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A particular concern of the government is the plight of our students who graduate each year from high school. Our high schools graduate approximately 39,000 students each year. 14,000 of them will go on to higher studies. A tiny minority will be lucky enough to find jobs.
Approximately 25,000 of them go home with nothing to do. They may have acquired some basic skill but do not have the wherewithal to put it to good use. Many of them become burdened with unwanted pregnancies or drift into deviant behaviour. Many become either victims of crime or perpetrators of crime. Many of them have ideas that need to be nurtured, ambitions that must not be allowed to die. Some intervention is needed. We may not be able to provide jobs for them but we can help them to provide jobs for themselves.
This year, we will be launching the Youth Entrepreneurship Programme (YEP) to help some of these school leavers to become self-employed.
Commencing with the students scheduled to graduate in June, those who are interested will be invited to submit their ideas as to the kind of enterprise they would wish to get started with. These will be evaluated by the micro lending institutions. Those students selected will be required to attend training seminars that will be held in various parts of the island between June and August. The seminars will be conducted by JBDC, HEART/NTA, RADA and the 4-H Clubs. They will be used to train the students in the basics of running a business.
Commencing with the students scheduled to graduate in June, those who are interested will be invited to submit their ideas as to the kind of enterprise they would wish to get started with. These will be evaluated by the micro lending institutions. Those students selected will be required to attend training seminars that will be held in various parts of the island between June and August. The seminars will be conducted by JBDC, HEART/NTA, RADA and the 4-H Clubs. They will be used to train the students in the basics of running a business.
We will be making available $250 million to provide small scale loans to the successful applicants. The loans will be charged at an interest rate of 10% and will be administered by the micro lending institutions with the DBJ providing general oversight. We will evaluate the programme after 6 months. If it achieves its objectives, we will invest more money in it next year.
I have faith in the young people of this country. I believe that if we invest that faith in them, they will pay big dividends; they will not let us down.
To the young school leavers who are fearful of the emptiness that awaits them after graduation, the word is "YEP, you can!"
To the young school leavers who are fearful of the emptiness that awaits them after graduation, the word is "YEP, you can!"
http://jis.gov.jm/Budget-Presentatio...PM-Golding.pdf