Troja wants skills training

Troja, a small farming community in St Catherine North Eastern, is taking steps to equip its youth with marketable skills to make them attractive in the job market.

President of the Troja Citizens' Association, Pam Seaton, said there is a high rate of unemployment among youths in the community, which she said is due mainly to a lack of marketable skills.

"The youths in Troja and surrounding communities are now requesting skills like auto mechanic, information communication technology, plumbing, electrical installation, and some want to learn cooking to elevate themselves and we have to respond," Seaton told THE WEEKEND STAR on a recent visit to the community.

"We are piling up scores of youths who leave school with nothing to do, and because we don't have the facility to house them and teach them a marketable skill of their choice, and then certify them, the community is suffering badly," Seaton said.

Roy Cummings, 20, said that many youngsters, after leaving school, follow the footsteps of their parents and become farmers while others are unattached. He said that a skills-training centre could change the fortunes of these youngsters.

CLOSEST HEART/NSTA CENTRES

"We need a training centre here so those of us who want to learn other skills can do so," Cummings said. "A lot of us inna Troja want to learn other skills, but the training centre dem deh far, and we nuh have the money to travel every day."

The closest HEART/NSTA Trust training centres are located at least two hours, by car, from Troja. These facilities are situated in Old Harbour, Lluidas Vale and Portmore.

Secretary of the citizens' association, Paula Duncan Frater, said the group is currently refurbishing an old community centre in Troja that they intend to use as a skills-training centre.

"The plan is to engage the HEART/NSTA Trust as soon as we can get the funding in place to refurbish the centre, and build out the curriculum to include the skills that are in demand so we can harness a repertoire of skills to benefit not only the individual but the community," Duncan Frater said.

The association is appealing to corporate Jamaica to help with the initiative to refurbish the community centre so they can help the many young people who are waiting for the opportunity to transform their lives.