When the discussions were held at the OAS Basseterre offices, Prime Minister Douglas and the top local OAS official, Mr. Starrett Greene, highlighted the issue of education which they say will continue to receive the lion’s share of the OAS technical cooperation funding to the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis.

The OAS Scholarship and Training Program will continue to provide tangible support to qualified applicants pursuing tertiary education in the region and in the Hemisphere.

The Leo S. Rowe Fund that provides interest free loans to students studying on American soil also remains available to the Federation students who qualify and the OAS continues to provide technical assistance under its Special Multilateral Fund of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (FEMCIDI).

The OAS has funded several projects in St. Kitts and Nevis. These include Anger Management and Conflict Resolutions in Schools, Online Education Management Information System (EMIS), Natural Disaster Management and Mitigation Project for Nevis, Capacity Building: Tourism Training and Certification, Firearms Marking, National Observatory on Crime and Violence and the Caribbean Sustainable Energy Program (CSEP).

Prime Minister Douglas was informed that under the OAS Sponsored Capacity Building: Tourism Certification and Training Project, a number of workers, representing several properties in the hospitality and tourism industry, received certification in their fields of specialization during the past 21 months.

Training Workshops for Front Desk Operations, Hospitality Departments and Room Attendants have been completed and certification in the Banquet Server Hospitality Skills and Food and Beverage Line Level Skills will be held soon.