By Bernice Joy Lewis – JUMP Founder | Education Consultant, Juniors Under Mentorship Program (JUMP)

Monday, April 20, 2020 — The Juniors Under Mentorship Program (JUMP) is offering free online courses to approximately sixty (60) Saint Lucians from April 21-24 2020. This iteration of the program targets persons interested in alternative career paths such as Stand-up Comedy, Entrepreneurship and Coding; and will include a feature on Workforce Readiness.

The JUMP is partnering with the Saint Lucia National Youth Council (NYC) and the Montserratian company 4th Dymension to facilitate the short courses.

Commenting on the selection of the courses, JUMP Founder and Education Consultant, Bernice Joy Lewis, said:

“All of the areas were selected because they speak to a wide range of interests that youth have right now. We are currently facing rather trying times due to Covid-19 and the level of stress that many people feel is quite significant. We want to provide opportunities for the youth to build on their skills and talents in a way that is fun and engaging.

Comedy and humor feature considerably in our daily lives, especially on social media. Many of our youth may not have necessarily been exposed to the art of stand-up, so we wanted to provide an opportunity to expose youth to a career path that is different and fulfilling – and quite possibly in greater demand especially during the difficult times that the world is facing.

Coding is also an essential component of our training because we live in a digital world. We’ve come a long way from doing everything manually and now the world is getting ready to usher in the internet of things. Therefore, ICT is a huge sector that we should look into, especially as a way to diversify our economy, and Covid-19 has shown us that we need to do so now more than ever.

We included entrepreneurship because as winners of last year’s TEECA/OECS regional entrepreneurship competition, we understand that knowledge is power when it comes to starting your own business. The foundation for successfully starting and running a business is a conversation that we need to have with more of Saint Lucia’s youth.”

Vice President of the Saint Lucia NYC, Mr. Ajani Lebourne, welcomed the opportunity to collaborate with JUMP on this initiative aimed at providing relief to students.

“We want to assist students in the area of work readiness – helping them to identify their personal brand and understand how this communicates their basic values, principles or some of the skills and talents that they have. We also want to assist students in other aspects of work readiness, such as the preparation of job resumes and how to communicate effectively at a job interview.

We encourage students to take advantage of this opportunity to enrich the home experience and cope with the psychological effects of social distancing,” Lebourne stated.

The most anticipated course – stand-up comedy – will be facilitated by Saint Lucian comedian, Gilson Lubin, who is based in Canada. Dr. Samuel Joseph from Montserratian company 4th Dymension along with Saint Lucian educator Mr. Irvin Smith will facilitate the course on coding. Various Human Resource professionals will carry out the training geared at work readiness.

Saint Lucian youth between the ages of 11 to 25 are invited to participate. All classes will be held online on the Zoom platform.

Interested persons are asked to email [email protected] for further information. Classes commence April 21st 2020 and run through to April 24th 2020.

*Participants will require a computer and stable internet connection.

About the Juniors Under Mentorship Program:

Since 2015, the Juniors Under Mentorship Program (JUMP) has focused on mentorship of youth in the areas of Arts, Music, Sports and Academics. The organisation’s last initiative, the ‘Read With Me’program saw individuals like Daren Sammy, Jacinta Lee Anius, Dawn French and numerous JUMP volunteers reading to children island wide.