Skills for the Future Programme Top Performers Shine At Graduation Ceremony
Tricia Manning, Deron Hutchinson, Linzi Walker and Kasandra Simms copped the awards of Top Female Performer, Top Male Performer, Most Improved Performer and Top Facilitator, respectively, at the recent graduation of the Flow Foundation’s Skills for the Future Programme, done in partnership with the Caribbean School of Data (CSOD) at the Mona School of Business & Management (MSBM). Each was awarded a brand-new Samsung LTE tablet courtesy of the Flow Foundation.
“I was really very surprised and happy to be named as one of the top performers,” said Tricia Manning. “I signed up for the training because I thought it was a great way to increase my knowledge on how to communicate and collaborate in a digital market place.”
Manning, an employee of Conseptual Management Solutions, averaged 96.67% as her final score. She resides in Falmouth and speaks of her love of learning and her determination to learn something new every day. She shared that the training has greatly improved her digital skills and has led to an increase in her performance, productivity and problem solving.
“There were some aspects of the course that I considered to be challenging, but I stuck to it because I knew that the information that I gained would be very beneficial to me in the future. Challenges are good and they allow you to brainstorm and come up with new ideas,” she continued.
Since graduating, she has registered to do Information Technology in the Foundation’s Training for Professional Programme being administered by One-on-One Educational Services. Manning shared that her mantra is, “The key to success is to focus on the goal and not the obstacles.”
Top Male Performer, Deron Hutchinson, was equally appreciative of the opportunity to advance his digital knowledge.
“I felt proud of being named one of the top performers and being associated with such a well-established company like Flow Jamaica. I know I worked carefully and have sacrificed my time in doing this course. I’m happy my hard work paid off,” he said.
The 18-year-old resident of Manchester shared that he signed up for the training to learn new skills that could better equip him for the job market. He also believed that the additional skills obtained would be beneficial in assisting him to achieve his dreams of becoming a Software Engineer.
Hutchinson, who averaged 96.67% in his final score, did content creation through a blog for his capstone project. He said his personal motto is “The task ahead is never as great as the power behind you and with God as my guiding power, nothing is inconceivable”, which motivated him to excel in the programme.
Hutchinson said he intends to enroll in the Foundation’s Training for Professionals Programme while he continues his studies at Northern Caribbean University (NCU).
Linzi Walker, who was the Most Improved Performer, shared, “I am very happy and humbled to have been selected as one of the top performers at the graduation. I signed up for this programme so that I would have something to do while at home and saw this as an opportunity for self-improvement.”
Currently working part-time in Westmoreland, Walker confided that the training has helped her to improve her performance management and has also given her a framework within which to complete her job duties and tasks. She expressed appreciation to her family who encouraged her to stay the course and was motivated by the potential for better job opportunities.
As 24-year-old Linzi plans her next steps, she stated, “I plan to do more training to continue my self-growth and development. I also love to learn and experience new things. I am excited about finding a job that will let me use all my new skills. I am very grateful to the Flow Foundation and Caribbean School of Data for giving me this opportunity, helping me to become digitally literate which resulted in me being one of the top performers in the graduation. It is a great achievement for me.”
Kasandra Simms took the award for Top Facilitator at the graduation with a 60% completion rate for the students in her team. A key element in the Skills for the Future Programme’s engagement strategy is the facilitator. Each group of students is supported by a trained facilitator to ensure they stay on track and have the tools they need to complete the programme.
Simms shared, “I am a people person and I love working with and encouraging young people to achieve their full potential”. A practical nurse, Simms has a passion for helping people. While working as a Data Entry Clerk, she was offered the opportunity to train as a facilitator for the Skills for the Future.
She attributes her success to her engagement strategies which included performance incentives, Whatsapp group and a weekly check-in meeting with focus on the group’s weekly accomplishments, challenges with problem-solving brainstorm and weekly goal setting.
"As facilitators, we need to focus on those persons falling behind. Pretend that you are in a face-to-face classroom and, most importantly, building a bond with each member of the team,” Simms shared.
The Flow Foundation will continue its mandate of building a digitally empowered society through its Digital Education Programme. The Skills for the Future Programme, which is focused on digital literacy and data skills training, is among a suite of offerings from Flow, including: Training for Professionals programme in partnership With One on One Educational Services, The Hive (a platform connecting Employers and Freelancers) in partnership with Ingenuity Technologies, and an Entrepreneurship Programme focused on supporting Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs).
