Trainees in the special male programme pose with their teacher Yvonne Belle-Biggs, a hospitality instructor at the Kenilworth Heart Academy, 3rd left, second row; social worker Archibald Edwards, left, second row and Pastor George Bates, right second row. /Photo:Keril Wright.

LUCEA, Hanover -

A special training programme to equip jobless young people with certified skills has netted over 200 young people from across the parish of Hanover.

Dubbed "Special Pilot Project of Hope", the programme - a partnership between the parish's civic and community leaders - was organised through the efforts of social worker Archibald Edwards, the Kenilworth Heart Academy, the Elgin Town Church of God and the Christian Fellowship Church in Lucea.

Four batches of young people, including a group of some 20 males from disadvantaged communities in the parish, are receiving training in the areas of housekeeping, laundry operation, commercial food portering and basic Spanish.

At the end of the three-month course, participants will be certified and ready to take advantage of the opportunities in the hospitality industry, that are expected to open up in the parish.

Chief among these opportunities is the 1,960-room Fiesta hotel development now under construction at Point in the parish.

The first two groups of about 80 will graduate in mid-December.

Danjuma Robinson, one of the participants in the special male programme, was very happy for the opportunity. The 27-year-old father of three said the programme will give him a chance to "push up and expose" himself.

Similarly Keith Blagrove, 20, who is also a participant in the male programme, feels it is just the opportunity he needed "to get a job instead of walking up and down on the roads," so he can take care of his family.

A recent graduate of the Merlene Ottey High School, Blagrove has not worked formally in the five years since leaving school.

Kenrieth Campbell, 27, also feels the programme "is good especially for young men" most of whom just hang out on the street with nothing to do. The father of one said the programme would give him a chance to get certified and be better able to care for his daughter financially.

According to Edwards, it is this "nothing to do" that often leads to hopelessness among young people and eventual progression to a life of crime.

"It does not need a rocket scientist to see that if our young people are empowered with marketable skills and certification they will develop hope and high self esteem with less propensity for crime and other anti-social behaviour," he stated.

He said most of them started the programme in September and came from the areas of Maryland, Grange, Hopewell, Sandy Bay, Jericho, Haddington and the capital Lucea.

"We want to be a model parish in Jamaica," said Edwards. "With a high level of trained and certified young people to further the development of the parish and the island in general."

Pastor George Bates of the Christian Fellowship Church also sees the programme as an opportunity to give back to the community and create hope among the young people of the parish.

"It's the very first time we are doing something like this," he said. "But our vision here is for the holistic development of the individual, not just the spiritual and employment is a key factor."

He said that as the church aims to balance the gospel with training and empowerment of young people, they are now in the process of establishing permanent accommodation at the church to house the classes.

School is now kept in the main church hall - one of the two venues, the other being the premises of the Elgin Town Church of God.

"We are presently building a room to accommodate the class so there can be comfortable seating," said Bates. "It should be finished by January next year."

He added that the church is also setting aside space to accommodate practical instructions in housekeeping and food portering. "We want this to be a permanent part of the services offered by the church," he said.

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