Linden secondary school students and dropouts have an opportunity to enhance their employment chances through a remedial programme that commenced at four centres in the town on Tuesday.
The programme, conducted by the Linden Community Empowerment Programme (LINCEP), offers a wide variety of courses.
The initiative is a bold one, said Dexter Copeland at a media launch in the LEN Building on February 20th. Copeland, the brain behind the initiative, said the initial estimate of the programme is $5.4M as he appealed for sponsorship from the business community. He said the programme has received good signals from Banks DIH.
Copeland said participants have the opportunity of a free upgrading of their education and apart from targeting young people,
the venture “would also assist businesses by providing necessary support services”. He called on the media to monitor the programme periodically to ensure that it is successful.
He also called on the young people in the community “to make good use” of the programme, which will be conducted at four hubs – the Bayrock, Christianburg and Silvertown Community Centres and the Linden Foundation Secondary School at Amelia’s Ward. He also expressed the hope that companies will assist the programme by providing practical training sessions to participants.
During the media launch, Desiree Parkinson, one of the directors of the programme, said the programme will hopefully reintroduce a multilateral approach to education and learning and it will not only focus on academics.
She said at this initial stage, the programme “can be likened to the delivery of a child” since it is being embarked upon without much funding. She said it is hoped that the business community will see its worth and feel obliged to provide the relevant support to the venture, which is attempting to take affordable education to senior secondary aged people, early school leavers and late starters, including people, who have completed secondary education “but have not maximized their potential and can be seen as resources going through the cracks”.
The programme can also benefit people who would have chosen subjects during secondary school with the intention of pursuing a particular career only to find that they no longer want to pursue that career and need other CXC subjects to access tertiary education in pursuit of their new career choice. Secondary school graduates, who need to improve their CXC grades, are also encouraged to participate in the programme.
Another director, Anita Elliott said retired teachers from various backgrounds and training will be utilized in the multifaceted approach, including lectures, discussions, interactive workshops and practical work, particularly in the vocational and artisan courses, to meet participants at their respective levels.
