JIS: Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, says the Government is taking a strategic approach to ensure that jobseekers, particularly young people, are guided to areas where employment is either being generated or can potentially be created.

 

Noting that some 60,000 new jobs have been generated since the Administration took office in March, 2016, Mr. Holness said there is great potential for increased employment creation in Jamaica.

 

He cited the hospitality, construction, mining and quarrying and logistics sectors as areas with great prospects, while noting that the financial and services sectors, in particular, will continue to generate jobs.

 

The Prime Minister believes that once Jamaica starts to generate higher levels of economic growth, these and other sectors should be able to adequately absorb the number of persons pursuing tertiary- and skills-level training and certification.

 

He was speaking at an ‘OPM-Live’ mini town hall meeting organised by the Office of the Prime Minister at Jamaica College on November 29.

 

Mr. Holness said the engagement of job-seeking youth is being strategically done through the Hope, Opportunities, Production and Employment (HOPE) programme, in which nearly 2,000 young people, aged 19 to 24, not attending an educational institution, have enrolled and are undergoing apprenticeship and social skills training in State agencies.

 

“This experience that they are gaining is good for the workforce, because all of the skills that they are developing… can easily be translated into business/knowledge process operations or hospitality. So within a year, we should be able to turn out persons who have the skills to matriculate effectively into the world of work,” the Prime Minister said.

 

Additionally, Mr. Holness said youth are being trained by HEART Trust/NTA, which has merged with the Jamaican Foundation for Lifelong Learning, and National Youth Service to provide a significantly strengthened slate of programmes.

 

He encouraged tertiary students and persons pursuing skills training and certification to tailor their study choices, so that these are aligned with new areas of job growth.

 

The Prime Minister pointed to several categories of “critical national skills” which, he said, did not have adequate professionals serving them. These include land surveying, pharmacology and engineering.

 

“In fact, based on the growth that we are seeing emerging now in logistics, the real constraint is that we don’t have enough engineers. So, what we are doing (is providing incentives to) persons who want to go into engineering to encourage them to get into that field,” he said.

 

Mr. Holness acknowledged that despite a record 1,216,200 persons being employed, based on the Statistical Institute of Jamaica’s July 2017 Labour Force Survey, underemployment and unemployment, particularly among youth, remains high.

 

STATIN reports that youth unemployment for the 14 to 24 age category declined by 2.1 percentage points to 27.5 per cent.

Against this background, the Prime Minister said the the Government will work to ensure that “no youngster and none of their talent or potential is wasted”.

 

“We (endeavour to solve) that problem by providing opportunities for employment for our young people,” he said.

 

CAPTION: Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (left), addresses a wide cross section of persons attending an ‘OPM-Live’ mini town hall meeting at Jamaica College in St. Andrew on November 29. The meeting was organised by the Office of the Prime Minister.

JIS: The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information (MOEYI), in an effort to boost Jamaica’s skilled workforce, has introduced a new Associate Degree in Occupational Studies to enhance its Upskilling and Retooling programme.

 

Launched in December 2016, by the Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, the Associate Degree aims to create higher-learning opportunities for Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) students.

 

The programme was developed under the direction of the Centre of Occupational Studies (COS) in the Education Ministry and is in response to the demands of the workplace.

 

Areas of training include logistics, business process outsourcing (BPO), knowledge process outsourcing, manufacturing, agriculture, hospitality and renewable energy technology.

 

Speaking with JIS News, Chairman of the Joint Committee for Tertiary Education (JCTE), Dr. Cecil Cornwall, says that the degree was created to offer a wide variety of industry-specific training at the tertiary level.

 

“What makes it different from other degree programmes, is that it is not purely academic in nature, but focuses on applying the knowledge and skills being taught to real life situations… making it easier for students to transition into the world of work,” he says.

 

The Programme also seeks to increase and diversify the product offerings to include skills-based Competency Based Education and Training (CBET) in Tertiary institutions; use the CBET methodology to create the holistic employee at the supervisory level, so as to engender economic growth and sustainability at the micro and macro levels; and to strengthen the integration of TVET in the general education system by integrating efforts with tertiary providers to allow for increased articulation.

 

In addition, the programme also features opportunities to study overseas, industry certification and licensure, specialised industry-related courses, enrichment seminars and professional development activities, and personal development and growth.

 

Learners who possess NVQ-J and CVQ certification at levels two and three and the Career Advancement Programme (CAP), also at levels two and three, automatically matriculate to pursue the two-year programme that is being offered in more than 15 institutions. Meanwhile, Dr. Cornwall says the Associate Degree is industry-driven, industry-approved and focuses primarily on technical/vocational studies geared directly at workplace studies and employment.

 

“The programme has been quite interesting, as the curriculum outline covers a wide range of topics that I have never encountered before, and has exposed me to what it means to be a well-rounded individual,” he notes.

 

He also advises that the Associate Degree has adopted the American ACCUPLACER test, which is used to determine the level of skill and competence in mathematics, reading, and English.

 

He explains that the American ACCUPLACER system tests the skills of the students, and where they fall short, the programme would have the necessary system in place that will take them from foundation level to college level.

 

“When they complete the two years of studies, they would have also internationalised their education, because they are leaving with stackable credentials and several industry certifications. This gives them access to international internship programmes overseas to gain exposure, but most importantly, they are getting local and international industry certification, which the traditional tertiary graduates do not have,” he says.

 

For her part, Director of the Centre of Occupational Studies in the MOEYI, Linda Stewart Doman, tells JIS News that as Jamaica advances its work agenda, there is a need to harness human capital development.

 

“There is a social demand for education and training globally and for productive skilled citizenry across the world. It is very important that we understand that an educated and trained nation is a productive nation, and a productive nation is a prosperous nation,” she says. She notes that the programme was piloted in January 2017 with an enrolment of 457 students, covering 17 curricula, which is in accordance with labour market intelligence data as well as the growth agenda of the Government.

 

In the meantime, Massage and Beauty Therapist, and student in the Fitness Management Programme at G.C. Foster College of Physical Education and Sports, Rose- Marie Senior Sergeon, says she is happy to have been selected for the programme.

 

“Though the coursework is heavy, the resources are there to facilitate us, and for this I am so grateful. I am very happy to have been selected for this Associate Degree in Fitness Management.

 

There are no programmes without challenges, and I believe that with our continued communication and teamwork, my cohort will be a successful group,” she states.

 

The Associate Degree in Occupational Studies is offered at the Caribbean Maritime University, Excelsior Community College, College of Insurance and Professional Studies, Shortwood Teachers’ College, The Mico University, University of the Commonwealth Caribbean (UCC), and University of Technology (UTech) Academy in Kingston; Western Hospitality Institute, St. James; Brown’s Town Community College, St. Ann; College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE) in Portland; G.C. Foster College of Physical Education and Sport, and Portmore Community College in St. Catherine; Northern Caribbean University (NCU), Manchester; Bethlehem Moravian College, St. Elizabeth; and the Vocational Training Development Institute (VTDI) in Kingston and Manchester.

 

CAPTION: Chairman of the Joint Committee for Tertiary Education, Dr. Cecil Cornwall, addressing a JIS Think Tank recently

JIS: The BAU International University in Washington DC has established a scholarship in honour of Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid.

 

The decision to set up the ‘Ruel Reid Transformational Leadership Scholarship’ was taken by the University to recognise Senator Reid’s lead role in arriving at a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Ministry and the University for the provision of 107 scholarships, over three years, worth $378.2 million (US$3 million).

 

These scholarships are available to student teachers to pursue undergraduate and graduate programmes at any of the tertiary institution’s campuses globally.

 

BAU University Board member, Paul Brunson, said the Ruel Reid Scholarship is to “pay homage and respect to Senator Reid for leading the process”.

 

The surprise announcement, which was made during the MOU’s recent signing at The Mico University College in Kingston, left Senator Reid at a loss for words and saw him welcoming the gesture with an elated “I’m speechless!”.

 

Mr. Brunson said the scholarship is open to any Jamaican student desirous of pursuing undergraduate and postgraduate studies, either in the United States or any of BAU Global Network’s campuses in Germany, Italy and Turkey, among other locations.

 

The MOU, resulting from the discussions between Senator Reid and Mr. Brunson, whose grandfather was Jamaican, between 2016 and earlier this year, will additionally see the University hiring 200 English language teachers for its global network of schools for the 2018/19 academic year.

 

Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States, Her Excellency Audrey Marks, and the Ministry’s newly appointed International Donor Consultant for the Jamaican Diaspora in the US, Gail Dunwell, who works closely with the National Education Trust, were also instrumental in initiating the partnership.

 

Senator Reid, in welcoming the MOU, conveyed the Government’s gratitude to BAU University.

 

“I have had the opportunity of meeting different segments of the Jamaican diaspora (who) are always very interested in what is happening in Jamaica, and particularly how they can assist our education programme. We are very grateful for the strength of the Jamaican connection,” the Minister said.

 

“There are Jamaicans in very prestigious positions all over the world, and wherever they are able to influence certain decisions, we find that they always step up to the plate,” he added.

 

Mr. Brunson said the initiative’s genesis dates back 10 years when he first met his grandfather.

 

He said the knowledge of his heritage was the primary reason for seeking out how best he could make a tangible and meaningful contribution to Jamaica.

 

Against this background, Mr. Brunson said he made representation to the University’s administration and successfully lobbied their support in March 2016, which resulted in the MOU’s forging.

 

“So for all these reasons and more, I am excited and I am proud. This is only the beginning of this relationship,” he added.

 

President of The Mico, Dr. Asburn Pinnock, said the initiative is a “perfect fit” with the Government’s focus for education.

 

“I think this will go a far way in building our resources as we try to graduate more persons in Jamaica from tertiary education,” he argued.

 

BAU International University is a private, non-profit institution that offers undergraduate and graduate programmes in economics, international affairs, entrepreneurship, global affairs, and international law and economics.

 

The BAU Global Network, which spans three continents, has been providing higher education for over 15 years through its campuses, which are also located in Canada and Hong Kong.

 

Its flagship campus is Bahçe?ehir University in Istanbul, Turkey, which has eight faculties, a school of languages, and two vocational schools.

 

CAPTION: Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid (left), shakes the hand of BAU International University Board member, Paul Brunson, following the recent signing of a $378.2-million (US$3-million) three-year Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry and the institution, for the provision of undergraduate and graduate scholarships for student teachers. The signing took place at The Mico University College in Kingston. The occasion was also used to announce the establishment of a scholarship in Senator Reid’s honour. Others (from third left) are the Ministry’s newly appointed International Donor Consultant for the Jamaican diaspora in the United States, Gail Dunwell, and Mico President, Dr. Asburn Pinnock.

JIS: Sixty-one nominees have been shortlisted under the various categories of the Prime Minister’s Youth Awards for Excellence.

 

The ceremony for the awards will be held on December 6 on the East Lawns of Jamaica House, beginning at 5:00 p.m.

 

The categories are Academics, Agriculture, Arts and Culture, Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise, Environment Protection, Innovation, Science and Technology, International Achievement, Journalism, Leadership, Sports and Youth Development.

 

State Minister in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, told JIS News that this year’s nominees were amazing, adding that the Selection Committee had a hard task of shortlisting the nominees.

 

“We were very impressed with the responses in Arts and Culture category, but we were hoping to see more nominees in relation to Agriculture. However, all-round, they were good,” the State Minister said.

 

In addition to the formal Prime Minister’s Youth Awards, there will also be the Jamaica 55 Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence, where an individual will be selected from 55 communities each across Jamaica and be recognised for their contribution to community development. The Jamaica 55 Awards targets persons who have a solid track record of community service.

 

According to the State Minister, these nominees must have served their communities very well. He noted that there is no interview process, but selection is largely based on the analysis of the submissions.

 

Mr. Green noted that the Prime Minister’s Youth Awards over the years target youth who have made national and international impact in the various fields. However, sometimes “we overlook the ones that have served extremely well at the community level but whose contribution may not automatically have national impact”.

 

“So, we went in search of those persons, and we are heartened by the response,” he said.

 

The awardees in the Jamaica 55 category will be eligible for project grants to further their community and youth development work.

 

Nominees for the Prime Minister’s Youth Awards for Excellence 2017 are Academics – Sarah Buckland, Lamar Edgehill, James Peart, Loya Haughton, Abbie-Gayle Johnson, Yohan Lee and Mikeann Channer; Agriculture – Diandra Rowe; Arts and Culture – Shalisha Turpin, Jamar ‘Chronixx’ McNaughton, Akeem Mignott, Shantol Jackson, Aisha Porter-Christie, André Fowles, Gauntlett Stewart, Chevoy Grant, Oshane Robinson, Dario Shields and Reeshena Ball; and Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise – Christopher Boxe, Conrad Mattison, Nicholas Kee, Tamar McKenzie, Javin Williams and Kadeem Petgrave.

 

In the category of Environment Protection, there are Kristofferson Nunes, Andrew Higgins, Kelsey Jones and Adrian Watson; Innovation, Science and Technology – Osric Forrest, Jason Edwards, Terrisa Thompson Barnes and Dominic Mills Howell; and for International Achievement – Arthur Williams, Shaneica Lester, Anne-Teresa Birthwright, Shaekagale Williams and Vanessa Grant.

 

For Journalism, Kimberley Hibbert, Nieka Lewis and Brian Walker are the nominees; Leadership – Malike Kellier, Santana Morris, Andre Marriott-Blake, Sujae Boswell, Naresha Jackson and Christina Plumber; Sports – Llori Sharpe, Elaine Thompson, Odayne Richards, Darren Mattocks and Tyreek Thompson; and Youth Development – the Rotaract Club of St. Andrew, the Jamaica Youth Employment through Culture, Arts and Nationalism (JAYECAN) and the International Youth Fellowship.

 

CAPTION: State Minister in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green. (FILE)

GLEANER: The coveted trophies for 2017 ‘teacher of the year’ and ‘principal of the year’ have been won by two Manchester educators.

 

Head of the Business Education Department at the Bishop Gibson High School Ingrid Antoinette Peart-Wilmot was named LASCO/Ministry of Education, Youth and Information Teacher of the Year, while Mandeville Primary and Junior High School’s Howard Salmon was declared principal of the year.

 

Peart-Wilmot boasts over two decades in the classroom at the secondary and adult levels.

 

“It could have easily been anybody so, I was just relieved when my name was called,” said Peart-Wilmot.

 

She established the school’s cosmetology programme in 2015 and is the founder and coordinator of the annual ‘Miss Bishop Gibson Talent and Awareness Pageant’ which amassed a net profit of $700,000 in the previous showing.

 

Salmon has over 30 years in developing productive  students and administrators.

 

“This award is for my students, my teachers, the parents of the school community and most of all, my parents,” Salmon told The Gleaner.

 

In his tenure as principal of the Mandeville Primary and Junior High, he has increased student attendance by 20 per cent through the restoration of student faculty relationship.‎

 

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CAPTION: Teacher of the year Ingrid Antoinette Peart-Wilmot and principal of the year Howard Salmon with their trophies after being named today – Ricardo Makyn/Photographer

 

JIS: State Minister in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, says the Ministry is committed to the process of transformation through education.

 

He notes that the Ministry has earmarked $153 million to further advance the Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme across 70 high schools in the island, and is pushing for TVET to be integrated at the tertiary level.

 

Mr. Green, who was speaking to JIS News at the International Education/TVET Conference on November 30 in Montego Bay, highlighted that there is a direct drive and push from the Ministry, not only from a policy perspective but from a practical side.

 

He said efforts will not only be made to integrate the TVET programmes into high schools but also to communicate to the “tertiary sector that this is the direction”.

 

“We unveiled, last year, occupational degrees, which are really tied into our TVET areas, and what that does is transition our children from level-two certification into an actual degree,” he outlined.

 

Mr. Green lauded the efforts of the Joint Committee on Tertiary Education (JCTE) for hosting the conference as a means of bringing together different players within the educational sector to build partnerships.

 

Meanwhile, he challenged the JCTE to make every effort to re-socialise parents, teachers and students about the importance of skills training, “to move it from the conversation as a secondary form of engagement, as a backup plan, (and) to get some of the best and brightest students into the skill areas”.

 

“We want to ensure that the tertiary student is adaptive, is bold, is confident, innovative and has critical-thinking skills. That is what we want to see from our tertiary students, so that they can easily transition from one field to the next,” he said.

 

The integration of this model, he said, has already contributed to the reduction of youth unemployment and will further result in “a greater match between training and employment”.

 

The JCTE Third International Conference on TVET was held from November 29 to December 1 at the Holiday Inn Resort under the theme ‘Building Educational Partnership through Strategic Leadership, for Institutional Growth, Development and Sustainability: Enhancing Professional Development in Higher Education’.

 

CAPTION: Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green. (FILE)

JIS: The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information and BAU International University in Washington, D.C. have partnered to provide 107 scholarships for student teachers to pursue undergraduate and graduate programmes at the institution under a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), valued at $378.2 million (US$3 million).

 

The MoU will additionally see the University hiring 200 Jamaican English language teachers for its network of schools located in the United States and several countries globally, for the 2018/19 academic year.

 

The partnership resulted from discussions that Portfolio Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, had with BAU University Board member, Paul Brunson, in Washington, D.C. between 2016 and earlier this year.

 

Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States (US), Her Excellency Audrey Marks, and the Ministry’s newly appointed International Donor Consultant for the Jamaican Diaspora in the US, Gail Dunwell, who works closely with the National Education Trust, were also instrumental in initiating the partnership.

 

Senator Reid, Mr. Brunson and President of Mico University College, another pivotal partner in the engagement, Dr. Asburn Pinnock, signed the MoU on Thursday, November 29. This took place at Mico’s Marescaux Road campus in Kingston.

 

The Minister said the partnership was welcomed in light of the high cost of education, particularly at the tertiary level.

 

Senator Reid said although the Ministry has been increasing funding for the sector, “there is always room for more support”, and in this regard lauded BAU University for partnering with the Government.

 

“This MoU is the beginning of what we expect to be a very long and lasting positive relationship. We are certainly looking at how we can provide more scholarships to our tertiary students, (particularly) our student teachers, and other youth who want to pursue higher education,” the Minister said.

 

For his part, Mr. Brunson said the initiative’s genesis dates back 10 years when he met his late grandfather who he learnt was Jamaican.

 

Mr. Brunson said the knowledge of his heritage was the primary reason why he sought to see how best he could make a tangible and meaningful contribution to Jamaica.

 

To this end, Mr. Brunson said he made representation to the University’s administration and successfully lobbied their support in March 2016 which resulted in the MoU’s crafting.

 

 “So for all these reasons and more, I am excited and I am proud. This, indeed, is only the beginning of this relationship,” he added.

 

In his remarks, Dr. Pinnock, said the initiative was a “perfect fit” with the Government’s national focus for education.

 

“I think this will go a far way in building our resources as we try to graduate more persons from tertiary education in Jamaica. A more educated nation is a more peaceful nation, a more prosperous nation (and) a bigger and better nation,” he added.

 

BAU International University is a private, non-profit tertiary institution that offers undergraduate and graduate programmes in economics, international affairs, entrepreneurship, global affairs, and international law and economics.

 

The Washington, D.C. Campus is part of the BAU Global Network, spanning three continents that has been providing higher education for over 15 years, with offices in Toronto, Canada; Berlin, Germany; and Hong Kong, among other locations.

 

Its flagship campus is Bahcesehir University in Istanbul, Turkey, which has eight faculties, a school of languages, and two vocational schools.

 

CAPTION: Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid (left), converses with BAU International University Board Member, Paul Brunson (right), during Thursday’s (November 30) signing of a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) valued $378.2 million (US$3 million) that will facilitate the provision of 107 scholarships to Jamaican student teachers, tenable at BAU which has campuses in the United States and other countries globally. The signing took place at Mico University College in Kingston. Looking on (at centre) is the President of Mico, Dr. Asburn Pinnock.

 

JIS: The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information will be investing $20 million in the construction of a sixth-form block at the Mount St. Joseph Catholic High School in Manchester.

 

The project will include classrooms, science laboratories, two visual arts rooms and space for students who are pursuing courses in engineering, auto mechanics and technical drawing.

 

Portfolio Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, who toured the Mandeville-based institution recently, said the funds will be provided during the next financial year.

 

Mount St. Joseph, which is a grant-funded school, was opened in the 2014/15 academic year through the collaborative efforts of the Diocese of Mandeville and the Sisters of Mercy. 

 

During the visit, the Minister signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the school administration regarding the grant-aided status of the institution.

 

He also observed work in progress on a grade-nine block to house six classrooms and science and computer laboratories, and a playfield and sports hall. The projects are scheduled for completion by March 2018.

 

The overall building project is expected to ease the congestion that now exists whereby some classes are being held at the nearby Retreat House.

 

Senator Reid said institutions such as Mount St. Joseph can provide some of the much-needed high-school spaces across the island.

 

He noted that while there is excess capacity at the early-childhood and primary levels, there is a shortage of space for secondary school students.   

 

“Ideally, we would need 100 more schools. I am trying to get 17 done in a hurry, starting with five next year,” he noted.

 

The number includes two new schools in Manchester, one in Mile Gully and the other in Fine Grass near Christiana, which will enable the Christiana High School to discontinue the shift system.

The Education Minister informed that talks are under way with two international donors, who are thinking of building institutions in Jamaica that will accommodate students from kindergarten up to age 18.

 

Senator Reid, who also toured the St. John Bosco Career Advancement Institute, said the facility is ideally suited for the Career Advancement Programme (CAP), which prepares students for the world of work. 

 

“With some 35,000 jobs set to come on stream at Alpart  (in St. Elizabeth) – there will be four different kinds of plants making aluminium foil, welding rods and steel – I am making the case that I am looking for institutions to train students,” Mr. Reid said. 

 

CAPTION: Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid (left), interacts with students at Mount St. Joseph Catholic High School in Mandeville, Manchester during a tour of the institution recently.

JIS: Work is under way to retrofit all primary and secondary schools across the island with lifts and ramps to improve access by persons with disabilities.

 

The initiative is being undertaken at a cost of $50 million by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information in collaboration with the Digicel Foundation.

 

“It is in the budget for the next five years,” said portfolio Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid.

 

“The allocation will make sure that within the next five years, every single public education institution will have either lifts or ramps, so that our children with physical disabilities will have access to these institutions,” he added.

 

He was speaking during the launch of the Abilities Foundation Beauty Services Unit on November 28 at the entity’s Constant Spring Road address in Kingston.

 

Senator Reid reiterated the Government’s commitment to supporting State-owned and -aided special education schools and units across the island, in keeping with its mandate to strengthen services to children with special needs.

 

He called on mainstream schools to develop structures and practices that would allow them to respond fully to a diverse student population.

 

Senator Reid said emphasis is also being placed on integrating the special needs community into the Government’s thrust to develop a national information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure.

 

“We have been exploring how best to integrate persons with disabilities into a system that is increasingly dependent on ICT. Children with disabilities don’t all go to institutions specially designed for them. Sometimes, those with challenges are very much part of the general population, and we have to expand avenues of access for them as well,” he said.

 

CAPTION: Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, speaking during the launch of the Abilities Foundation’s Beauty Services Unit on November 28 at the Abilities Foundation’s Constant Spring Road address in Kingston.