Strategic Recruitment Solutions CEO, Kerri Gravesande-Bart is a ‘Special Person’

Feb 20, 2022 News

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Making her mark in the male-dominated oil and gas industry…

“We have had the opportunity to contribute to the capacity building of Guyanese women and men to equip them to participate meaningfully and gainfully in the oil and gas sector.”

By Rehanna Ramsay

Kaieteur News – Kerensa ‘Kerri’ Gravesande-Bart is a woman entrepreneur on a mission to make her company; Strategic Recruitment Solutions Guyana Inc. (SRS) GY, a Guyanese brand operating at international standards even as it provides critical training to the locals working in the ever-expanding oil and gas sector.

So far, Gravesande-Bart has no doubt proven herself as a force to be reckoned with in a male- dominated sector. But what makes this leading lady fit the bill to be featured as Kaieteur News’ ‘Special Person’ goes beyond her professional capabilities and achievements.
The SRS founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) opened up to this newspaper about some of the personal challenges she overcame to become the ‘boss lady’ she is today. If anyone should take this businesswoman at face value they would easily miss out on her truly inspiring journey to entrepreneurship.
Gravesande-Bart’s outlook is also quite unassuming despite the challenges; she faced in her earlier stages of life. She told this newspaper that she would rather focus on the positives and allow the negatives to be used as life lessons to fuel her journey. She even created an acronym using the word FEAR.
The businesswoman noted that while this may sound cliché to some persons, she needed to find a very practical way to face fear.
“F for Fortitude and Firm in truth, E- empower yourself; speak and affirm empowering thoughts every chance you can; A for awareness and ancestry; you have got to be aware of who and whose you are and R for resolve – remember to stay determined to find solutions.” The SRS owner said as she spoke of how she was able to overcome a particular experience early on in her life.

Today, Gravesande-Bart is a mother, wife, entrepreneur, leader and friend who dreams daring dreams and fiercely pursues them. The businesswoman is also firm and nurturing, something she picked up from her warm and close-knit family circle.
ROLE MODELS
Growing up, Gravesande-Bart did not have to look very far for inspiration. She related that she was surrounded by role models, several of whom are her family members. She revealed that she lived among her extended family since her parents moved around a lot.
“At two weeks old, my parents took me to Lethem. They (my parents) were both graduates of the Regional Educational Programme for Animal Health Assistants; a programme facilitated by the

UNDP/PHO.”
Then at five years old, Gravesande-Bart was sent to live in Mahaica with her paternal grandparents for about a year. She said “…I loved living with them. My grandfather Edmund Osbert Storm Van Gravesande, who was blind – really impacted my life. The decision to move me was to ensure I was able to get access to a proper education.
During 1988, I moved with my aunt and uncle in Campbellville, at that time my parents had changed jobs and were managing the Kissoon’s Family Ranch in the Abary. Until my parents returned to Georgetown and reunited with us, my siblings and I lived in Campbellville and Subryanville for a couple of years.”
Gravesande-Bart said in 1990, her parents were offered positions at the John Fernandes subsidiary Bounty Farm at Timehri and the family moved again.
This time, she attended the Soesdyke Primary School for a couple of years – until her mother ventured to St. Lucia to seek employment.
She recalled, “My mom and I travelled to St. Lucia for three months.

While there, I attended Camille Henry Memorial School. I loved the beaches, but I missed my father and brothers terribly. The job search was not successful and so we returned to Guyana.”
On their return to Guyana, the young Gravesande-Bart was enrolled at the Eccles Primary School to prepare for the common entrance examinations.
She recalled being placed in Mrs. June Appiah’s class. Mrs. Appiah had a remarkable success rate at the Common Entrance Exams. In addition to being in her class, she attended the teacher’s lessons at her Prospect Home on the East Bank Demerara.
Following the exams, she was placed at the St. Rose’s High School. During that time, the Gravesandes changed jobs again and were managing the Ebini Ranch in the Berbice River, owned by the Livestock Development Company, LIDCO.
“As such, I lived with my maternal grandmother and aunts. My grandmother and aunts, staunch Anglicans, and churchgoers – of course they insisted I attend and participate by reading the selected scriptures for the congregation very regularly,” she said, noting that her commute to school every day was from Parika to St. Rose’s High in Georgetown by minibus.
According to Gravesande-Bart moving around as much as she did as a child, most certainly impacted her.
She said “At the time, I was much too young to understand my parent’s decisions for us not being together and so I yearned and missed them relentlessly. My paternal grandfather loved me beyond words, he was my protector in every way.

I still remember our conversations and how he prayed with me.”
Gravesande-Bart continued “My maternal grandmother and aunts – taught me everything about church and being a lady. Their lessons are forever entrenched. How a lady sits, talks and walks. I truly believe their wide range of career paths also impacted me – their careers stretched from certified electrician to chemist to medical technology to banker to deaconess and my mom an animal health assistant recently retired as Quality Officer.”
She added that “The role of my grandparents and aunts in my life is a cherished one and more so was of great influence. It most certainly takes a village to raise a child, I am extremely grateful for their love and teachings.”

EARLY CHALLENGES
If anyone understands the saying, one challenge, simply prepares you for the next, it’s Mrs. Graveande-Bart. By age of 25, she was already divorced after seven years of marriage and was left with a three-year-old daughter to care for. The CEO admits that she was married at quite a young age – 18 years old to be exact.
Desperate to make it as a single-parent, the young mother accepted a job opportunity in the Cayman Islands. The opportunity proved dreadful within a few months, and she was left unemployed for five months with only funds to purchase a ticket to return to Guyana.
Gravesande-Bart recalls praying relentlessly to be reunited with her little girl. Upon her return to Guyana, the young mother gained employment as an Assistant Manager for a Supermarket, where for some months, workers were not sure when their salaries would be paid.
She worked there until unexpectedly she received a call from a Trinidadian company late December 2011, inviting her to go for an interview. She was offered a job on the spot – Office Administrator for their Guyana Office. Gravesande-Bart accepted the position and the rest was history.

FINDING HER NICHE
This was Gravesande-Bart’s introduction to the inner workings of oil and gas industry. She started her new job on the first working day of the New Year in 2012. And though, she was still naïve to the industry, she was aligned with and satisfied working for an international company.
She told Kaieteur News, “I found myself in a place where I was finally able to really afford an apartment in a safe neighbourhood in Georgetown, independently providing for my little girl and self.”
Given her job description, Gravesande- Bart found herself on a flight to Trinidad at the request of the Rig Manager for the Offshore Drilling Installation Company on July 30, 2012, 05:35hrs, almost immediately after the project was completed in Guyana.
She recalled that “the rig moved to Trinidad for maintenance before its voyage to the Gulf of Mexico. I was now responsible for all International crew changes. I quickly had to learn the Trinidad & Tobago immigration and customs procedures required for international personnel movement.”
She said that was done in three weeks. After ensuring that her being in Trinidad would be indefinite, Gravesande-Bart made a request to return home to make arrangements for long-term care for her daughter.
“This time my plan was to get her to move to Trinidad with me, at least in time for her high school years,” she stated. In Trinidad, Gravesande-Bart lived in the West Palm Hotel, in Chaguaramas for nearly three months before moving to the company house in Chaguanas. She related “I took every challenge and championed my tasks. I was working towards a goal, I sacrificed. For a few months all I ate was oatmeal and veges, no meat, it was all I could afford after sending funds home for my little girl and parents to take care of her.”
“My work days started at 04:30hrs and ended after 7:00pm, sometimes later. The daily commute from Chaguanas to Chaguaramas was horrendous and dreadful. Eventually I was moved to the Maraval staff house which brought ease but work hours were long and full.”
Given her commitment, Gravesande-Bart was often called upon by her superiors. She recalled that “one day in June, the company’s Managing Director (MD) called me to say, ‘Kerri, we need you in Colombia. You leave tomorrow’.”
She said that she lived in Santa Marta, Colombia for seven months on work duties.
During that period, Gravesande-Bart’s mother was petrified for her. She prayed every day for her safe return and she was able visit Guyana for her birthday.
She recalled that was when she first met her now husband, Lloyd Bart.
“He made his way over to my table to ask my friends and I to judge his handsomeness against his friend….” she recalled with a smile. Her assignment in Colombia came to an end soon after and she returned to Trinidad.
The company had embarked on its International Standard certification (ISO) journey, of which she played a pivotal role.
It was also the first time in her career in Trinidad that Gravesande would be told that, she didn’t belong in the space she occupied. Though those remarks made a lot of her female colleagues angry, Gravesande-Bart held her peace and was soon promoted to Training and Competence Administrator.
“I was responsible for ensuring that all training and medical certifications required for each position the company provided its clients with, were up to date and recertification’s dates were pre-booked. I enjoyed this post, as while I needed to communicate with training providers, vendors and staff – I was essentially in a department alone. I worked better; I was focused and was never behind,” she said. Simultaneously the single mother was working assiduously on preparing to move her little girl to Trinidad.
Her daughter had written the Common Entrance exams and was awarded a place at the St. Stanislaus College. Her score was instrumental in getting her accepted to Providence All Girls School in Trinidad and she joined her mother in September 2015.
In those months, Gravesande-Bart used every cent of her savings to move into an apartment and purchase her first car in Trinidad.
She said “I would be lying if I denied feeling knots in my stomach with the level of responsibility I faced alone, I dared not complain to a soul.”
However, as she planned for a future in Trinidad with her daughter, the global oil price collapsed. The impact inflicted serious economic damage in oil-producing nations such as Venezuela, Nigeria and particularly Trinidad and Tobago.
With forecasts then suggesting that world prices won’t recover anytime soon, the company’s MD decided that it was time to scale down. Gravesande- Bart had to make some quick decisions.
“Have you ever wondered what exactly you’re supposed to do with your life? I seriously considered this question,” she recalled of those critical moments.

BIRTH OF A COMPANY
March 2016, Gravesande-Bart packed up her apartment in Trinidad in matter of three weeks to return to Guyana to form what was intended to be the first local company providing opportunities to Guyanese to be beneficially employed in the emerging oil and gas sector.
However, her first attempts to get the company off to a successful start proved futile. Failing the previous endeavours, she ventured with her then fiancé (now husband) to create a wholly Guyanese brand to service the sector.
Together the couple crafted from their educational and professional history, Strategic Recruitment Solutions Guyana Inc. (SRSGY) which became operational in June 2018 and Symmetry Brokerage and Logistics Inc. (SBL).
SRSGY would manage the recruitment, crewing and HR Services, while SBL would facilitate all things brokerage and logistics management.
The pair worked round the clock, developing strategy, crafting proposals, crunching numbers, meeting with clients and training partners whilst interviewing and building a resumé bank. The SRS resumé bank is the largest in the country with over 5,000 resumés to date.
To date, the company has achieved Trace International Certification for Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption and ISO 9001-2015 Certification in Quality Management Standards.
SRS has employed 126 Guyanese, primarily for the Oil and Gas Sector and has trained in excess of 300 candidates.
“We have had the opportunity to contribute to the capacity building of Guyanese women and men to equip them to participate meaningfully and gainfully in the oil and gas sector,” Gravesande-Bart revealed.
She noted that being a part of Guyanese career success stories really forms a huge part of her motivation to keep creating strategies for employment entry into the sector.
“We have engaged past students of GTI, MATPAL Marine, Carnegie School of Home Economics, University of Guyana and the other technical institutions across Guyana that are now employed in the sector,” she revealed.
As a CEO, Gravesande-Bart said her biggest lesson, however, is never to give up. She noted that challenges, especially the unpleasant ones ultimately prepare you for the next level of your growth journey.
She added, “What I love the most is that the journey has made me much stronger than I thought I could ever be. I have learnt so much that it has humbled me. What I also love is that we have created a company which has a corporate philosophy that seamlessly aligns with the total construct of who I am, the things I believe and live by.”
The SRS founder’s strides in business have certainly not gone unnoticed. In 2018 the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) presented her with its first Women in Business Award.
The GCCI award was in recognition of women who possess vision, innovation, entrepreneurial drive, leadership, individuality and tenacity with the ultimate goal being to present role models for other women.
Outside of her work, Gravesande-Bart is the co-creator of the Women Chamber Of Commerce and Industry Guyana – a Business Service Organisation was formed to create a formal space to support women in business and women in the corporate world. She is also a part of the Grace and Mercy Youth Foundation, which was created to assist in facilitating social and economic inclusion for youth.
Gravesande-Bart said she is truly grateful to her family for their unwavering support.
She said, “The people we serve motivates me, my family, my mom, my daughter, my husband, my coach and mentor, whom I refer as my very own Maya Angelo…Many times, I wished she was closer (in the country), our conversations would be much longer and they are already very long.”
Additionally, Gravesande-Bart said “my pets are my everyday therapists. Lady Grace and Zoey love never-ending cuddles!” She noted, nonetheless, that watching her daughter evolve into a young woman who embodies grace, yet is very firm and stands in her own truth is her greatest blessing.

 

 

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