STUDENTS OF the Mico College have been urged to sharpen their teaching skills to meet the challenges of the January 1, 2005 start-up date of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME).
"If your teaching skills are not sharp enough to be competitive for employment you'd better get yourself in order, because we are entering into a period of serious competition," warned Senator Delano Franklyn, state minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Senator Franklyn, who was guest speaker at the weekly General Assembly at The Mico College yesterday, said while the CSME would benefit university graduates, tertiary-level graduates, particularly teachers, would not be left in the cold.
"The world has gotten far more global and less insular... the world has gotten to a point where what is driving your ability to survive is something called competence and your ability to compete ... provisions will be made for your tertiary level students as well," said Senator Franklyn.
He said it was inevitable for developing countries, such as Jamaica, to create a partnership in the Caribbean, and use this to get leverage on the international stage during negotiations.
The CSME is an arrangement, which allows CARICOM goods, services, people and capital to move throughout the Caribbean Community without tariffs and without restrictions to achieve a single large economic space, and to provide for a common economic and trade policy.
