Kareem Marcelle Questions CCC Delay Months After Promised January 2026 Intake
Laventille West MP Kareem Marcelle is calling on the Government to provide a clear timeline for the restart of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), questioning why a new intake has not materialised months after January 2026, when one had previously been expected.
Marcelle raised the issue during an Opposition media briefing focused partly on the state of youth development programmes in Trinidad and Tobago.
He argued that continued uncertainty surrounding CCC is leaving young people who depend on technical and vocational training opportunities without a clear path forward.
The CCC was established to provide training and development opportunities to unemployed and socially marginalised young people.
According to the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs, the programme targets young people between the ages of 18 and 25 and provides six months of training at no cost to participants, with the objective of preparing them to transition into employment.
## Marcelle Revisits Government Timeline
Marcelle based part of his criticism on previous statements attributed to Defence Minister Wayne Sturge.
During the briefing, Marcelle referred to a July 2025 Guardian report in which Sturge rejected claims that CCC was being shut down.
At the time, Sturge addressed concerns surrounding the programme after reports that contracts for 72 of its 114 employees were expected to end.
Marcelle recalled Sturge explaining that the programme had gone without a student intake while millions of dollars continued to be spent monthly on operations.
The minister had indicated that the next intake was carded for January 2026.
Marcelle is now questioning what became of that timeline.
“We are more than seven months later,” he argued during the briefing, as he demanded answers on when training would resume.
Marcelle also referenced subsequent reporting from March 2026 concerning plans for the CCC intake to restart following Cabinet approval.
He questioned whether the required Cabinet note was completed and, if so, what prevented the programme from moving forward.
“We call for answers today as to when CCC will be restarted,” Marcelle said.
## Thousands of Young People Applied
Marcelle said approximately 2,500 young people applied for CCC during the 2024/2025 period.
He claimed that following the vetting process, approximately 1,000 applicants were approved.
According to the Laventille West MP, many of those applicants are young people who may not necessarily see traditional academic education as their best route into employment.
He highlighted careers such as plumbing, electrical work, hairdressing, barbering and culinary arts as examples of areas where technical training can provide young people with viable careers.
Marcelle argued that the country cannot afford to leave such young people without structured alternatives.
His concerns are particularly focused on young people who may have left secondary school without completing conventional academic qualifications.
## CCC and MiLAT Under Youth Intervention System
Government information currently places CCC alongside the Military-Led Academic Training Programme (MiLAT) under the Specialised Youth Service Programmes framework.
The framework describes its purpose as using structured and disciplined environments to develop young people, encourage civic responsibility and prepare participants for employment.
Marcelle has repeatedly argued that programmes of this nature should be preserved and expanded rather than disrupted.
He is now calling for the Government to state when the next CCC intake will begin, what has become of previously approved applicants and what plans are being put in place for the programme going forward.
For the Opposition MP, the central question is no longer simply whether CCC officially continues to exist.
It is when young people will actually be allowed to return to training.
