Employers are reminded that on polling day for the by-election in St. James North on Wednesday, May 21, they must allow each elector in their employ who resides in that constituency a reasonable period of not less than one hour for voting.

Employers must not make any deductions from wages, salaries or any other remuneration, or impose upon the elector any penalty due to their absence for the period of voting.

According to the Election Offences and Controversies Act, any employer who directly or indirectly refuses, or by intimidation, undue influence, or in any other way interferes with an elector’s right to vote, is liable on summary conviction to a fine of $500 or to imprisonment for six months.  

For more information on Election Offences, members of the public should call the Electoral and Boundaries Commission at 535-4800.

Students pursuing the Master’s programmes in Innovation, Manufacturing, Management and Entrepreneurship as well as Innovative Design and Entrepreneurship at the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) are currently on island for a study tour. 

The tour is being done in collaboration with the Ministries of Innovation, Science and Technology; Energy and Business; and Training and Tertiary Education.

Speaking yesterday while visiting a local business, Assistant Professor of the Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing and Entrepreneurship Units at UTT, Dr. Jorrel Bisnath, explained that the students participating in these specific areas were chosen because the university and the Government of Trinidad and Tobago have recognised them as being critical for sustainable development.

According to Dr. Bisnath, the UTT hopes that initiatives like the study tour will expose the students to the best of professional business practices while simultaneously helping them to mature in a very short space of time, since they are being exposed to over 12 companies.

“Every year, we identify a regional economy that is of value or in alignment with our objectives, within the programme, which is to support manufacturing, entrepreneurship and innovation, and our students are expected to identify what best practices take place in these economies, … compare them to Trinidad and Tobago, [and] look for opportunities for integration, development, adoption and also growth,” he stated.

He added that this type of exposure allows the students to exercise their corporate skills and professional expectations and also helps them to easily integrate into regional work environments.

“We know that for us as a region to progress we must develop these inherent talents… and in viewing and visiting the companies that we’ve been exposed to here, I think it would have been apparent that we are doing so many things very well, but they’re also quite well kept secrets.

“We went to Lenstec today, which is a world class manufacturing facility right here in Barbados. We went to McBrides, who is a leading distributor of aerosols across the region and delving into North America as well… and all of these companies have told us that Barbados is not a manufacturing economy.”

The UTT professor noted that although countries like Trinidad and Barbados are producing ‘world class outputs with limited resources’, there is a struggle in trying to achieve specific goals, even though there is an input of work because there is also a lack of sharing and collaboration.

“I think opportunities like this really open our eyes and exposes our students to what the possibility is for them and how they can contribute… and to be afforded the support that the Government of Barbados has provided, I think has gone a long way to help with that integration and our development, so we are truly grateful.

Minister of Training and Tertiary Education, Sandra Husbands, acknowledged that Trinidad has been leading the region in manufacturing, setting the example for Barbados, but added: “We do not have to buy somebody else’s property; we can produce a quality product here.”

She continued: “Barbados is following suit. We have just started to do some investment in an international food centre to help us to begin to do the Agro-processing that we need to do, and to be able to encourage our small innovators to begin to think big and to think in terms of export.”

The Minister revealed that her Ministry will be opening the Agricultural Institute in Hope, St. Lucy, to be able to help the country to build its skills in agriculture, especially within a climate challenged environment.

“We’ve seen the impact, … but we want to go further than just simply produce food for immediate consumption as is, but to be able to lay the foundation for Agro-processing and to be able to start producing products. I firmly believe that if we are going to deal with the NCDs that plague our region, and especially in Barbados, I know they don’t have it quite as much in the other islands, but we definitely have a problem here. 

“We have to look at our domestic foods and look at how we can produce a new family line of snacks that are healthy and that are attractive…. I think if we could actually create some type of product that is healthy, I believe that we can make a tremendous difference. So, I really, truly welcome having you here, and I trust that for you, this particular experience here in Barbados will empower and energise you. I’ll be looking to see you producing things in the future and offering yourselves, across the region to help us build capacity,” she told the visiting students. (PR/GIS)

Caption: Minister of Training and Tertiary Education, Sandra Husbands, and officials pose for a photograph with Assistant Professor of the Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing and Entrepreneurship Units at the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT), Dr. Jorrel Bisnath (third from left), and students, during a visit to a local business