"CAYE provides options to create employment"

Entrepreneurship is increasingly seen as the antidote to youth unemployment, writes Ariela St. Pierre-Collins, 18, a Commonwealth Correspondent from the Barbados, who describes a Commonwealth organisation that supports the trend.

My home country is not a favoured place for young people to live of late. My generation is either fresh out of university and cannot get a job, or can no longer afford university, and likewise, cannot find employment.

Unfortunately, this situation is not unique to Barbados, as the whole Caribbean region is subject to this phenomenon, and will continue to suffer accordingly if something doesn’t change, and rapidly!

The Commonwealth, being an overarching conglomerate of 53 separate nations, has a keen interest in coming up with ways to solve the problem of Generation Jobless. One group specific to the Caribbean was formed, CAYE-Caribbean & Canada, with an aim to solving this very issue. CAYE, or the Commonwealth Alliance of Young Entrepreneurs, ‘seeks to create and foster a platform for information sharing of “best practices” of young entrepreneurship within the Americas region’.

Youth is, in this case, defined as any person within the age range of 15-39, and the project has an aim to increase the quantity of young entrepreneurs out there.

The CAYE format is of course being replicated all over the Commonwealth, with an Asian branch having been formed in 2011 with much success. It has, through the dedication of the younger generation of business people recognizing the importance of information sharing and problem solving, brought together erstwhile adversaries India and Pakistan. There are plans in the near future to further reproduce the CAYE ideology and structure within Europe & Africa, as well as the Southern-Pacific regions of Australia and Oceana.

One tenet that the CAYE-Caribbean & Canada branch was built upon is the belief that young individuals have colossal potential to be the ambassadors of change. The subject up for discussion is the most appropriate way to engage and empower youth to usher positive change in the world. Therein lies not one concrete solution, but rather a diamond-like solution, one that is as multi-faceted and illuminating as its namesake.

What must be understood is that in order to create jobs where there are none, we must encourage young people to take a step away from conventional occupations and to consider the unlimited possibilities of being their own boss, and to fashion their own future using their talents.

Start-up companies can become the driving force of my generation’s success as more young people decide to rely on themselves and their own intellect to live and to prosper. The answer to the employment quandary is innovation, and the metamorphosis of Generation Jobless into Generation Young Entrepreneur.

Photo:  jdurham

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About me:

I am a Barbadian-Canadian and the founder of ‘Youth For Epic Change’, a charity aimed at raising funds for causes both locally and globally and inspiring teens in Barbados to be the catalyst for positive change. I am also the innovator behind Girl2B, a digital media platform and educational tool aimed at helping girls and young women to become successful entrepreneurs. View my personal blog at www.unleashthepowerofone.tumblr.com.

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Opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Commonwealth Youth Programme. Articles are published in a spirit of dialogue, respect and understanding. If you disagree, why not submit a response?

To learn more about becoming a Commonwealth Correspondent please visit: http://www.yourcommonwealth.org/submit-articles/commonwealthcorrespondents/ …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………