The Business Training Centre (BTC) is to provide vocational and digital skills training to 150 unemployed and underemployed young people in Dominica under a new year-long programme funded by the Maria Holder Memorial Trust.
The initiative, titled «Digital Inclusion», is aimed at equipping participants with practical skills for the labour market and for digital work, according to the Business Training Centre. It will run for twelve months and targets young Dominicans who are either out of work or working below their capacity.
The programme combines vocational training with digital skills, reflecting the growing demand for technology-related competencies across the Eastern Caribbean. By focusing on unemployed and underemployed youth, the BTC and the Maria Holder Memorial Trust are seeking to address a persistent gap between the skills young people hold and the skills employers and the digital economy require.
The Maria Holder Memorial Trust is funding the initiative, allowing the Business Training Centre to deliver the training at no stated cost to participants. The trust has supported social development projects in the region, and this programme extends that work into Dominica's youth training sector.
One hundred and fifty places are available. The year-long format suggests participants will receive sustained instruction rather than short workshops, giving them time to build competence in both vocational trades and digital tools.
Details of how young people can apply, the specific vocational areas to be covered, and the locations where training will take place have not yet been announced. The Business Training Centre is expected to release further information on registration and scheduling.
The programme arrives as Dominica continues to develop its economy across agriculture, fisheries, tourism, geothermal energy and digital services. Skills training for young people is widely seen as central to helping Dominicans at home take up opportunities in these sectors and in the wider CARICOM labour market.
Unemployment and underemployment among young people remain concerns across the Caribbean, and initiatives that pair vocational instruction with digital literacy are increasingly favoured by governments and development partners. The Digital Inclusion programme places Dominica within that regional trend.
For the 150 young people who will take part, the training offers a route to certification and employability. For the island, it represents an investment in human capital at a time when digital skills are needed in offices, farms, fisheries, tourism enterprises and small businesses alike.
The Business Training Centre has not indicated whether the programme will be extended beyond its first year or expanded to additional participants. Further announcements are expected as the initiative gets under way.
