Saint Lucia now has the highest number of Certified Management Consultants (CMCs) in the Caribbean.
Nine (9) St. Lucian professionals have earned the designation of Certified Management Consultant – CMC. They are Agnes Francis, Dr. Claudius Preville, Geraldine Lendor-Gabriel, Keith Millar, Luvette Louisy, Dr. Stephen Louis, Thecla Deterville, Vimla St. Hill and Wilton Bleasdille. They join Dr. Vasantha Chase – bringing the number of Certified Management Consultants on the island to ten (10), the most in the region. Of the 26 CMCs in the Caribbean, Barbados has 5, Trinidad has 4, Jamaica, Suriname and Bahamas each have 2, and Dominica has 1.
The Pinning Ceremony for the 9 Management Consultants took place at The Royal by rex resorts on Thursday 5th November 2015, under the theme – Enhancing Competitiveness through Certification and Training.
The CMC Certification is the result of a collaborative effort between the SLCSI, the Association of Management Consultants of Saint Lucia (AMCS) and the Caribbean Institute of Certified Management Consultants (CICMC). This milestone of 10 Certified Management Consultants was achieved in the 10th Anniversary year of the AMCS, which was established in 2005.
Speaking on the significance of this achievement, Dr. Vasantha Chase, who is also President of the Caribbean Institute of Certified Management Consultants said CMC is an internationally recognized competency standard for professionals in the practice of Management Consulting. There are 50 member institutes of the International Council of Certified Management Consultants. Anyone with a CMC designation, can practice and work in these 50 jurisdictions. For example, a CMC from Saint Lucia can work in Canada, the USA, or any other jurisdiction which is a member of the International Council of Certified Management Consultants.
Dr. Chase notes that because of the rigour of the CMC Programme, CMCs can serve clients in the public and private sector, the NGO community, and Civil Society – with very high levels of competence and professionalism. Certified Management Consultants are bound by ethical standards, as well as a professional Code of Conduct, and must be recertified every 3 years by the International Council.
President of the Association of Management Consultants of Saint Lucia, Dr. Claudius Preville, made a plea for recognition of management consultants in Saint Lucia. Preville called on the local business community to recognize and make maximum use of the skills and competencies available to them through our management consultants. He disclosed: “We know that more than EC$100 million is spent on Management Consulting annually, in the OECS. At least some of those services can be supplied by us.”
Preville says the AMCS stands ready to work with Government in the conceptualization and design of strategic interventions of the various donor agencies which aid national development. He said AMCS members are prepared to work with the Government of Saint Lucia in putting together its Concept Notes for development assistance from the European Union or the World Bank.
The newly Certified Management Consultants have expertise in a broad range of areas including Accounting, Finance, Business Strategy, ICT, Marketing, Small and Medium Enterprise Development, Environmental Management, Public Policy, Quality Management, and Trade Negotiations.
Twenty three (23) Spa Therapists were also presented with Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ) Certificates in Massage Therapy – Level 3 – having successfully completed the TVET Prior Learning Assessment and Certification Programme. With the newly acquired Certification, the therapists can now move freely within CARICOM under the CSME free movement of persons regime, and offer their services to a broader client base.
SLCSI President – Terrence Elliott, urged the newly certified massage therapists to embrace the challenge of seeking-out and maximizing opportunities to work, collaborate and establish strategic alliances with their counterparts in the region.
Funding for both Certification Programmes was provided by UKaid under the CARTFund Project “Developing Saint Lucia Services Sector.” The Project is being administered by the CDB which was represented by Consultant – June Alleyne Griffin. Ms. Griffin congratulated the Certified Management Consultants and CVQ Certified Spa Therapists. She urged them to translate their newly acquired certification into business opportunities for themselves, their businesses and their country – Saint Lucia.
“I commend you and I challenge you. It is not enough to have the Certification if you are not able to use it to increase your incomes and for the benefit of the wider community. I’m challenging you to go after the contracts, develop those winning proposals and forge the strategic alliances with counterparts in the region and beyond.”
Ms. Alleyne Griffin also urged the service providers not to get complacent but rather to continue to invest in their professional development.