Express Business Filler #1

A range of new employment opportunities in the healthcare support sector is now available in Trinidad and Tobago, following the official opening of Carenet Health’s new facility, according to its chief operating officer, Christopher Rogers.

Headquartered in Texas, the company has now established a local presence aimed at providing jobs for trained nurses and other healthcare professionals, including those in technical areas.

Speaking at the opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, Rogers emphasised the company’s commitment to tapping into local talent and improving healthcare support services. The media toured the new facility located at Albion Plaza, Victoria Avenue, Port of Spain.

Earlier this year, Rogers told the Express that the goal was to employ 250 people by the end of 2025.

During the ceremony, Rogers described the company’s setup in T&T as a proud moment as he reiterated how Carenet selected T&T as its latest location, saying, “Carenet began exploring nearshore expansion in May 2023 with a broad and open search.” He said Trinidad and Tobago impressed them in each evaluation step.

But why T&T?

He explained, “We saw a compelling blend of advantages that made this location standout, proximity to the United States and US time zone, a skilled and experienced labour force, competitive cost, reliable technology and utility infrastructure, quality real estate and expanding but not oversaturated business services market, political and social stability and welcomed absence of most natural disasters.”

He said the company is happy to have opened its doors in January this year and hired its first “Trini staff in February and in March of this year. So now our focus shifts to building a thriving high performing site. The space you will see is designed to welcome up to 250 Carenet team members and our goal is to be at full capacity by the end of this year.”

Speaking at the event, Minister of Trade and Industry Paula Gopee-Scoon disclosed that Carenet’s investment is $5 million “and the aim is to employ 250 agents, there is a plan to expand to about 450 agents in the first three years of operations.”

“Carenet, I understand is top in the US health sector and they will be delivering cost-effective, high-quality customer management engagement services from Trinidad and Tobago. Our nationals will gain experience in the dynamic global BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) services market and by hiring well educated, highly skilled nationals, this company will not only strengthen our local talent pool but also drive further value through advanced training and knowledge transfer,” she said.

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Few individuals leave a legacy in both the engine of a nation’s economy and the cadence of its culture—but Mark Edward Loquan, who shaped Trinidad and Tobago’s energy sector and championed its national instrument, did just that.

And on Republic Day, September 24, 2024, Loquan was bestowed with the country’s highest award for his contributions to both.

Loquan was the first of 62 honourees to receive an award at the national ceremony held that night at President’s House.

Good morning, everyone. Thank you for being here today. It means a great deal to my family to see so many people gathered not just to mourn but to celebrate my father.

Each of us here carries our own stories of him—a memory, a moment, a lesson. Thank you for bringing those with you. Today I speak to you for myself as his son, for my mother his wife, for his brothers, sisters, nephews, and nieces.

This morning, as we think about the life of Mark Loquan, I remembered that just last year there was an initiative by Hollick Rajkumar and a few of us to put together a document to support the nomination of Mark Loquan for a national award.

It turned out to be a pretty comprehensive document, and I just want to speak to you on the final paragraph of that document, which I think really captures what we want to say.