“President looks like he’s a man of action” – Kitty resident on skills training, job opportunities

The Government is taking skills training and job opportunities directly into the Georgetown community of Kitty, in the wake of President Dr Irfaan Ali’s visit there not so long ago – a process that is being replicated across the country.
On Monday, Minister within the Ministry of Public Works Deodat Indar, Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton; Culture, Youth and Sport Minister Charles Ramson and Minister within the Prime Minister’s Office, Kwame McCoy, visited Kitty.

The visit, aimed at taking skills training and job opportunity directly to the people, saw Indar addressing the residents and highlighting two individuals who are among the many success stories, of persons who were able to upskill themselves and enter the construction sector, with the support of the Government.
“These guys didn’t have much skill. They didn’t know construction… but they’re contractors now and building concrete roads. And them roads gonna last long, because they’re built for quality. Charles was talking about Leopold Street. When I went to Leopold Street, Carlos Yaw. Nice young fella too. He started in block making. Now he building roads and concrete drains in Riverview,” Indar said.
He added that, “And I can take you to Albouystown, where I went there and create a whole eco-system of contractors. And I can take you to Victory Valley, Linden, where rasta man from the corner, all of them end up turning contractors. Build their own career. Or I can take you to Sophia. Or I can take you to Melanie. And I can show you women, men, young and old.”
According to Indar, these success stories have been replicated all across the country. He emphasised that once persons are willing and want to acquire opportunities in life, the Government is eager to facilitate this.
The Minister urged persons who already have skills, to register their names with the Government in order to facilitate them getting jobs. And he urged persons in the community who are interested in learning a skill, to sign up with the Government’s skill training initiative. The skills training being offered include excavator, welding, machine operator, carpentry and block making.
“If persons are interested in doing machine operating, excavator operating, excavator operators get paid between $10,000, $15,000 a day, depending on the size machine. Same thing for bulldozer. Same thing for Bobcat. It’s good money. The Board of Industrial Training under Minister Joe Hamilton, he will train you.”
“So, the persons who don’t have any kind of trade and want to do that, I want you to form a group, we’ll take your name and put you in that Ministry. On the Board of Industrial Training. So that you can have that training done,” Indar further explained.

Residents
The Government’s initiative also came in for praise from the residents. In particular, the timeliness with which the President’s visit was followed up was commended. According to Pastor Alex Salom, who has resided in Kitty for over a decade, many youths in the community fall prey to negative influences when left to their own devices.
“I’ve been here for the past 16 years… in the years I’ve been here, I’ve said that after the youth finish school, they finish CXC, maybe they didn’t get some of the papers, the next thing is they lime around the corner. And some get pregnant and that’s it.”
“And then the youth enter into smoking and other things. So, it’s good to see the President walk here on Saturday, with an entourage and today, the Monday after, we see about four Ministers came back to follow up from what the President did,” the pastor said, also expressing the hope that the day will come when boys are no longer spending their days liming on the corner, but rather are gainfully employed.
His sentiments were also echoed by other residents, including Marquis Bishop and Dexter Smith, a contractor. Bishop expressed hope that this will be replicated countrywide, and Smith lauded the alacrity with which the Government conducted its follow-up visit.
“To me, it will help keep some young people off the streets. Find jobs and so on, training for them. I just hope and pray that everything they say come through and they push with a pace that things could happen… not just come and talk… the President looks like he’s a man of action. So, let’s just watch and see what happens,” Bishop said.
“There’s a lot of these youths that need a lot of development, which is good for them. Some of them basically play football… nowhere to play it. So, it would be good if they have a ground and so on. Some of them are just there, not doing anything and need a skill… all these things going on within the community, I’m satisfied and grateful. The youths are being plugged up in various areas of work and that is very important for me,” Smith added.