Glendevon centre likely to open this month

Barrington Flemming, Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

After missing multiple scheduled opening dates, the Glendevon Centre of Excellence is now likely to be opened by the end of this month.

The new facility was constructed out of the remnant of the old Glendevon Market, which had been extensively damaged by Hurricane Gilbert in 1988. The multimillion-dollar rehabilitation and retrofitting of the facility was the brainchild of Member of Parliament for North West St James, Dr Horace Chang. The facility has been ready for use since January 2012.

"We are definitely getting ready to be opened in April. The centre has been fully furnished and equipped," Chang told Western Focus. "The various stakeholders have been working hard, potential staff members have been interviewed, and the trainees are being drafted from the surrounding communities by the Citizens' Security and Justice Programme (CSJP).

The project was funded at a cost of $45 million by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) in conjunction with the CSJP and the Jamaica Social Investment Fund.

"The CSJP has been doing some remedial work in the communities through its Goals for Life and other programmes, which has allowed it to interface with and identify some of the potential recruits for training at the centre," Chang said.

REACHING OUT TO YOUNG MEN

He said the Glendevon Centre of Excellence will focus on vocational skills with particular emphasis on the training of young men.

"The focus is to be placed on vocations which would appeal mainly to the young men," Chang said. "These include property management, which includes landscaping, building maintenance, small equipment repairs, and some hotel skills, in particular bartending, housekeeping, and day-care management."

Patrick Fletcher, chairman of the Montego Bay Benevolent Society, which has been commissioned by Chang to oversee the operations of the centre, said upon opening, the facility would initially offer skills in four areas.

"When we open, the centre will be offering training in waiting, housekeeping, front desk, and data operations. Each class will accommodate 20 trainees, who will rotate among the computer laboratories, the classroom and the practical-work areas," he said

"It is a good thing … . It can bring help to the youth of the community," said Amroy Hemans, a shop attendant in the Glendevon community. "When they have received the training here, they will graduate to another level so they can become gainfully employed."