Registrant of the Youth Unemployment Register initiative Jacob Edwards, speaks passionately at the press conference as Premier Dr. The Hon. D. Orlando Smith OBE and Minister for Education and Culture Hon. Myron V. Walwyn take it all in. Photo: Ronnielle Frazer

On December 1, 2011 the Youth Unemployment Register was launched and according to Minister Walwyn, to date some 490 young persons between the ages of 16-30 have registered.

“To our young people I will say to you, please seize this opportunity as if it was your last. On each day of that training, I want you to not just show up, but to be early, wide eyed and ready to receive the knowledge to help better your circumstances. To those that will find employment, be as eager to learn and be a part of that organisation on day one, day two, month one, month two, year one and year two,” Minister Walwyn appealed at a press conference on Thursday January 19, 2012.

The Minister also expressed gratitude to business owners that offered assistance since the launch of the register but also made another appeal to the private sector to support the employment initiative as part of their obligation to the Virgin Islands.

“Next week we will do the job of helping to improve the skills of our youth and while we do this, I ask you to look at your organisation and consider opportunities where a young person, who is ready to be trained, can be added to your team. I want to remind businesses that you do not just use the Virgin Islands to build personal or organisational prospects. Any business operating in these islands also has an obligation to this community to train our people and provide our citizens, our young people the opportunity to gain knowledge and to advance.”

Noting that he is a business owner that knows the difficulties of hiring persons who might not have the right skills, Minister Walwyn also said he knows the benefits his company has realised when himself and managers were patient in moulding young people to meet the standards of the organisation. “As corporate citizens, we all have a responsibility to the Virgin Islands, and I seek your willingness to help our young people. Some will make a few mistakes along the way, but I dare say it might be easier to train and employ the youth than pay for a society ripe with unemployment and hopelessness.”

On December 1, 2011, the Youth Unemployment Register was launched and according to Minister Walwyn, to date some 490 young persons between the ages of 16-30 have registered.

“Within the register we find that we have young people at varying levels with a variety of skills. Over the course of next week facilitators will impress the importance of positive attitudes in the workplace, develop personality profiles for registrants to help them identify the best job and career options, workplace communication skills, customer service and job culture. We have deliberately taken the time to design this training so that we can effectively improve the skills of our registrants before releasing them to perspective employers throughout our business community.”