PIPE PROGRAMME UNDER THREAT FROM UNC
In September 2024, the government launched what many of us saw as a life-changing opportunity, the Plumbing Skills Training Program (PIPE). It was a bold and timely initiative designed to give young people aged 18 to 35 a path into certified trades and long-term employment. The program was delivered through a collaboration between the Ministry of Youth Development and National Service, WASA, the Ministry of Public Utilities, and TPATT, the Trinidad and Tobago Plumbers Association. It was also deliberately designed to be full-time and immersive, which meant that participants had to be unemployed to enroll.
Each level of the CVQ certification was mapped over three months:
Level 1, September to December 2024
Level 2, January to March 2025
Level 3, April to August 2025 (adjusted slightly during the program)
We were halfway through preparation for Level 3. We received boots today. And then, without warning, we were told the program is being put on hold indefinitely.
The explanation? WASA claims the necessary funding was never delivered from the Ministry. But Ministry officials had publicly said during our Level 1 certification ceremony that all funds had already been transferred. So which is it?
The government has changed, and with it, ministries have been renamed, officials replaced, and the youth programs of the previous administration are being halted, repackaged, or quietly left to collapse. It’s a pattern we’ve seen before, one that sidelines young people who are trying to move forward.
What makes it worse is the silence. No one seems willing to speak up or take responsibility. We’re not talking about a minor delay. We’re talking about young people’s futures being stalled without warning. We signed contracts. We committed full-time. We were told we’d be employed in August. Now, we are told nothing.
What is stopping the continuation of a program that was already well underway and well-received? Why was there no warning? And why has no one been held accountable?
This is a call to the public, to media, and especially to those in government and opposition. Do not let this disappear in silence.
PIPE was working. We showed up. Now we need those in power to do the same.
Submitted anonymously by a current participant of the PIPE Program.