KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) — More than 250 young people have received certification in various skill areas, having successfully completed training under the Alternative Livelihood Skills Development programme.

The programme is a component of the Jamaica Social Investment Fund’s (JSIF) US$42 million Integrated Community Development Project (ICDP).

Training for the graduates was facilitated through a number of entities namely the Pre-University School; Institute for Workforce Education and Development (IWED); Rakul Enterprise School of Education and Technology; Trench Town Polytechnic College; the University of the West Indies film project; and Internet Income Jamaica.

In his remarks at the graduation ceremony held at the Chinese Benevolent Association of Jamaica on Old Hope Road on Thursday, Managing Director of JSIF, Omar Sweeney, said young people across seven parishes benefited from the training.

These include 179 trained and certified Zika warriors and environmental warrens, who will be employed in communities as vector control aides, as well as assist in solid waste management efforts in various communities.

Meanwhile, for the pre-university School, which prepares students to enter tertiary institutions or the job market, Sweeney informed that 39 out of 41 participants graduated, with over 25 per cent finding work less than three months post training.

For the IWED, which offers certified courses in areas such as home management, customer service, landscaping, food handling, customer relations, office administration, housekeeping and hospitality, there was a 100 per cent completion rate with over 50 per cent of the participants now employed.

Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, Fayval Williams, congratulated the graduates for completing the training programme.

“This is the beginning of something exciting and I want to encourage you not just to sit here with this initial training, but to continue to seek training wherever it is so that you have a diversified portfolio of skills that can serve you in whatever area in which you want to go,” she advised.

Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Floyd Green, in a speech read by advisor, Brittany Singh-Williams, encouraged the graduates to use the skills gained to contribute to the development of Jamaica.

“Young people will play a big role in how our world adapt to challenges. With youth comes energy, innovation and optimism and you need supportive environments such as these and opportunities to launch out into the world,” Green said.

He added that it is important that the country continues to ensure that the youth are being prepared with the necessary tools and skills sets for the job market.

The ICDP, which is being funded by the World Bank, aims to promote public safety transformation through the provision of basic infrastructure and social services in 18 communities in the parishes of Kingston and St Andrew, St Catherine, Clarendon, St James, St Ann and Westmoreland.

The ICDP commenced in May 2014 and will continue until May, 2020.