More than 500 graduate from Youth Enrichment Programme

The first cohort of participants in the Youth Enrichment Programme (YEP) in St James recently graduated after completing five weeks of comprehensive training and development in various skill sets.

The 540 young people, aged 17 to 35, were trained in food preparation, barbering, business process outsourcing, nail technology, and as waiters and waitresses.

The initiative, which was implemented in July, is the brainchild of Custos Rotulorum for St James Bishop Conrad Pitkin and a board.

The participating institutions were Anchovy High School, Cambridge High School, Green Pond High School, Hopewell High School, Irwin High School, St James High School, and the Western Hospitality Institute.

Pitkin, who provided a programme overview during the inaugural graduation ceremony at Faith Temple Assemblies of God Church in Montego Bay recently, noted that while the initial goal was to enroll 1,400 participants, the 540 students accommodated was a "great achievement".

"[The fact that] we could have kept 500 young people off the streets of St James for five weeks ... that's success," he said.

Pitkin said that while the programme does not currently have a job-placement component, he is looking to change that soon.

"We are hoping that those [students who are] 18 years and older, we can assist them in finding a job. We are looking at directing them into areas of their choice where they can be gainfully employed ... thereby empowering themselves ... [and] can go back to school later on and further their education," he said.

Meanwhile, work is under way to diversify the initiative's offerings to target younger children through a values and attitudes programme that Bishop Pitkin says is on the horizon.

The next set of YEP courses will begin at the end of September.