Over 4,000 women to upskill in WIIN initiative

Over 4,000 women have been earmarked to receive training through the Women’s Innovation
and Investment Network (WIIN) programme, executed by the Human Services Ministry this
year.
It was revealed that the training is part of government’s commitment to upskill the country’s
human resource, to bridge the demands of a growing economy. A sum of $173M was allocated
in budget 2022, to continue and expand courses offered under the WIIN programme which is the
brainchild of Human Services Minister, Dr. Vindhya Persaud. She said that WIIN provides
women with the tools for financial stability and empowerment.
Dr Persaud noted that the training offered through WIIN will enable women to meet the demands
of a growing economy, while bridging the gaps of gender equality. “It is envisaged that we will
expand our training to cater for over 4,000 women to be trained in 2022. It is not only about
training, and it was not only about looking at training in an abstract context, it is ensuring that
whatever was delivered through training, it was relevant to niche markets and the demands out
there,” Minister Persaud said.
She revealed that the ministry launched the initiative in Baramita, Region One, affording over
150 women first time access to training in a plethora of areas tailored to equip them with the
tools for employment. In addition to women of Baramita, some 1,000 women from rural
communities were trained. Overall, 2,170 women were upskilled in diverse, technical, vocational
and information communication technology (ICT) programmes in every region. “The movement
of this training is towards increasing women in the labour force. We speak of the gender divide;
we speak of the digital divide and we speak about gender inequality. With this kind of training,
moving women to a state of financial independence, we are looking at narrowing those
divides,” the minister said.
She declared that WIIN is easily accessible to women of varying backgrounds with no eligibility
criteria attached. Courses offered are free and accredited from renowned learning institutions.
Additionally, persons interested in benefitting from the ministry’s training programme can do so
by signing up on the ministry’s website. Courses are accessed online or in person.