Prime Ministers’ National Youth Awards
Keynote Address
by
Dr the Honourable Andrew Holness ON, PC, MP
Prime Minister of Jamaica
At the
Prime Ministers’ National Youth Awards
On
May 31, 2025
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Thank you, Debbie and Jevon, for your masterful mastery of the ceremony.
Allow me to acknowledge Senator Dr the Honourable Dana Morris Dixon, our Minister of Education Skills, Youth and Information, and other Members of the Cabinet who are in attendance.
Mr. Christopher Henry, Junior Shadow Spokesperson on Education and Community Development representing the leader of the opposition,
Our friends in the Diplomatic Corps,
Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives,
Our permanent secretary in the Ministry of Education,
Mr. Fabian Brown, Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Youth Award Selection Committee
Other public and private sector stakeholders and sponsors,
And of course, the important people of the moment, our 2024 Prime Ministers National Youth Award nominees and their proud family members and special guests who are here.
As I entered this venue and I had a brief chance to survey the audience, I thought to myself, you all look amazing. Yes, clap yourself. And as I was reviewing the nominees, I could not help but thinking we are a blessed people with talent. So many young Jamaicans are shining at home and abroad. Our greatness is not just defined by status or where we begin, but by the strength of our spirit and the clarity of our purpose. Our exceptional young people are not only a promise of what could be, but more so the proof of what is. These young leaders, innovators, athletes, entrepreneurs, and change makers, every category right across the board exemplify the very best of Jamaica. They remind us about the potential of our young people and that the future of our nation is in capable hands.
On behalf of the government and the people of Jamaica, I congratulate you on your excellence and thank you for your stewardship of our future. Young people, your stories are powerful. Your light shines bright. You are stars, but you have to be more than that. Let your impact echo beyond applause and headlines, lead not only with talent but with integrity, compassion, and purpose. And at this point I want to join the Minister of Education in acknowledging the bravery, compassion, and clarity of purpose of young Adrian whose action exemplifies the character that we would like to see in our youth.
To have so many young people from every parish in one place is quite an amazing opportunity. This evening, let us have a conversation about where our world, your world is going and how you can grab on to a prosperous world and make a prosperous future. Your government, which I administer, is building a new Jamaica, a Jamaica which begins with education and training. We firmly believe that your development is the cornerstone of personal and national development. This is why your government has made unprecedented investments to equip young Jamaicans from early childhood right up to the tertiary and vocational levels with knowledge and skills for the 21st-century economy and beyond. We are overall and modernizing education at every stage including technical vocational and TVET so that no young person is left without a pathway to success, and this work is already bearing fruit.
Consider and reflect on these facts. We removed, as was said earlier, all tuition fees from HEART Trust training programmes up to level 4 opening doors for any Jamaican to learn a skill. And since eliminating fees over 100,000 Jamaicans, mainly young Jamaicans, have enrolled in HEART training programmes gaining certification in many areas.
And when I was going to university a few years ago, getting a guarantor was a challenge so when I had the opportunity to do something about it, we eliminated the guarantor requirement to access student loans, and we continue the modernization thrust of the Student’s Loan Bureau to give you access to financing, including for housing and school equipment. We recognized that while the unemployment rate is falling, and I’ll talk about that later, we still needed to figure out a way to bridge work to employment and we created the LIFT programme, (Learning and Investment for Transformation) and we created the Community Action for Rewarding Engagement, the Care programme, and under those programmes, over 1,250 unattached youth across Jamaica are now receiving training to help them bridge the school to work transition.
We also introduced cutting edge technology training for youth through public-private partnerships such as the Amber HEART Academy. For our STEM talent, we introduced grants of up to $300,000 for recent graduates of HEART level four STEM courses to buy specialized tools, software, and even startup their own businesses.
In today’s technology driven world, STEM touches every aspect of our lives influencing how we live, learn, work, play, and communicate. It is therefore critical that our youth, whether they specialize in STEM disciplines or not, have a functional understanding of stem. We recognize that artificial intelligence and digital innovation will shape the jobs of tomorrow. Jamaica will not be left behind. You will not be left behind in the digital and technological revolutions that we now face.
I have given directives to HEART to introduce a prompt engineering course, and I know all of the young people know what I’m talking about when I say prompt engineering, to train Jamaicans in effectively using AI tools. And let me just declare my speech was not written by Chat GPT. These initiatives are not promises or policies on paper. These are the works of an active government that cares about you.
Our key focus is on young people with disabilities or special needs. They are talented as you would’ve seen the band perform here. I was blown away by them. They are capable Jamaicans who deserve equal access to education, training, employment, and entrepreneurial support. We have budgeted more funds than ever for special education and training, and the Jamaica Council for Persons with Disabilities is strengthened by virtue of our improved budgetary allocations. Our young people with special abilities are gifted, and Jamaica will benefit greatly when all of them can contribute. I say directly to youth and your families, we see you, we value you, and we will continue to increase our investments in you.
In addition, we are tackling the needs of youth who face economic hardship. We continue to increase funding to the PATH programme, but of course, PATH can only go so far. We need to do more to break the cycle of poverty and this administration is committed to ending absolute poverty in Jamaica and we are well on our way. We have cut absolute poverty by half from 16% to 8%, and we’re going to keep pushing. We can eliminate absolute poverty from our society.
In my budget presentation this year, I announced the Hope for Children Trust Fund seeded with $200 million to provide long-term saving accounts for children in low-income households. Any child born after our 60th independence who is on PATH or in state care can be registered for this programme. The government will deposit annually for each of these children, which will accumulate with interest and will be accessible when they turn 18 years old. This means that when today’s toddlers reach adulthood will have a financial springboard to pay university tuition, start a business, or invest in a home.
If you consider that poverty it is not just merely the absence of income, knowledge, and access to amenities and services, but poverty is also relative. It is what you have compared to others and in a society where inequality is high, poverty can also create alienation. Some people have and others have nothing. And what that does, it creates a persistent kind of poverty, intergenerational, because the generation that doesn’t have, does not have anything to leave to the generation that springs from them. And so if you really want to break poverty, you have to ensure that every generation has something of value that they can leave to generations coming.
So, with the Hope for Children Trust, we are ensuring that every young person from this generation forward can have an inheritance, maybe not from their family, but from the Jamaican state, a little savings that gives them the step up to start life and reduce the inequality in our society so that they have a chance to get to tertiary education, to start their business or acquire property, thereby making Jamaica a more equitable place, a fairer place for us to live.
No Jamaican youth should start life at a disadvantage without assets or support. We are breaking the chains of poverty in Jamaica, and we are going to ensure that no youth has to face poverty when they reach adulthood. The Hope Trust is one way that we are leveling the playing field for future generations and correcting historic inequities.
Furthermore, very soon we will be rolling out the new $1 billion Solidarity Programme, which will provide a one-time cash grant to 50,000 Jamaicans who currently get no form of government benefit. This includes youth not engaged in education or work to help them meet immediate needs, but more so to help them get formalized in the system so that they can get continued support. Step by step, we are removing obstacles and creating opportunities, whether you are a young man with a disability who needs special training or a young woman in an inner-city community who left school early, it doesn’t matter.
My administration is not giving up on you. Every Jamaican youth deserves hope and opportunity. Empowerment through education must be matched by real opportunities in the economy. We want our talented youth to apply their skills right here in Jamaica to innovate and prosper at home. That means more jobs, support for entrepreneurship and pathways to owning a home. These are the ingredients of stability and success, and I’m proud to say that Jamaica’s economy is delivering results for you.
Youth unemployment has been cut in more by more than half, and it has fallen to record low levels. In April 2015, the youth unemployment rate was 33.2%. Today the youth unemployment rate is very low, somewhere in the region of about 10 to 11%. Essentially, you have as young people a 90% probability of being employed if you have skills and certification.
We have also recorded, as I’ve said before, the lowest-ever poverty rate of 8.2% so we are creating a Jamaica where hardworking youth can truly get ahead, and we are determined to keep moving Jamaica from poverty to prosperity. For those who aspire to start a business or pursue creative ventures, we are fostering an entrepreneurial ecosystem. Agencies like the Development Bank of Jamaica now offer affordable grants and financing to young innovators and micro-entrepreneurs, including a special $2 billion allocation this year to boost startups and small businesses. If you have a viable business idea, reach out to the DBJ, they will fund it.
Just recently I announced the Cultural Apprenticeship Programme, which will be piloted with 200 talented young people. Very soon young people like you can receive mentoring and hands-on experience in fields like music, film, and art, and entertainment, and you will also receive a stipend as you train. This will be a historic initiative to give you an opportunity to convert your cultural capital to economic opportunity. This is the first time in the history of Jamaica that any government can say that they are making targeted investments in developing the next generation of creatives.
The big thing on every youth list of things to achieve in their life is to own a house. Everyone, particularly our young people, they want to own their own home. I personally understand how important this is to you, and I’m doing everything in my power to make this a reality for you. Last year, I directed the National Housing Trust to reserve 10% of all new housing units for young people up to age 35. This year, I have further directed the NHT to make a priority of affordable homes that are accessible to our young people. We are committed, and as a young person myself, I am committed to delivering for you. Without any fear of contradiction, I can confidently say that this government is the most youth-friendly and youth-centered government in the history of Jamaica.
My young friends, all our policies and programmes in education, training, housing, jobs, stem from the simple fact that you are the heart of development. Your generation will transform Jamaica. Tonight we celebrate over 43 exceptional young Jamaicans, but we salute all the youth of Jamaica in every parish and every community who are working hard, lifting others, and striving for excellence. Whether or not you stand on this stage tonight, you are all winners. Every Jamaican youth is a winner and a star.
This government will continue to trust in you and invest in you. We will continue to create avenues for your voices to be heard through the Youth Advisory Council, the Jamaica House Fellowship Programme, the National Youth Parliament, and other fora because your ideas and energies must shape policy. We are ensuring that you have a direct voice and hand in designing the Jamaica that you will inherit.
As I close, let us take a step back and envision Jamaica 10, 15, 20, 50 years from now. What do you see? I see a Jamaica that is prosperous, that is peaceful and productive. However, realizing this vision requires us making the right choices now. What is the future? The future is the sum of the choices you make today; that’s the future. So especially for young people, I urge you to make the right choices in your life to choose wisely, and I urge all our young people to choose Jamaica.
You have the largest stake in Jamaica’s future and so you must take an active role in deciding the future you will inherit. I urge you to stay engaged, to stay informed, and to be wise and rational in your decisions. Look at the progress we’re making. Look at what we have accomplished together but there is still much more to be done. The journey of building this new Jamaica has only just begun. I believe in you, your excellence, your tenacity. I believe in your positive energy, and I see your influence all throughout your communities and the wider Jamaica. Let us continue to build together. Let us continue to choose Jamaica.
May God bless you all and God bless Jamaica land of youth. God bless you.