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10,000 unskilled youths to be trained over next four yearsLUKE DOUGLAS, Observer writer editorial@jamaicaobserver.com
Thursday, October 23, 2008
CHARLES... if you are being invited into a gang and you don't want to go into it, come and see me
Labour and Social Security Minister Pearnel Charles yesterday invited all unattached youths, including gang members, to apply for training and jobs under a new programme he hoped would help curb Jamaica's rampant crime.
Charles appeared to join his colleague, the national security minister, Senator Trevor MacMillan in seeking out of the box solutions to long-standing social problems besetting the island.
"We're calling on those in gangs who want to get out of the gangs to call the ministry; if you are being invited into a gang and you don't want to go into it, come and see me," Charles beckoned at the launch of the Special Youth Employment and Training Project (SYEAT), which aims to train and employ 10,000 unskilled youths over the next four years.
He said another, designed to train and employ existing and potential gang members, would be announced shortly.
Charles' statement comes weeks after a controversial suggestion that dons should be allowed to appear before a committee of Parliament examining the bills to reduce crime.
That suggestion was supported by National Security Minister Colonel Trevor MacMillan, but condemned by opposition members including K D Knight and A J Nicholson.
Yesterday, the labour minister also defended his government's performance after one year in office, but admitted that some of the promises made in last year's general election campaign could not be met, as they were based on inaccurate information on the seriousness of the country's problems.
"I said to my colleagues, if I knew then what I know now, I would not have told all of those lies when I was campaigning, that in two years we could make things better," Charles told the gathering in Kingston.
"Among the problems of which the government was not aware were that billions of dollars spent were not recorded on the budget; and that more than 60 per cent of first-time job seekers were illiterate," the minister said.
In a response to the opposition People's National Party's (PNP) claim that the government had failed after one year in power, Charles called on some politicians to stop their criticism of the administration.
"Stop this rubbish about you can do this and you can do that," he said. "No other PNP or JLP government in the past has been able to do what this government has done in one year. None!"
Campaign promises fulfilled by the government so far, Charles said, included the provision of free health care in hospitals and public health centres, the removal of tuition fees in secondary schools, and the inclusion of an additional 38,000 persons on the Programme for the Advancement of Health and Education.
The SYEAT programme targets young people ages 18 to 25 years to be screened and assessed by the HEART Trust/National Training Agency, following which they will receive training in basic numeracy and literacy skills from the Jamaica Foundation for Lifelong Learning.
Some 25 private sector companies have committed to the programme so far.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/..._FOR_GANGS.asp
Thursday, October 23, 2008
CHARLES... if you are being invited into a gang and you don't want to go into it, come and see meLabour and Social Security Minister Pearnel Charles yesterday invited all unattached youths, including gang members, to apply for training and jobs under a new programme he hoped would help curb Jamaica's rampant crime.
Charles appeared to join his colleague, the national security minister, Senator Trevor MacMillan in seeking out of the box solutions to long-standing social problems besetting the island.
"We're calling on those in gangs who want to get out of the gangs to call the ministry; if you are being invited into a gang and you don't want to go into it, come and see me," Charles beckoned at the launch of the Special Youth Employment and Training Project (SYEAT), which aims to train and employ 10,000 unskilled youths over the next four years.
He said another, designed to train and employ existing and potential gang members, would be announced shortly.
Charles' statement comes weeks after a controversial suggestion that dons should be allowed to appear before a committee of Parliament examining the bills to reduce crime.
That suggestion was supported by National Security Minister Colonel Trevor MacMillan, but condemned by opposition members including K D Knight and A J Nicholson.
Yesterday, the labour minister also defended his government's performance after one year in office, but admitted that some of the promises made in last year's general election campaign could not be met, as they were based on inaccurate information on the seriousness of the country's problems.
"I said to my colleagues, if I knew then what I know now, I would not have told all of those lies when I was campaigning, that in two years we could make things better," Charles told the gathering in Kingston.
"Among the problems of which the government was not aware were that billions of dollars spent were not recorded on the budget; and that more than 60 per cent of first-time job seekers were illiterate," the minister said.
In a response to the opposition People's National Party's (PNP) claim that the government had failed after one year in power, Charles called on some politicians to stop their criticism of the administration.
"Stop this rubbish about you can do this and you can do that," he said. "No other PNP or JLP government in the past has been able to do what this government has done in one year. None!"
Campaign promises fulfilled by the government so far, Charles said, included the provision of free health care in hospitals and public health centres, the removal of tuition fees in secondary schools, and the inclusion of an additional 38,000 persons on the Programme for the Advancement of Health and Education.
The SYEAT programme targets young people ages 18 to 25 years to be screened and assessed by the HEART Trust/National Training Agency, following which they will receive training in basic numeracy and literacy skills from the Jamaica Foundation for Lifelong Learning.
Some 25 private sector companies have committed to the programme so far.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/..._FOR_GANGS.asp
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