THE Government, recognising the financial difficulties some HEART/NSTA Trust trainees face in accessing programmes, will be providing a $15,000 grant for some participants to offset transportation costs, in addition to a weekly stipend.

The stipend is to be made available to all participants under the just-announced Community Action for Rewarding Engagement (CARE) initiative, which will seek to bring more people into the workforce by reaching young people who are not working and not enrolled in a training programme.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who made the announcement in his budget debate presentation in Parliament on Thursday, said that when he travels across Jamaica and speaks to young people, they tell him that, “ ‘Making HEART free of tuition is great,’ but some of them struggle to find money for transportation or to buy lunch.

“They say, ‘Prime Minister, I want to come do the training but I don’t have the bus fare. I want to get a skill, but I won’t be able to buy lunch when I go to the training centre,’ ” he said.

“This is the dilemma, and this is why we have decided that every student enrolled in HEART under the new CARE initiative will receive a monthly transportation grant of $15,000 to offset transportation costs to the HEART institution in which they will be enrolled. The grant will be tied to their attendance. We will go even further: All trainees under the CARE programme will receive an additional stipend of $13,000 per week for the duration of their training.”

He noted that the CARE initiative will be activated in all 63 constituencies and that each Member of Parliament will be asked to identify 30 young persons from his/her constituency, using predetermined selection parameters set by the programme.

“A specialised team in HEART will go to their houses, or meet them on the corner if necessary, to engage them and enrol them into programmes that will enhance their employability,” he said.

Turning to other areas of financial support that HEART will be providing in the upcoming fiscal year the prime minister noted that, starting April 1, 2024, every successful graduate of a level four trade programme will receive a grant of $50,000 to help them acquire the tools of their trade and step up to the next stage of their career. For those who are on PATH or wards of the State, this grant will be $75,000, he said.

“Additionally, starting next financial year the HEART/NSTA Trust will open a special grant facility of up to $100,000 for HEART-certified trainees who have registered a trade or business that has been operating for more than a year.

“The beneficiaries will also be assisted in refining their business plans, executing marketing activities, further capacity building, and other forms of technical support,” he said.

Further, he said that Development Bank of Jamaica has introduced the Tradesperson Ownership Opportunity Loan (TOOL) programme, which will be launched in June 2024.

“Under the TOOL programme loans will be offered to small contractors through DBJ, with partnership institutions, at an interest rate of nine per cent for up to 24 months, and will provide up to $500,000 per applicant to assist with acquiring or upgrading tools of their trade,” he said.

In the meantime, the prime minister said HEART/NSTA Trust will launch a skills-on-demand portal which will connect skilled professionals with potential employers and clients.

“If you need a plumber to fix a leak at your house, you will be able to go on the skills on demand portal and identify plumbing professionals who have registered as having verified certification from HEART,”

“Skilled professionals will be able to advertise their skills, their previous employer ratings, and their current location to potential employers and clients. Potential employers and clients will benefit from access to an array of talent that has been verified, and they will have the ability to post specific job openings to individuals with the required skills,” Holness said.