Project STAR equips Salt Spring with jobs, parenting support and youth programmes

ST JAMES, Jamaica — Residents of Salt Spring in St James are gaining jobs and practical skills through Project STAR, which has put more than 140 people through industry-focused training and employability workshops, Kelly Griffith, who leads the initiative’s training and placement unit, has said.

Griffith told a community town hall at the Salt Spring New Testament Church that 110 participants completed job-readiness work on résumés, interviews and workplace conduct and have since taken up employment. The gathering was used to outline progress in the area and hear from residents on what should improve.

In a statement, Project STAR said Griffith also pointed to a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) tie-up that opened cash-for-work and cash-for-care placements soon after Hurricane Melissa, when western districts including Salt Spring suffered heavy effects.

The organisation is lining up another batch of skills classes, among them guest room attendant and bartending courses, shaped by what employers need and what locals say they want. Griffith urged residents to propose further certification topics so the next training cycle can reflect community demand.

Plans are in place to widen the education push through a “high school pathways to success” effort with nearby schools, helping students weigh career choices and build workplace habits before graduation. Griffith said those sessions are likely to touch on professional image, interview skills and introductory entrepreneurship, alongside the wider employability drive.

That training strand sits inside a larger Project STAR plan that also covers family services and youth outreach.

On family programmes, Jodi-Ann Bowen, community services coordinator for the western zone, said a Parenting Club that started in March has drawn 25 parents into regular meetings, with organisers citing lively turnout and mutual support among members. The club is set to widen its reach to parents of older children, with upcoming talks on nursing care, home communication and leadership.

Bowen also spoke about the Visionary Senior Citizens Club, which brings together roughly 15 older residents for crafts, games and similar practical activities. Project STAR is collaborating with the National Council of Senior Citizens to grow membership again after pandemic-era drop-offs and to help seniors secure key papers, including the national senior citizens ID and health cards, and to pursue other social security entitlements.

Youth and sports lead Marlon Moore said the “Kicking Forward” football programme is being run alongside personal development workshops meant to build respect, discipline and self-management on and off the pitch. He said a recent away tournament gave players useful experience, while noting that coaches still need to firm up discipline among younger members.

Moore added that the local Police Youth Club was brought back in January with help from police community safety officers and now convenes twice a month. An executive has been elected and the group is building its technical and organisational footing, with about 50 young people involved so far; organisers are also calling for greater involvement from young women.