The University of the West Indies (UWI) Open Campus is to offer 45 one-year scholarships to young people exiting State Care.

This will allow them to pursue skills enrichment courses or programmes at the institution.

Thirty scholarships will be provided for young women, while the other 15 will be made available for young men.

Acting Principal and Pro-Vice Chancellor at the UWI Open Campus, Dr Luz Longsworth, who made the announcement, says the scholarships will enable the former Wards of the State, to acquire the necessary skills for the working world.

She was speaking at the ground breaking ceremony for the construction of Jamaica’s first transitional apartment complex to benefit young people leaving State Care, held in Kingston, yesterday (November 20, 2015).

The facility, to be constructed over the next 12 months, will benefit about 40 females, aged 18 to 21 years.