Forty young men graduated yesterday from the Ministry of Education’s Jump Start Program.
The Jump Start program is designed to help male students with academic, behavioral or emotional disabilities that might otherwise be at-risk of leaving high school without the National High School Diploma.
The young men received training from BTVI in the areas of carpentry, computers, electrical, plumbing and other technical certification.
The program is in its first year despite getting approval from in 2015 from the former government.
Michael Foulkes, Member of Parliament for Golden Gates filled in for Education Minister Jeffery Lloyd and said that the most important thing was that all of the young men worked together, something that would help in nation building.
“One of the young men who was originally accepted into the program from the RM Bailey high School, was brutally killed. The time of his death coincided with the time he would have been scheduled to be in the jump start program. If it had started at its original date, he might have been here today,” Foulkes said.
Foulkes was referring to the 10th grade student that was shot by police in May after he and three others allegedly robbed the Sea Grapes shopping plaza.
The twelve-week program took young men from eight different high schools. They were taught technical skills, about national pride, national identity, how to dress for success and conflict resolution.
The young men enjoyed field trips to places like the Royal Bahamas Defense Force base and had the opportunity to apprentice with companies like Bahamas Power and Light, NEMA, University of the Bahamas and The Water and Sewerage Corporation. Most of the young men have gotten accepted to BTVI to complete their certification in the field of their choice.
