Silvera Castro's new life after retirement

Barbara Ellington, Lifestyle Editor

There is a lot more to Civil Registrar Silvera Castro, OD, than the affable manner in which he conducts marriage ceremonies. The human resource and industrial relations practitioner retired from the former Caribbean Cement Company Limited (now TCI), and is all set to chart a new course for the rest of his life.

A justice of the peace, he is now the chief executive officer of a consulting and events planning company that will offer customer service training, industrial relations, human resource problem solving, work-permit applications, power-of-attorney services, assistance with making a will, registrar general services and, of course, services related to marriage.

He now has a staff of three but will outsource whatever is necessary to get the job done.

But having spent the greater portion of his life focused on human/industrial relations, how has he seen it change as time went by? In an interview with Outlook, Castro explained that and more. He opined that in the early days, there were not many trained human resource personnel in the island; people were simply placed in the position and trained on the job.

"Another significant change is the number of women now in the field and the Jamaica Employers' Federation (JEF) is to be credited for for that change, they have made a significant contribution to personnel growth and training," Castro said.

With no plans to slow down, Castro said there is definitely life after retirement. "Retirees need to be active and there is life after retirement," Silvera says as he revealed his participation on many boards and committees. The list includes chair of GC Foster College, St Andrew Technical High Minimum Wage Commission, Festival Queen Committee and vice-chairman of Windward Road All-Age and Junior High, the festival committee and the St Catherine Co-Op Credit Union. A former member of the Jamaica Co-operative Credit Union League board, he has been a member of the St Phillips Anglican Church for over 50 years.

An advocate of volunteerism, Castro believes there is more that could be done. "We should always give back some of what we get from society; we can utilise our time and energy, talk less and do more for the less fortunate, not just tokenism or to profile but for the good of the country," Castro said.

To this end, a lot of Castro's spare time has been devoted to the work of the festival movement in Jamaica. He began in 1962 as an entrant in a dance contest and moved on to 'Teenage Dance Party', a local television programme. His interest was sparked and he has continued working with and participating in cultural groups to the present. "Festival activities have grown tremendously thanks the the 'father of festival', former Prime Minister Edward Seaga. And, we cannot forget the contribution of the late Professor Rex Nettleford, Louise Bennett, Ranny Williams, Hugh Nash and others," he said.

For the big 50th anniversary of Independence celebrations, Castro would like to see an outpouring of support from the business sector. "I would like to see all our buildings painted and flags flying everywhere. We could have 15 parish festival queens, including one for Portmore as suggested by the minister of youth, sports and culture. We must have many float parades, costumed groups and street dances and parades."

Credit union

Of his other passion, the credit-union movement, Castro says he is not against regulations but the organisation cannot be run as a bank because the members own it, take pride in it and make all the decisions that govern its operations. He holds the view that Jamaica could not survive without this partnership. It's been the base for poor people and nothing should be done by any government to stifle the movement, rather they should do everything to encourage its growth.

"Lessons can be learnt by financial institutions from the management of a credit union; there is a human element in the decision-making process; they are like family - they care."

However, Castro was quick to add that young people today do not start early enough to plan for the retirement years and the credit union is a good place to begin. "In later years, you cannot depend on children, your boss or the Government. His advice to young workers is to start putting away something from your first pay cheque. It is important to acquire a roof over your head before everything else," is his advice. He noted that retirement years can be filled with joy and be time to pass on the wisdom of the years to the young through involvement with past alumni and service organisations.

Castro's one wish for his country is that there be a return of old-time values, where the entire community raised its children. "We need to see discipline return to schools, teachers have lost their power, but the discipline must begin in the home and too many parents are children themselves, so they have no parenting skills. Therefore, we have to bring back the values that taught children to wait for parenthood till they were mature adults."

Contact Silvera Castro at: Consulting & Events Planning, 72 Half-Way Tree Road, Kingston 10 or email: castroconsultancy@gmail.com.Phn:815-4185/569-5684/908-1230.

barbara.ellington@gleanerjm.com