Government Launches Growing AI Innovation and National Skills Programme
JMD $545 Million National Workforce Transformation Initiative to Deliver AI Certification to Every Constituency in Jamaica
The Government of Jamaica today announced GAINS, the Growing AI Innovation and National Skills Programme.
GAINS is a national workforce transformation initiative designed to deliver AI skills certification and direct employment pathways to each of Jamaica’s 63 constituencies.
The announcement was made in Parliament on Tuesday by Dr. the Honourable Andrew Wheatley, Minister without Portfolio with responsibility for Science, Technology and Special Projects, during the Sectoral Debate.
GAINS is designed to ensure that Jamaica’s AI economy is inclusive from the outset, reaching rural communities, at-risk youth, low-skilled workers, and unattached young people who risk being displaced by automation rather than empowered by it.
HOW GAINS WORKS
GAINS will utilize enhanced Universal Service Fund Community Access Points. These are digital infrastructure already present in communities across Jamaica. GAINS will deliver a six-week AI Mastery Curriculum built around Jamaica’s national priority sectors. Every participant will graduate with a nationally recognised HEART/NSTA Trust certificate, a live portfolio and a direct pathway to employment, freelancing, or enterprise creation.
For qualifying at-risk youth, a participation stipend of JMD $50,000 per month will be available. This gesture is in recognition of the importance of removing financial barriers that usually prevent the most vulnerable participants from completing tailored government programmes.
Stressing the programme’s inclusive design, Minister Wheatley said, “No AI agenda means anything if it reaches only corporate offices and university campuses. It must reach South Central St. Catherine, rural St. Mary, and all parts of Westmoreland. The young mother who has the talent but not the tools. The unattached youth with capacity, potential, and no clear pathway. The low-skilled worker who is concerned about how AI will impact their ability to get or hold a job.”
IMPLEMENTATION AND FINANCING
The Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) is the implementing authority, with the Social Development Commission providing community outreach. HEART/NSTA Trust will provide certification, while the Universal Service Fund is set to provide the digital infrastructure. The Office of the Prime Minister is set to provide strategic oversight.
The national investment is JMD $545 million, with the Government as the anchor investment designed to unlock multilateral co-financing from the World Bank, the IDB, UNESCO, UNDP, and bilateral partners. No single funding stream will exceed 40% of the total programme cost. Private sector partners across key industries have committed to the employment pipeline, with formal partnership agreements to be announced ahead of the pilot launch.
A pilot in selected constituencies in St. Catherine and St. Andrew will generate the evidence base before the national rollout. The target for each national cohort is a minimum of 1,260 HEART/NSTA-certified graduates, 20 per constituency, with a direct pipeline to private sector employment.