The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information indicates that it has received applications from over 70 training institutions that are interested in accommodating students for the expanded Career Advancement Programme (CAP).
The Ministry had solicited expressions of interest as it prepares to increase enrolment in the programme to 10,000 students for the 2016/17 academic year, which starts in September.
This will see the number of institutions offering CAP moving from 53 to over 100.
Portfolio Minister, Senator Hon. Ruel Reid, said earlier this year that the increase in enrolment is aimed at enabling more students to complete their education with the necessary competencies and skills to pursue tertiary training or enter the world of work.
“We want every youth to be fully trained to take them from where they are and to maximise their full potential,” he noted.
Speaking with JIS News at the Caribbean Maritime Institute’s (CMI) CAP graduation ceremony on July, Director of CAP, Kenesha Campbell said that the applications are being analysed and by mid-July, all institutions that have applied will know whether they will be able to offer the programme.
She said that institutions already offering CAP will be evaluated to determine whether they will continue to do so. She noted however, that based on the satisfactory delivery of the programme by these institutions in 2015/16, it is expected that they will be retained.
“If there are institutions…that need additional support, this will be provided (by) the Ministry,” she told JIS News.
Ms. Campbell said it is expected that each institution will accommodate an average of 75 students.
The Career Advancement Programme (CAP), which started in 2010, provides technical, vocational and educational training and certification for young people, ages 16 to 18, who have graduated from high school.
A total of 43 skills components are provided, including welding, plumbing, food preparation, turf management, allied health care, among others. City and Guilds vocational programmes are also offered.
Approximately 4,500 students were enrolled for CAP in 2015/16 at secondary, tertiary and private institutions across the island.
Meanwhile, Ms. Campbell said the Ministry is giving consideration to expanding the Registered Apprenticeship Programme (RAP), which is administered by the HEART Trust/NTA.
It provides on-the-job training for persons, particularly young people, who are employed to an organisation.
“We are looking to see how many students we can also have engaged through the apprenticeship programme,” she pointed out.
The graduation ceremony, held at the Institute of Jamaica (IoJ), downtown Kingston, saw certificates and other awards being presented to 152 students, who participated in the CMI CAP programme from 2014 to 2016.
Source: Jamaica Information Service