Latest update April 25th, 2024 12:59 AM
Feb 05, 2013 News
Aimed at securing employment for underprivileged youths, Youth Challenge Guyana (YCG) yesterday engaged a strategic initiative at the Ministry of Education’s Kingston, Georgetown, National Centre for Education Resource Development (NCERD).
With funding from the British High Commission, the programme, which is designed to train some 30 youths between the ages of 17 and 25, will continue for a three-week period providing them with skills in customer relations.
According to YCG Executive Director, Dmitri Nicholson, since the initiative being dubbed ‘Safe Streets’ is intended to make the streets safer it has specifically targeted school drop-outs, teenage mothers and other vulnerable youths from depressed communities including Tiger Bay, River View, West Ruimveldt and Albouystown.
Nicholson explained yesterday, “We are working with those youths who currently have no qualifications to get a job. The way we selected them was on a basis of circumstances that we think are likely to leave them at risk of becoming involved in illegal or other types of activities that are not productive in the society,” he added.
Youths in the targeted communities were selected following an assessment which saw YCG officials visiting communities and meeting with community leaders and ascertaining the circumstances facing youths in the communities.
This undertaking, according to Nicholson, revealed that there were many young people who did not have the opportunity to become employed since they were never exposed to training towards employment.
“The training that we are providing offers them the opportunity to become skilled in customer service and event support so that they may be able to find jobs with some of the local customer related industries,” assured Nicolson.
Coordinator of the training programme, Dwayne Mitchell, said that as part of the initiative efforts were made to solicit the support of event promoters the likes of Hits and Jams (HJ) Entertainment.
At the opening of the training programme yesterday a representative from HJ, Rawle Ferguson, was in attendance. He encouraged the participating youths to take advantage of the training at their disposal even as he pledged support to their training.
According to Mitchell, talks are also ongoing to gain the support of mega-football promoter Kashif and Shanghai to join the noble effort. “The hope is that when the promoters have activities they will employ them (youths) to work as ushers and to collect tickets…They will basically be support staff to these promoters,” Mitchell related.
Although the acquired skills are not likely to see them employed on a full-time basis, Mitchell is convinced that it could in some way help to improve their standard of living since “they will work and get paid.”
Moreover, he said that efforts will be made to get as many event planners as possible on board.
It is the belief of the YCG officials that employment could become a reality during the course of next month which could be fruitful given the fact that there is basically an activity every weekend in which the youths could be meaningfully engaged.
Even as training takes shape, YCG officials have already resumed discussions with the British High Commission to support the continuance of the initiative perhaps; even on a larger scale.
“We might even come up with some brilliant idea to add to this and we hope that they can support us with other initiatives,” said Mitchell.
YCG has in the past been able to offer small corporate type training. However, Nicholson disclosed yesterday that there are not many entities that are willing to pay for such activities.
“That becomes a difficulty because we cannot sustain these programmes without financial support.” Accordingly, YCG is appealing to the business sector for support to ensure that programmes such as ‘Safe Streets’ could remain sustainable.
Jagdeo giving Exxon 102 cent to collect 2 cent.
Apr 25, 2024
By Rawle Toney Kaieteur Sports – The French Diplomatic Office in Guyana, in collaboration with the Guyana Olympic Association and UNICEF, hosted an exhibition on Tuesday evening at the...Kaieteur News – Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, the General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party, persists in offering... more
By Sir Ronald Sanders Waterfalls Magazine – On April 10, the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States... more
Freedom of speech is our core value at Kaieteur News. If the letter/e-mail you sent was not published, and you believe that its contents were not libellous, let us know, please contact us by phone or email.
Feel free to send us your comments and/or criticisms.
Contact: 624-6456; 225-8452; 225-8458; 225-8463; 225-8465; 225-8473 or 225-8491.
Or by Email: [email protected] / [email protected]