JSIF Spends $9 Million to Train Unemployed Youth
By: , July 11, 2018The Key Point:
Photo: Rudranath Fraser
Graduates from the Jamaica Social Investment Fund’s (JSIF) Alternative Livelihood and Skills Development Programme, Kamau Brown (right) and Shanado Archer (second right), observe a model of the weed whacker they were given on Tuesday (July 10) at St. Joseph’s Teachers’ College in Kingston, while (from left) Social Development Manager, JSIF, Mona Sue-Ho; Chief Executive Officer, Manpower & Maintenance Services Limited, Audrey Hinchcliffe; and Coordinator, National Technical and Vocational Education and Training (NTVET), Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Denworth Finnikin, offer words of encouragement to them.The Facts
- The young persons, who are from needy communities in the parishes of St. Andrew, Kingston and Clarendon, were each given certificates and starter kits on Tuesday (July 10), during a graduation ceremony at St. Joseph’s Teachers’ College in Kingston.
- They were trained as part of the Alternative Livelihood Skills Programme, which is a sub-project under JSIF’s $69-million Integrated Community Development Project, which delivers skills training for 400 youth between 17 and 29 years of age.
The Full Story
The Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), in partnership with the Institute for Workforce Education and Development (IWED), has trained 62 unemployed persons in landscaping and facility maintenance at a cost of $9 million.
The young persons, who are from needy communities in the parishes of St. Andrew, Kingston and Clarendon, were each given certificates and starter kits on Tuesday (July 10), during a graduation ceremony at St. Joseph’s Teachers’ College in Kingston.
They were trained as part of the Alternative Livelihood Skills Programme, which is a sub-project under JSIF’s $69-million Integrated Community Development Project, which delivers skills training for 400 youth between 17 and 29 years of age.
In her address, Social Development Manager, JSIF, Ms. Mona Sue-Ho, said the organisation is pleased to offer assistance through training and certification to aspiring landscapers and facility maintenance personnel.
“Last month, we were pleased to celebrate with the graduates from the St. James area, and, today, we are here to celebrate another successful partnership between the Jamaica Social Investment Fund and the Institute for Workforce Education and Development,” she said.
“At JSIF, we strongly support meaningful partnerships, and we are, therefore, appreciative of the kind efforts of Manpower and Maintenance Services Limited – the parent company of IWED – which will be handing over 62 tool kits to the graduates valued at approximately US$6,500,” Ms. Sue-Ho.
One of the graduates, Shanardo Archer, said he is happy that he got the opportunity to be trained and also given tools to start doing his own landscaping jobs.
“It’s a good programme for the youth… . We can actually start using the tool kit to make some money,” he told JIS News in an interview.
Another graduate, Kamau Brown, told JIS News that she, too, is happy about receiving training and tools.
“With what I have now, I can use it to go on my own and start my own business. I can use the [weed] whacker as a start to owning my own business,” Ms. Brown said.
After the ceremony, the graduates did demonstrations of what they were taught regarding landscaping and facility maintenance on the grounds of the college.