Thu | Mar 28, 2024

‘Keep on stepping’

Intervention programme equips inner-city youth with skills for brighter future

Published:Thursday | February 24, 2022 | 12:09 AMChristopher Serju/Senior Gleaner Writer
Cecil Gordon (second right), chief technical officer of Jamaica Energy Partners (JEP) Group, and Dr Ruth Potopsingh (right). associate vice-president of sustainable energy at the University of Technology, Jamaica, in a celebratory moment with graduates at
Cecil Gordon (second right), chief technical officer of Jamaica Energy Partners (JEP) Group, and Dr Ruth Potopsingh (right). associate vice-president of sustainable energy at the University of Technology, Jamaica, in a celebratory moment with graduates at the USAID-JEP community intervention programme skills training graduation ceremony at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston on Tuesday, February 22.
Annette Irving hugs her son, valedictorian Oral Irving, during Tuesday’s graduation ceremony at the end of the four-month community intervention programme.
Annette Irving hugs her son, valedictorian Oral Irving, during Tuesday’s graduation ceremony at the end of the four-month community intervention programme.
Keith and Annette Irving celebrate with their son, valedictorian Oral Irving.
Keith and Annette Irving celebrate with their son, valedictorian Oral Irving.
Jermaine Scott (right), instrumentation and electrical supervisor of Jamaica Energy Partners/West Kingston Power Partners, makes a presentation to Shinardo Wilson during the graduation ceremony.
Jermaine Scott (right), instrumentation and electrical supervisor of Jamaica Energy Partners/West Kingston Power Partners, makes a presentation to Shinardo Wilson during the graduation ceremony.
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Eighteen young men from three Corporate Area inner-city communities on Tuesday embarked on a new chapter in their lives, having been equipped with skills training in areas such as mechanical and electrical engineering as well as behaviour modification and exposed to apprenticeships.

The youngsters – five from Tivoli Gardens in Western Kingston, six from Matthews Lane in Central Kingston and nine from Rockfort in Eastern Kingston – were graduating after completing a $5-million training programme co-sponsored by the Jamaica Energy Partners (JEP) Group and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), with the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech) and fhi30 also lending their support.

Throughout the programme, the at-risk youth received basic training in five areas considered critical to their development.

Melissa Newman, corporate responsibility manager for JEP Group, told The Gleaner that the programme was geared at empowering the young men so they can resist the lure of gun and gang violence so prevalent in their communities.

JEP, she pointed out, has energy plants in these communities and has very strong ties and so it was easy to recruit the young men, who began classes at UTech last September.

The apprenticeship programme gave them actual hands-on experience as they worked with engineers at JEP facilities and then they finished with professional development training, which exposed them to résumé writing as well as interviewing skills.

Newman explained that the behaviour modification element was critical in providing the youngsters with the necessary skills to help them avoid violent behaviour.

Dr Ruth Potopsingh, associate vice-president of sustainable energy at UTech, challenged the youngsters at last Thursday’s graduation to make good use of the new practical skills they had acquired as they also engaged the soft skills to shape their future.

“In your professional life, in your family life, you are going to have challenges, but I assure you that if you reach out to God, reach out to others, you will overcome the rejection. You will overcome the false accusations because that are going to come, because there is just a culture in human beings to put other people down, but I want to say you that you have a divine purpose,” she said during the ceremony at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston.

“You have it in you to be young men of excellence and today’s graduation is testimony of that. You can be the change in your families, your community and the nation.

“ ... As the Chinese proverb says, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. This training course has given you more than a single step, so just keep on stepping. Ignore negative words spoken to you by others, never let them take root in your system. You are wonderfully made and you have excellence in your DNA.”

Potopsingh encouraged them to not let pride hold them back and never to be afraid to ask for help.

“It will take time, but if you persevere, I guarantee that you will live a more fulfilled and happy life. You are really stronger than you think,” she encouraged them.

christopher.serju@gleanerjm.com