YUTE Annual Report 2014

YOUTH UPLIFTMENT THROUGH EMPLOYMENT LIMITED (YUTE)
Page 7
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
31 DECEMBER 2014
1. IDENTIFICATION AND PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES:
(a)
(b)
Youth Upliftment Through Employment (YUTE) Limited is a company limited by guarantee
without share capital and incorporated in Jamaica. Its registered office is 7 Harbour
Street, Kingston. YUTE Limited is an Approved Charitable Organisation under Section 2
and Section 17 of the Charities Act, 2013.
YUTE was established in 2010 by a coalition of private sector companies led by The
Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) in response to the sustained levels of
antisocial behaviour, violence and crime within inner-city communities, and consistent
with the national agenda to roll out an aggressive programme of inner-city renewal.
YUTE is committed to delivering development projects and programmes benefitting young
persons in more than 30 inner city communities in the Kingston Metropolitan Area (KMA),
focusing on building technical and social skills, increasing employability, providing long
and short term economic and entrepreneurship opportunities for young persons between
the ages of 16 and 29. In Phase I of the programme (2010-2013), approximately 2600
opportunities for training, coaching and employment/job placement were provided; in
excess of 650 mentors were trained and more than 500 active mentor/protégé
relationships fostered. Upon completion of the first phase, The PSOJ chose not to retain
administrative or financial responsibility for the YUTE programme. Consequently, the
Board of the ICD Group, chaired by Joseph M. Matalon, agreed that the company would
assume responsibility for the sustainability of the YUTE programme. The contract with
the former Project Management Office also came to a close on December 31, 2013 and
was not renewed.
In February 2014, a Board of Directors for YUTE Limited was and ICD Group recruited an
Executive Director to deliver the new strategic direction for Phase II of the programme.
YUTE continues to fulfill its mandate to improve the numeracy, literacy, technical,
employability and social skills of young people living in inner city communities leading to
life-changing experiences; and to intervene in the lives of at-risk youth and produce
graduates with the values, skills, education, and self-discipline necessary to succeed as
adults.
As part of its re-organisation, two flagship programmes were implemented in 2014.
The YUTE BUILD II programme provides skills training and work experience in General
Construction, as well as personal development, employability and mentorship to 100
young people between the ages of 18 and 29 years from 33 KMA communities who had a
strong interest and commitment to working in the construction industry. YUTE Build is a
strategic partnership between YUTE and the Government of Jamaica, acting through the
Office of the Prime Minister and the National Housing Trust, along with other key
collaborators, the HEART TRUST NTA and Jamaica Emergency Employment Programme
(JEEP). To date, 140 youth have directly benefitted from the two phases of the
programme.