Businesses across the island are being invited to partner with the National Youth Service (NYS) in providing meaningful work experience for the country’s youth under the Summer Employment Programme.
The annual programme exposes young people, ages 17 to 24, to employability and personal development skills by working at public- and private-sector entities.
This year, 6,000 students will be placed, up from 5,000 in 2015. The placement period is for three weeks and will be undertaken in two phases from July 4-22 and August 8-26.
Remuneration will be provided by the NYS at the end of the three weeks, and entities are encouraged to supplement the amount.
State Minister in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green commended the more than 1,035 companies that have confirmed their participation to date.
The State Minister, who was addressing a JIS ‘Think Tank’ on June 16, said the Government is pleased to be able to increase the number of beneficiaries this year.
“It is very important that we engage our young people, especially in the area of employment. One of the things we have identified is the difficulty youth have faced due to lack of experience. So, we will try at the earliest possible time to ensure that our young people have work experience and also get some training that can prepare them for the world of work,” he said.
Meanwhile, 500 tertiary-level graduates will benefit under the NYS’ Graduate Work Experience Programme (GWEP). This is up from 300 last year.
Senior Programmes Director at the NYS, Naketa West, explained that under GWEP, tertiary graduates who hold an associate or first degree, are placed in internships in their area of study for a period of six months.
“Our job at the NYS is to create the relationships with companies and industry players to get someone who is trainable in that particular area of study and give them that opportunity to guide and mold the participants in the particular industry,” Miss West said.
First published in the Jamaica Information Service
