WHAT WE ARE DOINGSmall and Micro Enterprises (SME) Work with the Differently-abled Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Family Court of Trinidad and Tobago
Small and Micro Enterprises (SME) The NFLP promotes enterprise and business development throughout the national community. The department has done research on the Small and Micro Enterprise sector in Trinidad and Tobago with the aim of developing specific financial literacy programmes relevant to small and micro entrepreneurs. A three-part series, Living the Entrepreneurial Dream, has been developed and includes information pertinent to the development and operation of small and micro entrepreneurs. The three booklets in the series are:
Work with the Differently-abled The NFLP recognises the importance of its information to all groups including the differently-abled. The NFLP is collaborating with the Blind Welfare Association in order to disseminate information to the visually impaired. Some NFLP articles have been converted into Braille and will be accessible via public libraries across Trinidad and Tobago. Additionally, some of the NFLP advertisements now include a signing aspect so that the hearing impaired may also be reached by the Programme. Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) In April 2009, the NFLP and the CCC held preliminary discussions on the delivery of financial literacy sessions to members of staff of the Corps as a precursor to delivering the same to incoming trainees of the CCC. A series of sessions were delivered to members of staff of the CCC between the months of July and August. Subsequently, the NFLP was enlisted to deliver its programme to the entire national trainee-intake of the Corps effective October 2009 at their respective centres across the country. Family Court of Trinidad and Tobago The NFLP met with representatives of the Family Court’s Social Services Unit at the beginning of 2009.Focus was on the clientele of the Court. As with the Civilian Conservation Corps, financial literacy sessions were delivered to the staff of the Family Court, and subsequently, a tour of the Court was received by representatives of the NFLP to sensitize the department to the needs of the Family Court’s clientele. A curriculum has been developed in collaboration with the Social Services Unit and key members of the judiciary affiliated with the Family Court, to facilitate the delivery of a series of workshops to their clientele. The survey conducted by the NFLP in 2007 revealed that 33% of retired persons continue to work because they need additional income. 54% of retirees do not have an occupational or personal pension. Further almost half of retirees report that their current (household) income was insufficient to give them the standard of living they had hoped to have in their retirement. In this regard, the NFLP is attempting to reach as many retired persons as possible through face-to-face interventions in order to disseminate information which can contribute to them having better standards of living. So far, every group or organization that has requested a session or invited the NFLP to address their membership has been accommodated. As the demand has increased, a combination of NFLP staff and external presenters are being used to satisfy the requests. The NFLP is currently recruiting retired teachers who can deliver financial literacy sessions in Primary Schools. The NFLP is working with the Ministry of Education on incorporating financial literacy in the curriculum of the secondary schools. Just over 200 Secondary School Teachers have been trained by the NFLP during July/August 2009 in financial literacy material for secondary school students. These teachers are expected to impart this information to their students. It is our intention to train more secondary school teachers who will subsequently be able to deliver session to secondary school students. This training is helpful to both the students and the teachers. The NFLP is currently rolling out financial literacy sessions with students of the Cipriani College of Labour and Co-operative Studies. Other tertiary educational institutions are in line for financial literacy sessions for their students. An Editorial Committee, established to review material produced by the NFLP, continues to meet regularly to review documents for publication in order to ensure accuracy, reasonableness and clarity of the content.
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What We Are Doing |