The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribuneedia.net

A well-known business consultant said yesterday he had ‘tweaked’ his pilot programme designed to turn ex-criminals into entrepreneurs, and was going “full force” to a national development focus with the aim of cutting youth unemployment by 50 per cent.

 Mark Turnquest told Tribune Business that the Second Chance Entrepreneurship Program (S.C.E.P) was looking to partner with other non-governmental agencies to develop a comprehensive approach to reducing crime. The latest instalment of the program will launch in Elizabeth Estates in the fall.“The programme is designed for men and women who are ex-offenders or at risk individuals,” he said. “It’s going to actually be comprehensive because we want to seek sponsors for individual participants.

“Also, my recommendation is for the Government to use the $20 million they are putting into the youth development programme and factor in how they need to get youths into business, especially youths who are at risk and who can’t function on the job.

“We want to develop something comprehensive, a programme to actually reduce the crime wave in the country and also to reduce the youth unemployment levels from 31 per cent to at least 14 per cent. That is where the focus is.”

  Mr Turnquest added: “We tweaked up the pilot programme. Now we are going full force into a repositioning programme to focus on national development.

“The main focus right now is to train the inmates inside the connectional centre so that as they come out they would already understand business, so all they would need is funding to get into business; blue collar work. We are looking at the ones who are about a year from being released.”

Mr Turnquest said the programme also has a new management team in place. “Mr William Lunn is also now a part of the programme, and he brings expertise with at-risk youth counselling initiatives,” he added.