Micro Macro started out humbly in 2011 when The POS People supported a research project to show how small businesses in the Caribbean would be able to support youth development and education in their communities. The study showed that while Caribbean young people receive high quality theoretical education, they tend to have few opportunities to add experiential experiences to their education before entering the workforce. An internship system, was suggested as a means of bridging that gap. Given the increasingly glo-cal community and the Caribbean's comparative advantage, it was recommended that focus be given to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Information Communications Technology (ICT). Of added benefit, would be applications of these categories to agriculture and promoting green economies.
Small Enterprises for Education and Development (SEED) was started as a funding mechanism for other charities and community based organizations and it's first task was to raise funds for Micro Macro.
From simple bake sales at Jordan's Supermarkets, Popular Discounts Supermarkets and Power in the Blood Assembly, to the major FUNtastic FUNmania fair and flea market, SEED was able to raise funds for Micro Macro. The donations from SEED covered stipends for interns in the first cohort, graduations and gifts for the first and second cohorts.
We went from two (2) interns in January 2012 for twelve (12) weeks, to six (6) interns in July for six (6) weeks. We had a blast and the interns learned a lot. They worked with The POS People staff on projects and volunteered with SEED. Read about their experiences in their own words on the blog. In 2016, we brought Micro Macro back....bigger and better than ever!!!! In 2016, we reached our goal of accepting 15 interns and placed them in 13 organizations around Barbados. Not only were they working in their placements, but they gathered on Mondays and Fridays for training sessions geared towards their own personal development. Learning and Growing are a part of our DNA. Summer 2017, we wanted to expand to two cohorts of 20 interns each. Instead, we were able to accept one large cohort of 25. They had one (1) week of initial training, four (4) weeks working on-site and one (1) week of final training before graduating on September 2nd.
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In 2018, we are set to accept 20-30 interns for the July 23rd to August 31st programme. This year, we feature a mixed approach to training with one full week or training and then every Friday following. Training will be held at the UWI Open Campus site at The Pine, St. Michael.
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