Klao Bell, Staff Reporter
SIX WEEKS into the programme, and still a long way from financial independence, the women who qualified to pioneer a new Government programme look eagerly to the day when they will work in America, or anywhere else for that matter.
If all goes well, their success will determine the feasibility of the Government's plan to wean young mothers off food stamps by providing them with training and employment opportunities.
The project, conceptualised by the Workforce Development Consortium (WDC) and financed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, will allow 100 women between the ages of 18 and 30 to be trained in skills that will enable them to land a job in the hospitality industry, both overseas and in Jamaica. St. Mary and St. Catherine should also have the benefit of similar projects before the end of the year.
The programme is halfway through the first stage and 18 women from St. Thomas are attending weekly 12-hour classes in math, English, communications, work ethics and food preparation.
Sixty candidates sat a nine-grade level entrance test but only 20 passed. Of that number, one failed to show up for the start of classes, another dropped out, leaving an enthusiastic group which has earned the admiration of the teachers.
"They're so eager and interested...they're doing well, when we started we were doing grades six and seven maths, but now we're up to grade 9 level," said Deanne Maddo, the math teacher.
And the students concur, returning credit to the teachers and to the benefit of a second chance.
"I never used to be so bright in school but now I understand...I also learn many different ways of making fried chicken, and how to deal with people better...how to read people's faces and if I have a problem at home, not to take it out on the customer but to be professional," said Nickeisha Sheen, 23-year-old mother of a six year-old child, and past student of the school that is hosting the programme, St. Thomas Technical High School, in Golden Grove.
Opportunity
The women see the programme as an opportunity where none existed, in a parish where closed factories, seasonal employment and an overall unemployment rate of 28.5 per cent (as of October last year according to the Statistical Institute of Jamaica's 1999 Labour Force Survey) defines the work scene. Only one woman from the group, a 21-year-old mother of three, was employed prior to the start of the programme.
The cost to run the St. Thomas leg of the project is about $300,000. From this the school is given a contribution toward utility fees, teachers are paid an average of $650 per class and students are provided with utensils and ingredients for the cooking classes.
"This is a part of our poverty alleviation plan to assist those on the food stamps to get off, give them opportunity to become self-employed or employable," Minister of National Labour and Social Security, Donald Buchanan, had said in an earlier interview with The Sunday Gleaner.
In another six weeks, the women will be placed in jobs for a two-week internship at hotels in Kingston and St. Mary. At this time, a daily allowance of $250 will be provided to cover transportation costs to ensure that they get to work. Following that, they will sit a series of three exams, which, if they are successful, should serve as their tickets to jobs in the United States.
But this promise is also their biggest fear. While some of the women see the training opportunity as valuable whether they work in Jamaica or overseas, others worry that they may be "tricked" and would be very disappointed if they don't get to work in the United States at the end of the programme. However, Melva Blake, WDC executive director said: "Though the guarantee is not on paper, the guarantee is that, at the end of the programme they are employable and will be employed because the hospitality industry is vibrant. To the extent that American workers need certified workers in their hotels, they are pretty much guaranteed a job because the demand is there."
