THE SVG Co-operative Credit Union League has instituted a customized programme of training in Co-operatives for senior students of secondary schools. The programme will constitute five modules to be delivered in three-hour seminars held quarterly each year.{{more}}

The programme was launched with the first seminar, which was convened on Thursday, February 25, 2010, at the Co-operative League Centre at Lower Kingstown Park. With the collaboration of the Ministry of Education, 36 students participated from nine secondary schools located in and around Kingstown. The team of facilitators was selected from the leadership level of the local Co-operative Movement.

Combining visual displays with interactive methods of instruction, the students received a comprehensive illustration of traditional and modern forms of co-operative practices; the rudiments of co-operative philosophy, values and principles; the structure, governance and operation of co-operatives; the differences between co-operatives and other forms of business enterprise; the role of co-operatives in national development; and the growth of co-operatives in the Caribbean.

While providing information to students with an interest in selecting co-operative enterprises as an area of research for their CXC school-based assessment projects, the training will serve to fulfill two crucial objectives. It will increase the interest of young people in pursuing the co-operative ethos and entrepreneurship as a successful way of life, and provide an understanding of the importance of co-operatives in socio-economic development.