slcsi focus on services enewsletter november issue1

ISSUE 1 2011 VOL 2

Focus on Services

The CARICOM CANADA Trade and Development Forum (TDF) was held in Ontario Canada from the 2-3 November 2011. The TDF com-prised a series of sector roundtables and panel discussions and formed part of the consultative process to ensure private sector input into the negotia-tions of the CARICOM Canada Trade and Development. This new agree-ment will replace the decade’s old CARIBCAN Agreement between the two parties. The Professional Services Round Table chaired by Ms. Yvonne, Agard, Executive Director of the Saint

Lucia Coalition of Services Industries provided the opportunity for profes-sional service providers, services Coa-litions and other industry representa-tives to discuss and identify business opportunities between CARICOM and Canada, which may be facilitated by the negotiation of a more mature trad-ing agreement. CARICOM delegates identified fourteen services sub sectors which they believed held opportunity for ser-vices export to Canada. These sectors included plant processing engineering; Architectural Services; Energy Ser-vices,; Construction Services; Legal Services; Business Development Ser-vices and Management consulting Ser-vices. Delegates identified several trade regulations in Canada which-posed challenges to the export of ser-

vices. These included residency re-quirements, licensing/work permits, differences in Federal and Provisional legislation and the lack of an equiva-lency framework among and between jurisdictions in Canada. Story continued on page 2

Inside this issue:

Spotlight on Professional Services 1

SLCSI Meets with Caribbean counterparts

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Business Opportunities 2

CARIFORUM Mission to EU 3 On Mutual Recognition

Tips for Networking 4

CARICOM CANADA Trade and Development Forum Places Spotlight on Professional Services

FOCUS ON SERVICES IS THE OFFICIAL ENEWSLETTER OF THE SAINT LUCIA COALITION OF SERVICES INDUSTRIES

1-3 December: 21st Meeting of the Regional Cultural Committee, Suriname. 1- 4 December: 21st Bahamas International Film Festival, Bahamas.

1- 5 December: Caribbean Media Exchange, Jamaica.

5- 10 December: 6th Annual Caribbean Conference on Risk Disaster Management, Trinidad & Tobago.

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On 1st October 2011, the Saint Lucia Coalition of Services met with its counterpart coalitions of the Caribbean Network of Services Coa-litions (the CNSC) in Port of Spain, Trinidad to discuss the work pro-gramme for the services coalitions in 2012. Presentations were made by each of the national Coalitions on their ongoing projects and work agenda for 2012. The SLCSI took the opportunity to discuss its CARFTFUND project “Developing Saint Lucia’s Services Sector”.

The TTCSI led an informa-tive session on best practices for Services Coalition management us-ing its experiences over the years. In sharing their experiences and lessons learnt, one common chal-lenge identified was the sustainabil-ity of the national coalitions. Partici-pants highlighted that the need to generate streams of revenue for sustaining the work of national coali-tions was an ongoing challenge. There was general consen-sus that developing a mix of mem-bership dues and fee based services suited to the needs of the member-ship would be successful as long as coalitions provided value added ser-vices to its membership. Coalition representatives also got the opportunity to be a part of the TTCSI National Services Week and attended several ses-sions highlighting different aspects of Trinidad & Tobago’s services sec-tor. The meeting was supported by the Caribbean Export Develop-ment Agency and the German De-velopment Agency and hosted by

the Trinidad & Tobago Coalition of Services. Industries (the TTCSI).

SLCSI Meets with the Caribbean Network of Services Coalitions to Discuss the Regions Services Sector.


From Left to right: Ms. Dinah Hippolyte, Saint Lucia Coalition of Services , Ms. Julian Charles, Antigua& Barbuda Coalition of Services and Ms Michelle Hustler, German Development Agency (GIZ)

One recommen-dation made was that CARICOM should explore the possibility of having Canada’s Agreement on Internal Trade (the AIT) extended

to CARICOM service providers. Through the AIT, federal, provin-cial and territorial governments have agreed to eliminate inter-provincial barriers to the free

movement of workers and ser-vices.

CARICOM CANADA Trade and Development Forum Places Spotlight on Professional Services cont’d...

Request for Proposals

Client: Government of Saint Lucia

Contract: Develop the Govern-

ment of Saint Lucia Website

Deadline: 2nd December 2012

Click Here: www.ict.gov.lc

Client: OECS Secretariat

Contract: Knowledge, Attitude

and Practice (KAP) Survey under

the project: Reducing the Risks to

Human and Natural Assets Re-

sulting from Climate Change

Deadline: 9th December 2011

Click Here: www.oecs.org/job-

opportunities

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In a bid to maintain momentum on discussions re-garding mutual recognition (MR) of architects and engineers under the CARIFORUM EU Economic Partnership Agree-ment (the EPA) two exploratory missions were launched by CARIFORUM to key cities in Europe during the month of October 2011. The purpose of the missions were to conduct an exchange of information on the regulatory regimes for archi-tects and engineers in the CARIFORUM and EU states; and discuss possibilities for co operation on negotiating an MRA for the respective professions. The CARIFORUM Engineers exploratory mission on MR took place from 11- 17 October . During the Engineers’ debriefing meeting held on 10th November 2011, a plan of action was agreed for commencing work on the intra re-gional mutual recognition of engineers within CARIFORUM. The CARIFORUM Architects exploratory mission on MR was held from 17-21 October with a CARIFORUM dele-gation comprising representatives of the Caribbean Archi-tects Mutual Recognition Committee (CAMRAC), the OTN and the Saint Lucia Coalition of Services Industries (the SLCSI). The delegation visited key associations in the United Kingdom, Belgium and France. Discussions held during this mission emphasized the need for the accreditation of schools of architecture in the CARIFORUM region. In addition it was recognized that

a systematic method for recognizing qualifications obtained by CARIFORUM students attending schools of architec-ture in various parts of the world, was also of paramount importance.

At the Architects Mission debriefing meeting held on 11th November 2011, it was agreed that work would have to be undertaken between the Caribbean School of Architec-ture and educational authorities in the Dominican Republic on the subject of equivalence as well as developing either a methodology for equivalence or a list of schools to be re-puted as equivalent to promote the intra CARIFORUM MRA for Architects.

The SLCSI has pledged its support to CAMRAC to provide the needed assistance to undertake its work plan .

SLCSI Represents the Caribbean Coalition of Services Network in Exploring Mutual Recognition Agreements with the EU

CARIFORUM Architects Delegation during a closed session, Brussels, Belgium

Cross section of the Members of CAMRAC during a meeting with the Royal Institute of British Architects, London, United Kingdom


CARIFORUM Architects delegates during a closed meeting with the Interna-tional Union of Architects, Paris, France.

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The TANGLED WEB is a philosophy about connecting and reconnecting with people and about developing inter-connecting networks that help your business grow. It’s designed to help you be efficient and effective and is an approach that actually takes less work and less time but produces better results. There are very common, somewhat surprising mistakes that even very smart professionals make when it comes to network-ing. The tangled web approach shows how these can be corrected. MISTAKE #1: You don’t know who is in your network. One of the big-gest missed opportunities is to actually connect, reconnect and interconnect the network you already have. If you don’t know who you’ve already got, is there much point to adding more contacts to that database? Tangled Web Strategy: Start with what you’ve got. Your best strategy is to start with existing relationships. Take a few minutes to make a list of your strategic partners and candidates. Strategic Partners are individuals who 1) are willing to refer your business 2) have the ability to spot potential clients and know how to have the kinds of conversations that will connect those people to you 3) is connected to the kind of people that make good clients for you. And 4) has suc-cessfully referred you business. A person with the potential to become a good Strategic Partner is a Candidate. They meet some, but not all of the criteria above. Place your effort into building your network with Strategic partners and Candi-dates to keep your business ahead of the game. Be sure to look out for our second networking tip in our next issue of Focus on Services!

Networking Tips for Services Professionals


SAINT LUCIA COALITION OF SERVICES INDUSTRIES INC. P. O. Box Choc 8056 Castries, Saint Lucia. W.I. Tel: 1 758 452 7865 Fax: 1 758 452 8695 Email: [email protected]

. With the Kind Support of CARTFUND

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