In an effort to reach at –risk unemployed youth in the country Prime Minister Perry Christie announced that the government would allocate $22 million dollars for training and apprenticeship programs.
Mr.Christie made the announcement yesterday during his presentation of the 2016/2017 budget communication in the House of Assembly.
He began by noting that youth unemployment is an area of grave concern and has been for quite some time and failure to tackle the issue only worsens the situation.
“This is an issue that must be attacked on multiple fronts, beginning with education reform to ensure that young persons leave school with the range of hard and soft skills needed to be successful in the job market,” he said.
It is with this knowledge during the government’s previous budget debate $20 million dollars was allocated through a jointly funded agreement between the government and Grand Bahama Shipyard Ltd. (GBSL) to impact the unemployed.
The previous agreement divided the programme into two categories skilled workers, three quarters of which is aimed at some 400 High School graduates between the ages of 17-19 and in the semi-skilled trade category approximately 200 Bahamians in the 25-40 year age group.
“At the end of the training period, the trainees will be assessed and certified by external, U.S examiners and will the work alongside experienced workers for a 6-12 month period to become fully proficient in their respective trades,” Mr. Christie said.
The new apprenticeship and training programme presented will be managed jointly by the Office of the Prime Minister and the National Training agency (NTA).
Those persons involved will work while being trained and paid in a very formal manner with certification on completion of the apprenticeship period.
“The programme differs from the jobs programme introduced by the previous administration in that it is not strictly about job placement for the unemployed but rather training to ensure those people are able to attract and retain long-term employment,” Mr. Christie said.
Following their completion from the apprenticeship program those persons will immediately be placed to work on the creation of two green spaces for public use.
The first being located at Lake Killarney and the other at the National Hero’s park, in an area south of Botanical gardens.
“Young people with an aptitude and willingness to learn professional landscaping will be engaged to assist with the development of these green spaces and will be apprenticed to profession and skilled landscapers. Both of these projects will be coordinated and managed by the Parks and Beaches Authority with Lake Killarney being done in concert with Bahamas National Trust and the Nature Conservancy,” Mr. Chrisitie said.
