St James custos bats for budding entrepreneurs
WESTERN BUREAU:
SPECIAL SCHOOLS should be established to foster and mentor youth entrepreneurs, Bishop Conrad Pitkin, the custos of St James, has said.
Pitkin argued that it was crucial for schools to not only offer theoretical concepts to students, but to give them hands-on experience in business.
“If schools begin to emphasise entrepreneurship and provide courses that will help students, and give guidance to our students, they can start their own business,” said Pitkin, who was speaking at a HEART Trust/NTA function on Tuesday.
GIVING ASSISTANCE
“There are Jamaicans who would be willing to help a young man or young woman to get into a business that they can carry on (to help themselves),” added Pitkin.
According to the custos, the local job market cannot facilitate everyone seeking employment.
“You will never be able to get everybody employed by somebody. So we need to help persons by assisting them to identify their gift, and know how we can provide for them and give them that catapult that they need,” stated Pitkin.
The custos further noted that Jamaicans need to overcome the decades-old prejudice in favour of white-collar jobs, emphasising that society should break down the stigma against manual-intensive high-skill jobs, even if it means getting dirty.
“It appears that white-collar work is where the recognition is, rather than putting emphasis on having a good-paying job and still being respected. You can be equally as educated and be an entrepreneur or philanthropist, just like the person who becomes a doctor or attorney,” he said.
Yesterday’s event was staged under the theme ‘Connecting the Four Es: Education, Employment, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development’. Targeting 400 unattached youths from western Jamaica, the function was part of the HEART Trust/NTA’s celebration of National Careers’Week.
‘There are Jamaicans who would be willing to help a young man or young woman to get into a business that they can carry on (to help themselves.’