As a complement to its ongoing stakeholder awareness initiative, CXC is conducting market research throughout the region. During the first week of June CXC Assistant Registrar-Marketing Officer, Andrea Austin, led focus groups in Trinidad and Tobago with private centre administrators, out-of-school learners, parents of secondary school students and employers.
This follows a similar market research effort conducted in Barbados during April and May and marks the expansion of the exercise across the Caribbean region. CXC’s objective in conducting the research is to identify areas of stakeholder priority and concern with a view to finding opportunities to better reach, serve and collaborate with its stakeholders.

So far the efforts have been widely embraced among all groups including the employer contingent. Human resource professionals and managers from business sectors including finance, energy, legal, information technology and manufacturing have participated to share their experiences and expectations as it relates to recruitment and professional development in the Caribbean.
The latest employer focus group held at the Employers’ Consultative Association in San Juan, Trinidad and Tobago was a lively and productive session. After the session employers gave positive feedback including congratulating CXC on taking “this brave and necessary step” and trusting that the discussions were “valuable and insightful and will lead towards a closer recruitment and education link for students and CXC.”