Young People urged to Pursue Success

KINGSTON — Minister with responsibility for Information, Telecommunications and Special Projects, Hon. Daryl Vaz, is imploring the nation's youth to strive for success, regardless of their circumstance.

“You can come from humble beginnings, be at a very disadvantaged status in life and still achieve,” the Minister said as he addressed the 2011 graduating class of  Diageo’s/Red Stripe’s ‘Learning For Life’ (DL4L) programmes on Thursday, June 30,  at the Sports Max Complex in New Kingston.

He told the graduates that nothing is beyond their reach, if they have the determination to achieve “and allow no one to drag you down or to distract you, or to divert you from the important things that you have to do in life."

“It is not good to be angry or bitter, regardless of the circumstance; put your past behind you, look forward, chart your course, and you can be successful. If I can be successful in all I have done, in all the challenges I have faced, (then so can you),” he stated.

Minister Vaz, who was the guest speaker at the event, implored the graduates to seek to continue their educational attainment, sharing with them that he regretted not pursuing his education wholeheartedly.

“One of my single biggest disappointments is that I didn’t further my college education to the maximum. I actually attended college but I didn’t graduate from college because I was too busy having a good time…I can see where it has hampered my ambitions, because obviously it (education) is a very critical part of life,” he said.

Meanwhile, in his remarks, Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Pearnel Charles, congratulated the graduates “who are now trained and are in a better position to offer service to others and, in the process, do better for themselves."

He lauded the DL4L initiative and called on other corporate bodies to partner with the government in its efforts to alleviate unemployment and to empower young people.

“I use this opportunity to encourage other companies to do something for the unemployed, the illiterate, the unemployable, because if you help them as Diageo is doing, and other companies, we are going to create a better society,” he noted.

“We must work together to save our youth. If we lose them now, we would have lost a great opportunity to move forward economically and socially,” he added.

A total of 627 persons graduated from the various training programmes offered under DL4L, in the areas of bartending, entrepreneurship and tourism. The graduates were equipped with transferable skills and National Vocational Qualification (NVQJ) certification for either self employment or job placement.

Through its Learning for Life programmes, Diageo works with established educational and training organisations to provide training in tourism, retailing, the arts, hospitality, entrepreneurship, and teaching.

Launched in 2008, the DL4L initiative aims to increase opportunities for young people to find employment and become active contributors to their communities.  Approximately 2,000 at-risk young people in depressed communities across the island benefited under the programme this year moving from 80 in 2010.

Diageo, formerly Guinness Brewing Worldwide, has been the majority shareholder inRed Stripe, formerly Desnoes and Geddes, since 1993.

By ALECIA SMITH, JIS Reporter