2,500 youth to get a major ‘LIFT’ over the next five years

THE SOCIAL mobility of 2,500 young Jamaicans will be bolstered over the next five years under the Government’s $2-billion Learning and Investment for Transformation (LIFT) programme.

The initiative will target fifth- and sixth-form graduates and provide sustainable avenues for education, employment and assimilation into society.

Speaking during Wednesday’s launch at Jamaica House, Managing Director, HEART/NSTA Trust, Dr Taneisha Ingleton, said LIFT comprises activities that will be implemented in three phases – entry, engagement and immersion.

She explained that upon entry, a diagnostic examination will be administered to allow students to be trained and later placed in jobs that will accommodate their learning levels while ensuring job readiness gaps are addressed.

Students will also participate in a week-long orientation session in which they will receive life skills, customer service and interview skills, digital literacy and financial literacy training, to ensure their smooth transition into society at the end of the programme.

They will, subsequently, be engaged in an eight-week skills training programme that focuses on employability and specific skills identified in the predetermined areas, mentorship and volunteerism.

Upon completion of this formal engagement, they will be immersed in specific skills in the pre-approved ministries, departments and agencies or a participating private-sector firm for one year, where they will receive $85,000 monthly.

“Fifteen thousand dollars will be placed in their bank accounts that they will not be able to access until they complete the programme; and this is important because we want to teach our young people how to save,” Dr Ingleton said.

Minister without Portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister with oversight for Skills and Digital Transformation, Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon, noted that poverty increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The administration is prioritising poverty alleviation. Employment, especially at the youth level, and skills training are central to that; and so this initiative is definitely a part of that,” she explained.

Senator Morris Dixon reasoned that LIFT will provide participants with job placement, professionalism training and assistance with obtaining documents that include a driver’s licence, passport, bank account, Tax Registration Number, and National Insurance Scheme card.

“At the core of this programme is social and economic mobility. We want our students to leave this programme feeling that they’ve been equipped,” she said.

Senator Morris Dixon added that to facilitate access across Jamaica, at least eight participants will be selected from each of the 63 constituencies each year.

For her part, Minister of Education and Youth Fayval Williams said the ministry is looking forward to working with the Office of the Prime Minister and HEART/NSTA Trust to facilitate the smooth implementation of LIFT.

She said there is a strong and direct link between education, further education and/or the world of work.

“It (LIFT) also looks to foster participants’ adjustment to adulthood in a systemic way towards them becoming productive citizens; and I know that all of us as members of parliament know that in our respective constituencies, there are many young persons there who would love to take advantage of this opportunity,” Williams pointed out.

Students interested in participating in LIFT must be at least 17 years old, possess a minimum of three Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate subjects, including mathematics and English, and must have exited high school within the last year in the case of a fifth-form graduate or the last two years in respect of sixth-form graduates.

Dr Ingleton advised that applicants must produce two character references, one from a principal, vice principal, or senior teacher, and another from a justice of the peace, minister of religion or member of parliament.

“You must demonstrate a financial need. We want to ensure that our most vulnerable, the individuals who need it the most, are the ones who get the opportunity to participate,” she said.

Application forms can be accessed on the HEART/NSTA Trust website and at the offices of all members of parliament.

Applications will open on August 10 and close on August 31.