KINGSTON, Jamaica—Some 200 unemployed Jamaicans in St Elizabeth, Westmoreland, St James and Hanover are set to receive hands-on training in construction through the Building Resilience and Inspiring Development through Guided Experience (BRIDGE) initiative that will be administered by the HEART/NSTA Trust.

This was announced by Minister for Education, Skills, Youth and Information Senator Dana Morris Dixon at a handing-over ceremony under the National Impact Project in partnership with the Jamaica Society for the Blind (JSB) on Thursday.

“The BRIDGE initiative is aimed at supporting recovery efforts in communities severely impacted by Hurricane Melissa,” Morris Dixon said.

“The BRIDGE programme will equip 200 unemployed young people from St Elizabeth, Westmoreland, St James, and Hanover with practical construction skills through guided work experience on active reconstruction sites,” she added.

The education minister said trainees will receive hands-on instruction in roof repairs, steel fixing, and masonry with support from HEART-certified instructors and visiting technical expertise through partnerships with other countries.

She noted that trainees will also receive a stipend of $65,000 per month during the programme.

Dixon also made an appeal for persons with disabilities to be integrated into the BRIDGE initiative.

“As this programme is being implemented, I would like the trust to give special attention as much as possible to members of the disabled community. We need to be able to get them to participate in programmes like this,” she added.