ROSEAU, Dominica — Dominican service providers and media have been challenged to take example from the several service providers moving freely within the CARICOM Single Market (CSM) providing services to governments, regional and international NGOs and the private sector.
Addressing a CSME media workshop in Dominica last week, independent finance, management and business consultant Lucilla Lewis proposed a four-step formula for access to and success within the CSME.
Lewis’s role at the CSME media workshop was as a free movement of skilled nationals trailblazer, sharing her experiences from working within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and on the opportunities that come with the rights CARICOM nationals now have to move for work and business.
Referencing accredited or certified persons, experienced or skilled artisans, and prospective or established entrepreneurs in Dominica, the economist explained that the CSM market access, like any other market in the world, requires preparation, application and professional practice.
She told those gathered, “If you wish to be taken seriously, you must manage your expectations and understand the environment, identify and analyze the key factors, respond to challenges positively and develop and maintain high professional standards and good reputation.”
Indicating that markets and competition are almost synonymous in this WTO environment, she exhorted service providers not to depend solely on their Community rights to the exclusion of their personal responsibility to raise their visibility, build a track record, and be realistic in expecting seasons of “feasts and fasts”. Relative to key factors, she cited the importance of continuous professional development to improve expertise; remaining in touch with the trends within the market environment.
“To be able to access any market today, one should familiarize themselves with the WTO, modes of delivery and the IT platform, because it’s not just about the CSM. More and more this is becoming a borderless world. We can however, also strengthen the competitiveness of our CSM, by our attitude and approach,” added Lewis.
She went on to say that market access is also possible for persons who have the right attitude to competition, and appreciate that networking and collaboration are the “pathways to expansion and growth” in the age of globalization.
Lewis exhorted journalists to see the CSM story as more than decisions, judgments and heads of government meetings, but also relating to the 360 skill certificates already issued by Dominica, and the potential that exists to use the experiences of the professionals and business that are actually moving between national borders in CARICOM every day to explain the CSM.
