The welding/fabrication course was originally intended for unemployed youth in the East Dry River area but when those registered failed to show up after a spate of violence, the executive of the St Martin Welfare Association invited students of the Barataria Junior Secondary School to participate in the programme.

The Association deliberately sought out students who lived in the area. On Saturday, August 26, some 24 young men and a lone woman graduated at the Association’s headquarters on St Paul Street, after successfully completing the six-month beginners’ course.

The programme, which ran four days a week and offered a stipend to students, was co-sponsored by the Poverty Reduction Unit of the Ministry of Social Development and United Way, a non-governmental organisation.

United Way, which seeks to help the disadvantaged, has already expressed its willingness to support an advanced welding/fabrication programme.