The Sunday Observer’s remarkable story of how Westmoreland resident Mr Keith Wedderburn and his wife Sandra lifted themselves from homelessness to become successful entrepreneurs should be a must read.

It shows that if, as individuals, couples, groups we are prepared to dig deep, adjust as required, never give up, the world may well become our oyster.

Mr Wedderburn has a simple, yet very credible explanation of how he and his wife transformed their lives over time.

Said he: “We realised that for things to change we needed to change ourselves…”

And yet we all know that even with steely resolve, personal ambition, and drive, sometimes the sheer weight of adversity leads to failure.

For that reason help from the State, well-wishers, and progressive private sector initiatives, such as Project STAR, can make a world of difference for those with the requisite will.

Regarding support from the State, skills training programmes for young Jamaicans — though never as all-embracing as would have been ideal — have, down the decades, lifted many from the mire of poverty and hopelessness.

We believe it is fair to remind ourselves that a constant for successive governments in modern Jamaica has been the push to equip youth with not just formal academic education but skills training and capacity-building.

Since the apprenticeship and related skills training programmes of the 1950s/60s the more formalised National Youth Service (NYS) started in 1973, the HEART/NSTA Trust initiated in the 1980s — with which the NYS was subsequently merged — Jamaican youth have been empowered across the spectrum.

This newspaper joins with the leadership of the business sector in applauding the current Government’s efforts to boost skills training through various methods, including planned financial support for those attending HEART/NSTA programmes.

Head of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) Mr Metry Seaga voices a valid concern, that too many of our young people are being attracted from honest work by financial rewards of criminal activities such as scamming.

The short answer is for Jamaicans and their leaders to so target and punish criminals that their activities become unsustainable. It’s not easy, nor will it happen overnight, but that’s the way, using whatever legal enforcement means at our disposal. Twinned to that must be positive socialisation programmes to change behaviour, with community mobilisation as a solid, country-wide platform.

There is also the long-standing concern repeated by Mr Seaga about so many of our highly educated and skilled young people migrating in search of higher wages and a better life abroad.

That’s not new and is unlikely to change any time soon. Dating back to the late 19th century, ambitious Jamaicans have left for greener pastures.

A consistent plus of that migration has been remittances — supporting family and friends as well as buttressing the Jamaican economy.

Obviously then, there can be no slowing down of the push to educate and train our people both for the local and overseas job market. It’s a win-win for every single Jamaican to achieve his/her potential in terms of academics and skills.

If, as a society, we can get anywhere close to that ideal, life will become so much easier for those who strive to excel, such as the Wedderburns decades ago.