Yesterday, the Skills and Knowledge for Youth Empowerment (SKYE) Project, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) turned out 36 youth (34 males and 2 females) following their completion of a Work Readiness Workshop.
The workshop, which lasted for six weeks, was delivered by SKYE’s local partner, Youth Challenge Guyana (YCG), and aimed at developing and honing the basic employability skills, knowledge and behaviour necessary for youth to be successful as entry-level workers or even as entrepreneurs.
Said Wilson, 23, a volunteer with the YCG and graduate of the workshop, stated that he had heard about the workshop from his fellow peer educators and decided to sign up for it. “I learned a lot from the workshop and I plan to use what I learn to fulfil my ambitions of opening my own company. I want to get into catering, something investment related, or the development of technology,” he added.
Ruthann Davson, on the other hand has very different aspirations. When Stabroek News caught up with Davson she was being congratulated by her aunt who had turned up to witness her graduation. She stated that she heard about the workshop from a teacher at the Kuru Kuru College which she once attended. She plans to use the knowledge gained to open her own business. However, for now she plans to work under someone who does garment making so she can garner work experience in that field.
Lloyd George, 19, a graduate of the Government Technical Institute and current student of the University of Guyana said he was recommended by the institute for the workshop and was grateful because “I now know the requirements for the world of work.”
Commenting on the significance of the programme, YCG Executive Director Dmitri Nicholson said, “it is important that young people be able to build a holistic set of life skills that they can use to be employed.”
According to SKYE Chief of Party Kevin Corbin, this specific skill set was decided upon after consultations with public and private employers who stated that they found these skills to be priority competencies.
Corbin stated that apart from ensuring that young people can be gainfully employed, the programme also hopes to reduce youth crime by strengthening their economic situation. As such the programme targets at-risk young people ages 15-24 who would have dropped out of school, completed formal education but lacked skills to find employment, and youth involved in the juvenile justice system.
He further shared that the project was successful particularly in the lives of 6 young men who were before the juvenile court awaiting prosecution. Corbin stated that through the Detention Prevention aspect of the programme they were able to alter the course of the lives of these young men and today they all are graduates of the Work Readiness Workshop.
United States Ambassador Brent Hardt stated that SKYE’s purpose is to provide the tools and refining techniques that will help youth to find gainful employment and perform successfully in the work place, as well as make them more competitive when seeking jobs.
Clinton Williams, Sub Committee Chair from the Private Sector Commission hailed the efforts being made by USAID, YCG and SKYE. According to Williams, Guyana’s GDP is suffering and continues to suffer owing to the lack of suitably trained persons in the fields that contribute the most to its revenue generation. He stated that despite average growth rates of over 20% in mining, wholesale and retail, ICT and construction industries, there continue to be reports of significant skill shortages.
He stated that the recent interventions by the sponsors of the SKYE Project were indeed gratifying and were therefore most welcomed, since they incorporate key deficiencies in its formulation. “It has provided a platform for ensuring that there is maximum compatibility not only between the range and quantities but also the competency levels to be attained for most of the skill sets required by the private sector business entities,” said Williams.
Through support by the USAID/ SKYE project, a total of 605 at-risk youths in regions 4, 6, 9, and 10 will receive Work Readiness Training by August 2013.
Youth Challenge Guyana was founded in 1988 when a group of Canadian volunteers and sponsors took the initiative to start a field project in Guyana with start-up capital provided by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). Since its establishment, YCH has exposed thousands of youths in all ten administrative regions of Guyana to community projects, ranging from health to literacy.
