YOUTH SUMMER EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMME (YSEP),EXPANDED OPPORTUNITIES FOR PARTICIPANTS
Over the last 10 years, the Youth Summer Employment Programme (YSEP), an initiative under the Ministry, has been providing employment for young people during the summer holidays; the participants are assigned various task within the Fourteen (14) Municipal Corporations.
Speaking at the National Solid Waste Management Authority headquarters last month, Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, announced a shift in the programme’s focus. He said 200 participants would be selected to support Parish Disaster Coordinators in strengthening disaster preparedness throughout the hurricane season.
“Since 2016, the Administration started what we call the Youth Summer Employment Programme, and since 2016 that programme has provided employment for more than 100,000 young people… this year we will commence the Youth Summer Employment Programme in the month of July but there is one component of the programme that will be different from the previous years,” he said.
“There are some lessons that we learned from Melissa, that we are going to be strengthening the Municipal Corporations. So, one of the aspects of the Youth Summer Employment Programme this year is that we are going to [be] providing 200 jobs out of the Youth Summer Employment Programme where we’re going to be providing 10-15 Youth Summer employees to each Municipal Corporation through the SDC… right through the hurricane season and their responsibility is to work with Disaster Coordinators in each Municipality across the country to deal with some of the issues that the disaster response needs”
This move is expected to significantly intensify disaster preparedness and response at the local level. Participants will be tasked with data collection, which will include hazard and drought mapping, providing administrative support and data entry.
The YSEP programme, over the last 10 years have given many young Jamaicans the opportunity to use the initiative as a capacity building pathway, with several participants matriculating into long-term employment within the Local Government fraternity.