L’idée était ambitieuse : faire venir 6 étudiants d’une école de commerce en stage à Saint-Martin. Mais c’était sans compter sur l’opiniâtreté de Ricardo Ethel, jeune saint-martinois, élève en 3e année de l’IDRA. Il a convaincu les professeurs et l’administration de son école de l’intérêt d’un stage à Saint-Martin pour 6 élèves, tant du point de vue de la découverte de l’île que la richesse d’une immersion professionnelle à Saint-Martin, eu égard à sa mutation institutionnelle.
Aujourd’hui, Ricardo Ethel effectue son stage au pôle développement économique, sous la direction de Pierre Brangé, et est chargé de la question du stationnement à Marigot.
Un autre stagiaire se trouve au service de l’Evaluation de la politique publique, et troisième au service de la Stratégie économique, en charge de la redynamisation du centre-ville de Marigot.
Les 3 autres étudiants sont dispatchés dans différentes sociétés de la partie française : le Radisson, MADCO, et Dauphin Télécom.
Ces stages, qui entrent le cadre du programme de leur année scolaire, ont débuté en janvier et se termineront en mars prochain, où ils rendront un rapport de stage à leur école.
Cette expérience est d’autant plus enrichissante pour ces jeunes, qu’ils auront l’opportunité d’expliciter la nature de leurs études, les différents cursus offerts par leur école de commerce, lors de la manifestation Cap Avenir, qui se déroulera les 5 et 6 février prochains. Ils occuperont un stand d’information ouvert à celles et ceux qui pourraient être intéressés par des études de commerce, sachant l’IDRAC propose un programme de cours en Français et en Anglais, ce qui est compatible avec l’aisance linguistique des étudiants saint-martinois.
Ricardo Ethel et les cinq autres stagiaires de l’IDRAC, Romain Piotto, Christelle Yambayisa, Anaïs Brard, Jean-Charles Truchot, et Simohamed Ben Kiran vous attendent donc le vendredi 5 et le samedi 6 février 2010 à la salle Omnisports de Galis Bay pour l’opération Cap Avenir, et une présentation exhaustive de leur école.
-- English version
Young Saint Martiner to Promote Business School at Educational and Jobs Fair
Six youngsters from the IDRAC business school based in Lyon France will share their experience with youngsters attending CAP AVENIR next weekend.
The interns are part of a work study program initiated by Ricardo Ethel, a young Saint Martiner, who developed the internship in order familiarize the marketing and business students with Saint Martin while giving them an inside view of a territory that is in the process of an institutional and constitutional transition. Ethel who is a third year student at the IDRAC says that the hardest part was to sell the idea to the school hierarchy.
The Collectivité supported the student’s initiative and negotiated to place the six interns in positions at the Collectivité, the Radisson Hotel, MADCO and at Dauphin Telecom.
Currently Ethel is posted at the Department of Economic development where he is doing a study on resolving the parking issue in Marigot, another of the interns has been placed in the sector for the evaluation of public policy and a third in the sector for economic strategy that is studying the proposals to revitalize Marigot’s business sector. The interns, who will complete their internship at the end of March, will publish a report on their experience on the island.
The opportunity to speak with other students who are college bound or unable to decide on their next path is important, Ethel said, because it gives the interns the opportunity to share their experiences with these youngsters. In addition, the group will be able to promote their school which offers courses in both French and English something which is especially important for students from St. Martin.
CAP AVENIR which is scheduled for February 5th and 6th, has been developed by the Service for Youth Affairs of the Collectivité of Saint Martin in order to provide young people and their families with information and options for educational and professional orientation.
Some 30 companies and private and public institutions have already signed up for the event which will be held at the Omni Sports Centre in Marigot. Priscillia Bade of the Service for Youth Affairs said that project has been a collaborative effort with the National Education, the Human Development Department and the Department of Youth Affairs from the Southern part of Saint Martin.
The involvement of the Government of the Dutchside important she said because there is a need to reach out to the many French St. Martiners who go to school in the South. Now that the Collectivité has expanded its coverage and is forging agreements with schools in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean region these youngsters will have more options open to them in terms of choices of institutions and financial aid.
For the 2009/2010 school year the Collectivité awarded financial aid to 335 students bond for university and trade schools to the tune of 662,900 Euros. Special scholarships were also awarded to 14 students who graduated from the Lycée with honours in the amount of 42,000 Euros. There is also a financial aid program that is destined to the Lycéens to help them purchase school supplies and tools for those who are involved in the trade sectors.
This year 60 students were awarded a total of 43,300 Euros under this program. Despite this significant amount of funds that have been disbursed to help our young people there will be some who will encounter problems.
“This is why the Collectivité is providing this opportunity that will provide our young people with all of the tools necessary for their success in the job market. This is essentially why we have chosen the slogan “Define Your Future” for this event. We hope that when the participants leave CAP Avenir that they will have a clearer vision as to career choices, which schools are better adapted to their aspirations and how to plan for their future in the job market”, Bade said.