link programme in 1966. With this current group of graduates, the number of students who have passsed through the programme is now 1,400.