133 Youngsters to Graduate from 4-H Training Programme

A total of 133 young people from Clarendon, who participated in the Jamaica 4-H Clubs’ tractor operation, food & hospitality and citrus production training courses, will be presented with certificates of completion tomorrow (June 23), at a graduation ceremony slated for the 4-H training centre in Denbigh.
Minister of Labour and Social Security, Horace Dalley will deliver the main address at the ceremony.Speaking at a recent JIS Think Tank, Lenworth Fulton, Chief Executive Officer of the Jamaica 4-H Clubs, said that the participants were mainly chosen from the bauxite-producing areas of the parish, and the aim of the training was to prepare them to take up jobs in the sector.
“We recognize that many of the agricultural lands have been taken up (with) mining operations, and so we have to re-train the youngsters to either fit into the bauxite or tourism industries,” he stated.
“It is becoming more difficult and sometimes unsustainable for agricultural activity to take place in these areas, once you mine for bauxite or any other mineral,” Mr. Fulton added.
The CEO revealed that the training programme, which started in 2001, has produced successful graduates, who have been placed in a number of bauxite companies such as Jamalco, which he said, had assisted the 4-H Clubs over the years.
He however pointed to the need for more private sector companies to come onboard to assist the organization to improve its programme offerings. Mr. Fulton revealed plans to extend the tractor operation and maintenance programme to include a backhoe element, and noted that private sector involvement would assist this effort.