Adrian Frater, News Editor
WESTERN BUREAU:
FOLLOWING THE wake of separate initiatives announced by both the ruling People's National Party (PNP) and the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) last week to assist the volatile Norwood community, in St. James, Sandals Montego Bay has now joined the fray and will be extending its START programme to the community.
The award-winning START (Sandals Training And Recruitment Tier) programme, which offers training to unskilled and unemployed youngsters, was started in the Flankers community in 2003 and has been a major success. Some of its 75 graduates have since gained employment in the local hospitality sector, the overseas hotel programme and on cruise ships.
ADDRESSING SOCIAL PROBLEMS
"The expansion of the programme to Norwood comes against the background of Sandals Montego Bay's aim to address some of the social problems which have been adversely affecting that North West St. James community," said Horace Peterkin, the general manager of Sandals Montego Bay.
Following a selection and orientation process, which will take place over the next 10 days, 10 youngsters will commence training in areas such as food and beverage (kitchen, bar and sanitation), engineering (AC/refrigeration, stove technician/plumbing, room technician) and entertainment.
"These trainees will be provided with transportation, lunch, uniform and a stipend," said Mr. Peterkin, who is also president of the Jamaica Hotel & Tourist Association (JHTA). "When their training is completed, we will do everything possible to assist them in gaining employment elsewhere in the hospitality sector."
MEANINGFUL IMPACT
In a bid to ensure that the various initiatives make a meaningful impact on Norwood, which has witnessed a spate of brutal murders within recent weeks, Mr. Peterkin is calling on other players in the tourism sector as well as business owners in St. James to find creative ways of defusing the volatile climate in Norwood.
"If the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce which has in excess of 60 active members, who operate some 50 small, medium and large companies in Montego Bay, could take on two youngsters each, we would have over 200 youngsters in training," said Mr. Peterkin. "I would be willing to give all the assistance I can to fast-track such a process."
