An amazing 28 years have past for a non-profit NGO, The Gilbert Agricultural and Rural Development Center, which operates under the auspices of the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas. Amazing, because many NGOs do not have this survival rate, mainly due to lack of financial support, which has become ever more difficult over the years with increasing demands from more impoverished nations with greater needs.

However, the GARD Center has managed to hold its own through what the Executive Director, Mrs. Roberta Williams calls, the Hands of God, which have led this organization along with an extremely passionate and dedicated staff, and volunteers who believe that at-risk youth in this Nation require another chance to become productive citizens. This is being carried out through technical skills training, entrepreneurship, counseling, life skills and other holistic training to make a well rounded young adult.

During the week of November 13-19 which is Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW), GARD Center will take this time to celebrate its anniversary and to commemorate and recognize some of the persons who have graduated from the Center’s training programs and who have become successful entrepreneurs establishing a variety of small businesses in farming, agro-processing, ICT, clothing and design, handicraft and others.
Over 160 countries around the world will be carrying out activities to mark the occasion of GEW 2017.
Small business development can open doors for many young persons to create sustainable livelihoods for themselves, as well as generate employment for others.  In Antigua and Barbuda there is a youth unemployment rate of 35% (Min of Labour Survey 2016).
The GARD Center’s activities include: appearances on the Observer Marketplace show, ABS Good Morning Antigua & Barbuda show, a pictorial display of some of GARD Center’s entrepreneurs at ACB, St. Mary’s Street Branch, as well as Presentations at 4 schools on the topic of Entrepreneurship throughout the month.
The Board and staff of the GARD Center wish to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of the trainers who continue to share their skills and knowledge with our trainees, the employers who provide the needed experience through internships and in many cases permanent employment for young GARD Center graduates.
Also to the volunteers, collaborative and donor partners who make it possible for the Center to continue its pace setting and impacting programs that positively change the lives of young at-risk men and women who otherwise could have selected negative and destructive activities out of frustration and despair. It is what the GARD Center is all about “Strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble knees.” Isaiah 35:3.

Want to advance your knowledge in ICT?  The GARD Center caters to your needs.
Take our course in Information Communication Technology (ICT) and cover:

• Parts of a computer
• Microsoft Office
• Basic Web design
• Basic computer repair
• Manipulating & maneuvering the web
• Life Skills
• Remedial Math
• Remedial English

This course caters to youth between the ages of 17 – 35 years and runs for fourteen (14) weeks at the GARD Center in Mercers Creek, east of Pares Village.
These exciting sessions will run from 12 September – 15 December 2017, Tuesdays through Fridays from 9:00am to 3:30pm.
There is a non-refundable registration fee of $50.

SIGN-UP TODAY!!

Call 463-4121 / 562-0084

Apply Now and get a jump-start on your career goals.

Entrepreneurship Awareness Month, Antigua and Barbuda, November, 2016

The GARD Center is pleased to announce the start of its Yacht Maintenance Training Course, sponsored by the UKaid, and the Canadian Federal Government, the CARICOM Education for Employment Program (C-EFE) for youth (CAR-19).
Twenty-six (26) youth are currently registered in this 12-week training course.

In 2015, in collaboration with the National Training Agency (NTA), the GARD Center was selected as the training institute to facilitate Yacht Maintenance Training Courses. One hundred youth between the ages of 15 – 29 years, are being trained with applied learning strategies to develop employability skills, vocational skills, entrepreneurship and academic skills.  This eighteen month training was funded to a tune of CAD120,308.00.

GARD Center Recognised Regionally

The Gilbert Agricultural and Rural Development Center (GARD Center) has been recognised once again for its work, with the presentation of a regional award to its Executive Director, Mrs. Roberta Williams.

The Female Social Entrepreneur Award 2016 by the Global Innovation Partnership (GIP) and the Caribbean Center of Excellence for Sustainable Livelihoods (CoESL) was given to Mrs. Williams along with 19 other Caribbean women in the Region, who were awarded as a result of their creativity and expertise in mobilizing financial and other resources to help people build sustainable livelihoods through  entrepreneurship and / or entrepreneurial acumen and support to develop people for progress in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals.

Social-Entrepreneurs-Award-2016-Mrs.-Roberta-Williams

The GARD Center, which falls under the auspices of the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas, continues to empower vulnerable youth with providing opportunities for entrepreneurial and technical vocational skills training and provision of services.  Mrs. Williams is humbled by this recognition and shares this award with her staff, as they have a passion and continue to empower at risk young men and women with skills in competitive disciplines, that will help them compete in this global environment.