NEGRIL, Westmoreland — Over 300 youth, between the ages of 15 and 24 years, from several high schools, training institutions and youth clubs in Hanover attended a Youth Empowerment Expo held at the Jockey Factory in Lucea, Hanover on Friday.

The expo, which was organised by the Ministry of Youth and Culture in collaboration with the Jamaica Business Development Corporation, Sandals Resorts and several other companies, targeted “at risk” youth and introduced them to social entrepreneurship, capacity building, skills training, and related areas.

They received free career counselling as well as HIV counselling and testing, and participated in workshops on mobile app development, animation, web and graphic design. The young people were also in empowerment sessions focusing on careers in sports, creative arts, hospitality, wealth creation opportunities, and employability skills. There were also mock interviews, TRN registration and a songwriting seminar for singers, DJs and songwriters.

The expo also featured information booths from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, National Youth Service, the National Council on Drug Abuse, and the Hanover Health Department, as well as displays from several educational and training institutions and business development entities.

Representatives from Sandals Resorts in Negril were also in attendance and did demonstrations on various activities in the tourism industry. They also shared details on the resort’s Hospitality Training Programme which allows youth to gain training, experience and certification in various areas in the hospitality field over a six-week period.

A stakeholders forum, which facilitated discussions on the proposed Hanover Youth Information Centre and NYS Training Facility to be built in Lucea, Hanover, followed the expo.