CARICOM Summit | Juliet Holness, CARICOM dignitaries tour training centre

Member of Parliament (MP) for St Andrew East Rural Juliet Holness has lauded the work of the Flankers Skills Training Centre in St James and encouraged trainees to continue on a path of self-development.

The MP, who is the wife of Prime Minister Andrew Holness, led several dignitaries, including the wives of two Caribbean heads of government who were attending the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) 39th Heads of Government Conference at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in the parish.

She said that she was pleased to see that the centre is providing employment training for young people despite its location in a community which is often stigmatised due to crime.

In a brief address, Holness praised the trainees for taking the opportunity to be trained in preparation for the job market.

“Many others have decided to stay at home or on the corner and decide that they don’t want to be better Jamaicans. But you have taken the step to say that you want to go out and develop the skills that will make it possible for you to either start a business or be able to work in a business, and I thank you for taking that step,” said Holness.

“Here is where your Member of Parliament (National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang) should look when he finds all of the job opportunities because you are trained, ready, certified and equipped,” she continued.

The Centre, which opened in May, is operated as part of the HEART Trust/NTA’s community training intervention programme.

Participants are offered Level Two courses in food and beverage, food and beverage hosting, bartending, and housekeeping.

Elaine Holloway, the HEART Trust/NTA’s senior director of workforce development and employment, said the centre would boost Montego Bay’s tourism product and support the Government’s job creation and growth agenda.

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