On Friday January 11, 2008 the OECS Secretariat in Castries hosted a briefing session for seven students from Saint Lucia and Dominica, six of whom who left on Sunday January 13 to study in the French West Indies with a full scholarship, as part of the FORPROCARIB programme.

This training programme comprises two main segments: five and a half months of French language training at the University of the French West Indies and Guiana in Martinique; followed by two years of professional training in Technical Education in Guadeloupe in various fields.

The FORPROCARIB project was originally launched in 2004 to promote a common space for professional training in the Eastern Caribbean, more specifically between the OECS member states and the French Départements of Guadeloupe and Martinique. With funding provided by the Government of France, this project is a breakthrough in several aspects, opening the way to fruitful partnerships in the field of education in the future. This specific training programme is aimed at allowing students from various OECS Member States to pursue professional and technical education in Guadeloupe in the field of Construction, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration and Hospitality. With the successful completion of the training students will be awarded a BTS Professional Technician Certification - the highest degree in that field.

The seven students will be sharing the French language course with thirteen other students from Saint Lucia, Dominica, Grenada and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, who are preparing to enter the University of the French West Indies and Guiana in September 2008 for bachelor’s or master’s degrees.  The university offers this intensive language course free of charge to allow citizens of OECS member states to close the language gap and be able to register for classes, in an effort to show its dedication to support human resources development in the region and strengthen the ties between the French West Indies and the OECS.

As 2008 starts, the OECS Secretariat would like to wish all the best to the participating students, and hopes that many more will follow their example in the future.