‘We Need You!’ Prime Minister Holness Urges Young People to Take Advantage of Opportunities in the Economy and Stay Away from Gangs
We need you!
That’s the appeal from Prime Minister Dr. The Most Honourable Andrew Holness to young people who may be involved in or are being recruited into gangs and criminal activity.
Speaking at the opening of a state-of-the-art Jamaica Packaging Industry manufacturing facility in Kingston yesterday (April 29), Prime Minister Holness noted that business persons have been complaining that there is a shortage of skilled labour.
The country’s employment figure is approximately 96.5% of the eligible workforce.
Nonetheless, there are still persons who choose not to be in the labour force or are underemployed.
Some of these persons are involved in gangs and criminal activity.
“Where are some of the Jamaicans that are not in the labour force? Some of them are in gangs. Some of them are involved in criminal activities. The strategy of the government is to make crime an unprofitable endeavour so that our young men and young women who may be attracted by those kinds of endeavours will realize crime does not pay,” said the Prime Minister.
Dr. Holness advised youngsters caught up in crime to take advantage of free skills training at HEART, as acquiring a skill and getting a job could save their lives.
“In addition to what we’re doing with making criminal enterprise unattractive, we have also tried our best with the resources that we have to invite our young people into the world of training. HEART training is now free of cost… We need you in the labour force. We need your skills and your talent. If you are a youngster and you are being invited to join a gang, I will say to you, young man, forget about that. There are jobs that are paying well that are waiting for you, but you need to have a skill. Go to HEART and get trained. You will find very well that this is advice that will save your life,” Dr. Holness warned.
The Prime Minister continued, “Now more than ever we need our young people to fully participate in our economy. We need your energy and creativity, and we need you to help grow the economy,” Prime Minister Holness said.
Through initiatives such as free HEART/NSTA Trust skills training and job creation partnerships with the private sector, Prime Minister Holness said the government continues to lead efforts that steer young Jamaicans away from crime and towards meaningful participation in the labour force.
The Government remains committed to ensuring that every Jamaican, especially the youth, has a chance to contribute to nation-building and secure a better future.