Some 148 young Jamaicans have been trained and certified as roof repair specialists under the HEART/NSTA Trust’s Building Resilience and Inspiring Development through Guided Experience (BRIDGE) Programme.
Developed in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, the apprenticeship-based initiative enabled participants to gain practical experience while assisting with the repair of damaged homes across western parishes.
Deputy Managing Director of the HEART/NSTA Trust, Dr. Cheryl McLaughlin, told JIS News that the programme targeted young people on the construction track whose communities and institutions were impacted by the storm.
They were drawn from several campuses, including Seaford Town and Petersfield in Westmoreland and Newport in Manchester.
Participants were immersed in real-world work environments, deployed alongside Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) teams and other technical personnel engaged in recovery efforts across St. Elizabeth, Trelawny, St. James and Westmoreland.
They received hands-on experience while being guided by instructors and industry experts.
Dr. McLaughlin said that classroom instruction was integrated into the programme to reinforce the skills being developed in the field.
“So, they were in the field…looking at how they needed to measure or how they needed to put the zinc sheets and so on. Then they got a chance to go back to the classroom and consolidate what they did in the field to the theory that was behind it,” she pointed out.
Dr. McLaughlin told JIS News that the programme has delivered benefits that extend beyond skills training, contributing to the repair of approximately 64 houses.
“We gave the trainees an opportunity to develop skills, but we restored the dignity of families by putting them back in their houses. And that, I thought, was just the most valuable component of that BRIDGE Programme,” she said.
She noted that apprenticeship-style programmes allow trainees to learn more effectively by applying their knowledge in practical settings while making tangible contributions to their communities.
Dr. McLaughlin told JIS News that the organisation is looking to certify more roof repair specialists, noting that the skill will be critical during future emergencies.
“We’re now in the hurricane season and sadly, the possibility is there that we may be impacted by another system, and we want to ensure that we have persons in the workforce who will be able to readily respond to those emergencies,” she said.
