KINGSTON, Jamaica – Beneficiaries under the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH) can access support for employment or to pursue further studies.

These include Steps to Work, Post-Secondary (Education) Grants and Tertiary (Education) Bursaries.

Steps to Work is aimed at facilitating a structured system for assisting working-age members of poor families to seek and retain employment.

Beneficiaries can access entrepreneurship training and microfinance support and grants of up to $200,000 to establish or expand small businesses.

There is also job-readiness training, placement referrals and paid on-the-job training opportunities for qualified secondary and tertiary graduates.

In addition, technical/vocational training and certification opportunities are provided in collaboration with the HEART/NSTA Trust.

Meanwhile, the Post-Secondary (Education) Grant intervention is available as a one-time incentive for students, who are registered members of PATH households, and are enrolled in approved post-secondary educational institutions including HEART/NSTA Trust.

Benefits range in value from $15,000 for individuals resitting Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations to $30,000 for those pursuing Associate Degree programmes.

Eligibility is restricted to people who had received at least one PATH benefit payment while in secondary school.

Under the Tertiary Bursaries initiative, students are assisted with the cost of pursuing bachelor’s degree programmes in accredited tertiary institutions (universities and teachers’ colleges).

Bursaries valued at $100,000 are paid directly to participating institutions that manage the application process on behalf of PATH. The bursary may be accessed each year of study, and beneficiaries are required to maintain a 2.5 grade point average (GPA).

Eligibility is restricted to people who have received at least one PATH benefit payment while attending secondary school.

An initiative under the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, PATH was introduced as a Conditional Cash Transfer programme targeting vulnerable households within the population.

Since its launch in 2002, PATH has become Jamaica’s flagship social assistance programme, currently providing cash grants to approximately 350,000 beneficiaries.

-JIS