4-H Trains 65,000 Young People Annually

More than 65,000 young people, the majority of whom are clubbites in the education system, are benefiting annually from the training programmes offered by the Jamaica 4-H Clubs in agriculture, home-making, leadership and social skills.
Chairman of Jamaica 4-H Clubs, Senator Norman Grant, in his remarks at the press launch of National Achievement Day yesterday (April 11) at the 4-H headquarters in Kingston, said that the movement was transforming the lives of young people, by providing them with the skills to find or create their own jobs.
This, he said, was in keeping with the national drive to “encourage young people to participate actively in the development of their own future”.
Citing the success of the training initiatives, Senator Grant informed that over the period May 2001 to December 2006, a total of 371 tractor operators were trained, with 37 of these persons placed in jobs by the 4-H, while approximately 70 per cent got jobs on their own initiative, primarily within the bauxite sector.
A batch of 37 persons is currently in training at Denbigh Centre, where the course is offered.The 4-H Chairman informed that over the same five-year period, 195 persons received training in home economics/food preparation, with 78 placed in jobs by the 4-H, with 31 others now in training. Meanwhile, through an initiative with the National Leaders Association, a total of 360 teachers/leaders have been trained in project writing, project management and corporate governance.
In addition, through increased government subvention, the movement has been able to fund six scholarships per year, tenable at the University of the West Indies, University of Technology, College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE), teachers’ colleges and other institutions.
This year’s National Achievement Day will be held from April 25 to 27 at the Denbigh showground in Clarendon. To be staged under the theme: ‘Transforming Jamaica through Youth Development’, the three-day event will turn the spotlight on the country’s young achievers.
“The event will be a celebration of our young people’s success in the context of national development and simultaneously, the national drive to encourage young people to participate actively in the development of their own future,” Senator Grant said.