According to media reports, the Department of Youth plans to launch a ‘job readiness training’ initiative for youths to better ease them into the workforce. While the reasons given for such an initiative have merit, The Caribbean Voice would like to point out that job readiness training can only be capitalised upon if jobs are readily available.
Our own experiences indicate that this is not so. Over the last two years or so, young people in Guyana have bombarded TCV with requests for jobs. Unfortunately, as a fully volunteer-driven NGO, TCV cannot offer jobs. And there seems to be no mechanism in place to refer them for consideration. As well, the businesses and business entities we touch base with are not able to generate vacancies to meet the needs.
Besides, at the Department’s recent job fair, more than 600 youths were in attendance, but the Department indicated that only about 200 youths were being catered for. And the Minister for youth affairs (among other portfolios), Dr George Norton, has expressed concern that 40 per cent of youths are unemployed.
Our overriding concern is that most of those looking for jobs become overly anxious and depressed with some moving on to suicide ideation. TCV knows this because we have handled many such cases. Thus, we appeal to the Department of Youth to set up and widely publicise a mechanism that can easily and quickly offer job placements for young people across Guyana. That mechanism can include a component that facilitates placements of vacancies and matches young people seeking jobs with vacancies for which they are suited. As well, it is our hope that job readiness training would be offered across Guyana, as many of those young people (in all ten regions) seeking jobs have no marketable skills, which compounds their plight.
On another youth-related matter, while lauding the Hinterland Employment and Youth Service (HEYS) programme, The Caribbean Voice, for the past few years, has been advocating for mental health to be included in the training so that those equipped with skills for advancement would also be prepared to deal with challenges and any form of abuse that comes their way without retreating to low self-esteem, anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation. This necessity becomes all the more critical given that young people, 15-25, still exhibit the highest suicide rate in Guyana and that both suicide and various forms of abuse saturate hinterland communities. In fact, most of our counselling cases have been young people within this age bracket.
While we acknowledge the successes of HEYS as put out by the Government, no data has ever been publicised as to the actual failure rate. If indeed, the success rate is 100 per cent that would be fabulous but since generally that is never the case, the issues that impact failure ought to be addressed, as we are certain that mental health issues would loom large in such situations. In any case, even those who succeed can also benefit for positive mental health training, especially acquisition of coping skills, the ability to face and overcome challenges and to self-forgive, the development of high self-esteem and self-confidence.
-
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
Archives
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- October 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2013
- December 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- June 2012
- April 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- June 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
Categories
Meta