Inner-City Youth to Benefit from Internships

Youth from selected inner-city communities are to benefit from internships under the Jamaica Social Investment Fund’s (JSIF) Poverty Reduction Programme next fiscal year.

A sum of $349.8 million has been set aside in the 2017/18 Estimates of Expenditure for this and other initiatives under the project.

The selected young persons are to also benefit from development workshops to be offered.

It is also intended that additional scholarships will be awarded; and community-based organisations will be strengthened through training interventions.

Also, for next fiscal year, designs for 22 facilities (health centres, police stations, schools and roads) are to be completed; and civil works on six facilities are to commence.

The project aims to empower residents of volatile communities to achieve their fullest potential and contribute to the attainment of a secure, cohesive and just Jamaican society as outlined in Goals 1 and 2 of Vision 2030, the National Development Plan.

Up to December 2016, under the project, 23 infrastructural projects were identified, and tender documents are being prepared for design and supervision; and 99 tertiary scholarships had been granted and development workshops had been delivered to recipients.

The JSIF is implementing the project with funding from the Government of Jamaica and the European Union.

It began in November 2014, and is scheduled to come to an end in November, 2018.