Many youths would not be employed without Register – Premier
“It has indeed been a successful venture, because many of these young people would not have been employed had it not been, I think, in my opinion, for the [Youth Employment] Register,” Dr Smith said during a press conference held in the conference room at the Office of the Premier yesterday, September 19, 2013.
According to a Government Information Service (GIS) release issued on September 6, 2013, close to 500 youth registered for the Youth Employment Register since its inception in November 2011, with 215 having since been given employment.
Mr. Albert Wheatley, Programme Coordinator for the Youth Employment Register at a weekly meeting of the Rotary Club of Tortola on September 5, 2013 announced that since the programme launched, 215 individuals have been placed in jobs. The most recent placement he said was made within the last few weeks in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Labour.
“We continue to place young BVIslanders,” he said, adding “Among young BVIslanders there are a lot of very able, talented, willing and hard working individuals.”
Businesses in both the private and public sectors have reportedly benefitted from the services of this programme.
“Perhaps we will be able to make some adjustments to make our programme more effective,” Premier Smith added while noting that government will continue to work with the YER.
“That essentially identifies the persons who are out of work, it also identifies the skills that those persons have so that we will be able to give suitable training to those persons to make them more employable. We will also be able to have more discussions with potential employers knowing what the skills are and be able to place the young people more effectively,” Dr Smith said.
In addition to pairing unemployed youth with job opportunities, the programme provides instruction in resume and cover letter preparation, conducts personality profiles and teaches interview techniques.
Wheatley noted that providing work opportunities for young people positions them to make meaningful contribution to business development as they are positively involved in a business, can be promoted and eventually become a business owner themselves.
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