Roger Gordon (right), Heart assessor, registers Duran Vassell for the welding programme to be offered by the Hazard Training Centre. - Photo by Angella Chin

Adrian Robinson has a vision and on April 29 at the Hazard Community Centre outside May Pen, Clarendon, he went one step closer to making it a reality.

More than 200 people registered to participate in courses that the newly created Hazard Training Centre is to offer come June. The registration fee is $1,500 and each class will cost $150.

The training centre, which was born as a result of Robinson, Clive Wright and Marcian Ellis' need to help a community in crisis (more than 70 per cent of the youth are unskilled), will offer courses in housekeeping, cosmetology, welding and electrical engineering. Mathematics and English language will also be taught. Robinson, who is the coordinator of the centre, will also be one of the welding instructors.

Collaborating with heart

A HEART trainee, he said the centre would be collaborating with the institution that has given him a start to get the centre operational.

HEART will also be assisting in funding and certifying the graduates from the different programmes.

The community centre, which will be upgraded to meet the specifications of the HEART Trust/NTA, will house the training centre.

Courses will be offered to surrounding communities like Sandy Bay, Nineteen Miles, Top Cross, Paisley and, of course, Hazard. It will go up to level two, which is the standard set by the industry.

Level one is a six-month course, while level two is to be completed in half the time.

Robinson said the first batch of students would be set to graduate in April of next year.

Seeking sponsorship

The group of do-gooders is now seeking sponsorship from corporate Jamaica and any grant facilities to finance the institute.

Robinson says the budget to run the centre for one year will take millions. Dr Hyacinth Oates, a specialist in haircare who once operated a cosmetology school in Clarendon, will be donating hair products and recommending an instructor for the centre. Members of Parliament Rudyard Spencer and Mike Henry, through their councillors, will be offering financial assistance. Mack Chem Ltd of Palmers Cross will be offering their welding facility for training and assessment.

Robinson said that the idea of the training centre was born in 2007. He said he lived in the area and spoke of a household where as many as seven young men were unemployed. The crime rate, too, provides some level of discomfort.

Applicants will be screened and grouped according to their academic levels for classes. Another registration day took place sometime ago.

It is hoped that, in time, the institute will also offer social skills.

Computer training is another area that will also be taught in due course.

The coordinator's vision is for participants to fill areas of employment overseas in the near future.

But for now, Robinson's biggest challenge is funding.