Campbell promises skills training for constituents if elected in Westmoreland Eastern
Published:Saturday | January 20, 2024 | 12:09 AM
WESTERN BUREAU:
Young people in Westmoreland Eastern are being promised a second chance at achieving their dreams and aspirations which will be enabled under the Skills Training Entrepreneurial Programme.
That promise has come from Dr Dayton Campbell, the opposition People’s National Party’s (PNP) parliamentary candidate for the constituency of Westmoreland Eastern, approximately 18 months before the next general election is due. “We are doing our second chance initiative [for] those youngsters who didn’t get what they wanted on the first try, that young lady that got pregnant and had to drop out of school. They [the governing Jamaica Labour Party] might give up on you, but I am not giving up on you. Time come now for you to have access to a second chance in skills training,” Campbell said.
The PNP general secretary said if he becomes the next member of parliament for the constituency, he would offer more than 15 areas of skills training, including five subjects at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) level – mathematics, English, human and social biology, principles of business (POB) and social studies – to members of the constituency, particularly youths.
“When we give you the skills training, we’ll put you in the POB class so you know how to manage your money and you understand the difference between making profit and gross profit and you will be able to run your own thing and then we will give you a grant to start your own business,” Campbell explained.
Therefore, he said, “that youngster that is currently rubbing out his hand middle, I want you to come learn how to be a farmer and how to run that business”.
Campbell added: “I will give you the grant to open the barber shop and buy the barber chair. Time come now to lift people out of poverty.”
He said the time has come for economic enablement for those who want to get an opportunity, whether it’s raising chicken and small ruminants.
“When they give [financial aid] to the big companies, they said it was to boost production and employment, and when we give to the poorer people they say it’s handout. Well, time come now for that single mother to be able to raise chicken and send her children to school to get proper education because education is the best defence against poverty,” he stated.
According to the prospective PNP candidate, he has no intention to dictate to anyone, but noted that he has read every presentation that has been made on Eastern Westmoreland over the last 30 years. He said the residents were calling for better infrastructures in their communities, including roads, water and electricity.