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  • 6 hours ago
Questions remain tonight over the fate of some of the country's most vulnerable young adults, a full year after operations were abruptly frozen at the Civilian Conservation Corps.

The government maintains the shutdown is merely a temporary pause for structural reform. But with no new intake since early last year, what happens to thousands of at-risk youth who have been left without a crucial lifeline?

Alicia Boucher has more in this report.
Transcript
00:00For over 30 years, the Civilian Conservation Corps stood as one of the nation's primary social intervention engines for young
00:07citizens facing low academic achievement, unemployment, or social marginalization.
00:13Since its inception in 1993, and its restructuring under the Ministry of National Security in 2002, the initiative is said
00:22to have transformed the lives of over 28,000 young adults aged 16 to 25.
00:28The program delivered measurable, tangible outcomes.
00:32According to available data, 33% of graduates successfully transitioned into tertiary education at institutions like the University of Trinidad
00:41and Tobago and the College of Science, Technology, and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago.
00:48Hundreds more secured direct public sector apprenticeships with state bodies like Vemcourt.
00:53In 2022, then-Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Youth Development and National Service, Farouk Hussain, said 240 out of
01:03the 1,600 participants in that specific cycle successfully opened their own businesses after completing their training.
01:11These businesses included registered micro-enterprises in automotive, construction, and environmental services.
01:19However, despite this track record, operations came to a sudden hold in mid-2025.
01:26Contracts for dozens of teaching and administrative staff were allowed to expire, causing regional training centers to close.
01:34Government officials insisted the closure was not permanent, citing fiscal constraints, monthly operational costs exceeding $2 million, and plans to
01:44merge the initiative under the Ministry of Defense.
01:47However, scheduled reopening timelines, initially carded for early 2026, have passed without a single new cohort being admitted.
01:57A full 12 months later, the program remains entirely dormant.
02:01The Civilian Conservation Corps was designed specifically to catch young people before they fell into chronic unemployment or criminal networks.
02:10We await word from the Ministry of Defense on the way forward.
02:14Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
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