State Minister Honoured By CMI

Minister of State in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Sharon Ffolkes Abrahams, has been recognised for her contribution to the establishment of the Workforce Development Centre in the Montego Bay Free Zone, by the Caribbean Maritime Institute (CMI).

She has also been lauded by the CMI for championing the cause of youth development and empowerment in Jamaica.

A citation read at the centre’s official opening on October 29 said: “Our partnership to facilitate the empowerment of Jamaican youth, through opportunities provided by the Montego Bay Free Zone-Workforce Development Centre, has helped to transform the lives of a number of young persons for whom the outlook for the future may have seemed bleak.”

It commended Mrs. Ffolkes Abrahams for investing $5 million from the  Constituency Development Fund (CDF) in the education and skills development programme, including character building, work ethics and social responsibility.

“These youth are poised to make a difference in the lives of their families and communities, and are empowered to play their part in the growth and development of our wonderful country, Jamaica,” the citation read.

“The training has also imbued them with the right attitude to achieve success and we look forward to the contribution they will make upon entering the workforce of the Montego Bay Free Zone as proud graduates of the programme,” it added.

In response, Minister Ffolkes Abrahams said she was honoured and pleasantly surprised by the gesture.

She pledged her continuing support of the programme, as she is heartened by the growth and improvement she has seen in the participants in the programme and by the possibility for social mobility it affords them.

“We have to give young people opportunities that are high enough for them to advance properly. These are technologically smart and savvy young people who have ambition to do world-class things,” the State Minister said.