MPower 2.0 was officially launched on Tuesday at the Grenada Trade Centre.
It saw over 250 participants registered for the program, which targets young males, aged 18–30 years from ‘on-the-block’ who are unemployed.
Focus for MPower 2.0, this year, according to the Ministry of Youth Development, Sports, Culture and the Arts will be placed on ensuring that participants are CVQ certified. The Caribbean Vocational Qualification will be administered by the National Training Agency (NTA).
Permanent Secretary with responsibility for Youth Development, Norman Gilbert, told the gathering at the Grenada Trade Centre, that the first-ever all male programme is designed to change lives and therefore, some lifestyle adjustments will have to be made by those involved in the training.
“Many of you may have been out of a structured system for quite a long time, adjusting to what we will be asking of you, may prove to be difficult, but I want to tell you that this is an opportunity you have, having young men meaningfully engaged is one of the important objectives of the Ministry of Youth Development”, said Permanent Secretary Gilbert. His comments were further supported by Minister with responsibility for Youth Development, Kate Lewis, who implored the men to complete the course despite challenges they may encounter along the journey.
Minister Lewis said, “It means you have the obligation to yourself, your family, and your communities and of course our beautiful country Grenada. Young men I say to you, Yes you can.”
On Wednesday, the participants will begin the journey with literacy and numeracy assessments to determine placement. They will also undergo a psychological review and the need for social care.
The first component of the project saw the training of 500 males within varying categories, including soft skills, certified direct skills, literacy and numeracy exposure, social care, counselling, social interactive activities, community sport, community projects and apprenticeship placement.
Each participant will receive a stipend allowance of $700 monthly, under a constituency package.
Ministry of Youth Development
