A balanced way of working together

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Introduction

The Turks and Caicos Islands has a relatively young working population. I know there are cries among some that we need more young people at the table and the young people are neglected. I beg to differ. I think there are many young people in key positions in the Turks and Caicos both in the Private Sector and the Public Sector. I attended the Youth Forum during the Civil Service Week, and I was impressed to see the number of young people and some of the key roles that they hold in the public sector.

I think it is important for the young and the not too young to work together. They can learn from each other. The not too young will have more experience and can share their experience with the young. On the other hand, the young may be more technologically advanced and may have modern ways of doing things and therefore can share that with the not too young.

Let me say in my opinion, if you are 40 and under, I consider you young and if you are over 40 and over, then I consider you not too young.

I can say that the young have always played a key part in our society. I will demonstrate that in this article.

Church

In the church, we used to have a lot of young pastors, but these young pastors are now not too young. I think this is one area we need to ensure that we are grooming and have a succession plan for the young people, especially due to these tragic events that are taking place in the community. We are losing too many young people and if we can get other young people in the church, I believe many lives can be saved. All we need is guidance from the not too young people and the Holy Spirit.

Politics

In the political arena, our very first Chief Minister, the Right Honourable JAGS McCartney became the leader of our country at the age of 31.  Our second Chief Minister, Hon. Oswald Skippings became an elected member of Parliament at age 22 and became Chief Minister at age 26.

Today, there are politicians on both political sides who are young and not too young.

Public Sector

The Public Sector is full of young people and of course many of them are in key positions. The Deputy Governor joined the Public Sector at age 22 as the Budget Director. She became Deputy Governor at age 32. Our Permanent Secretaries are young and not too young. Our Deputy Permanent Secretaries are young. The principals of our primary schools and high schools are relatively young. The heads of Department are young.

Statutory Bodies

Most of our Statutory Bodies are headed by young people and not too young. The Statistics Authority, the Gaming Authority, the TCI Telecoms Commission, TCI Community College and NIB are run by young and not too young people. They are not old. In some countries, these positions are held by older people.

Private Sector

Despite how it may appear, there are many young people who are in key positions and are entrepreneurs. Many young people are entrepreneurs in the water sports business. Many of the contractors, plumbers and electricians are young people. Some of the young people are property managers. Some young people have transportation services. Some are owners of airline companies. Some young people have IT businesses. The heads of our major utilities and telecommunications company are young people. In the past many of these positions were occupied by older people and people who were not from here. Mind you there is major room for improvement, but my point is that some young people are in a key position.

Conclusion.

I don’t think any organization should just be comprised of young people only, neither should it be of not too young people either. There should be balance. Everyone has something that others can learn from. Let us embrace one another and accept the diversity that exists among all of us. Don’t see each other as threats but see each other as learning buddies.