Back in March, 81 young men and women graduated from a life-skills training at Tubal Trade and Vocational Institute, where they learnt electrical work, catering, cosmetology and more. And at that graduation, all the students were promised a donation of equipment to help them get on their feet.
Well, today, the first 25 students who studied electrical works received their tool kits and work shoes. And while this donation comes almost three months after the graduation, Minister Kareem Musa told us that the graduates have been doing well out in the field.
Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
"Our commitment at that graduation ceremony over a month ago was that we would provide the graduates with the requisite tools in order for them to commence their trade having successfully completed the program and so today was the first installment of that, we delivered 25 electrical kits to those individuals who graduated from the program in electrical skills training."
Courtney Menzies:
"What have they been doing for the past two months if they didn't have the tools?"
Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
"A lot of them, you'd be surprised, actually got jobs and so we're very pleased to know that companies out there are seeing their potential, there's a huge demand for electricians out there so that is very positive news and so it is our hope now that with the tools, those who did not have a job as yet will be able to do so privately or with a company but now they're equipped."
"I always mention that, because many times, we forget that a lot of these young men come from very broken homes, they had no father figure, they're father figure may have died to a life of crime, they had no family unit, so they may have resorted to a life of crime having fallen out of school, having dropped out of school and so they never got an education, one, and two, they never got an employment opportunity and so perhaps you may not be academically inclined but certainly when it comes to a skill you may be interested in a particular field and these 81 individuals chose fields that they felt they can apply themselves well and like I said, I'm pleased to see that some of them are actually getting jobs, this in reality is their first opportunity in terms of being a productive citizen and so we at the LIU are very proud of that."
And the minister added that other graduates can expect their own equipment very soon.
