KINGSTON, Jamaica — Two hundred young people who are out of work in the four western parishes hardest hit by Hurricane Melissa are to be trained in construction trades under a new government initiative, as the island moves to build the skilled workforce it needs to repair thousands of damaged homes.
The programme, named BRIDGE, short for Building Resilience and Inspiring Development through Guided Experience, was announced by Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Senator Dr. Dana Morris Dixon, at a handover ceremony on January 15 at the Jamaica Society for the Blind in Kingston, according to the Jamaica Information Service.
Roofs, steel and blocks
Participants will be selected from St. Elizabeth, Westmoreland, St. James and Hanover. They will be taught roof repair, steel fixing and masonry, three of the trades in greatest demand as the west recovers from the October 2025 storm. Each trainee is to be paid a stipend of $65,000 a month while in the programme.
Instruction will come from HEART-certified tradesmen, supported by technical specialists from Rwanda, Ghana, Ethiopia and Guyana, countries that have also lent personnel to the wider recovery effort. The HEART/NSTA Trust, headed by Managing Director Dr. Taneisha Ingleton, is delivering the training.
Senator Morris Dixon used the occasion to press for inclusion, arguing that Jamaicans with disabilities should also be given the chance to take part in skills programmes of this kind. The Jamaica Society for the Blind, whose chairman is Damion McLean, hosted the event.
A labour squeeze behind the rebuild
The scale of the task is large. Disaster officials have estimated that roughly 215,000 buildings were damaged when Melissa made landfall on October 28, 2025, and much of the repair work that remains involves roofs and structural elements that call for trained hands rather than well-meaning volunteers.
By drawing trainees from the affected communities themselves, the initiative is designed to put income in the pockets of young people who lost jobs or homes in the storm while adding to the pool of workers available locally.
What it means for homeowners
For families still waiting on repairs, a shortage of qualified tradesmen has meant long queues and rising labour costs. More certified roofers and masons in the west should, over time, ease that pressure and improve the quality of rebuilt homes. In the meantime, homeowners spending grant money or savings on repairs should insist on workers with recognised training, ask that roofs be properly strapped and fixed to code, and keep receipts and photographs of the work, which may matter for insurance, lending and any future sale of the property.
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