Young unemployed start job-prep training

| 20/04/2010

Cayman Islands News, Grand Caymna Island local news(CNS): The first 25 candidates for the government’s young job seekers initiative Passport2Success have now been selected. On Monday 19 April the young people started the government programme, which is designed to help them become workplace ready by equipping them with the personal and career skills they need to find and retain employment. The first group of candidates were selected from dozens of applicants for the 11-week course, which government says will run four times in the year. Education Minister Rolston Anglin said it was the first of a number of programmes designed to get Caymanians into and back to work.

“Passport2Success provides a bridge from education to the workplace,” said Anglin at the youngster’s orientation session. “This is a part of the ministry’s vision to launch a number of initiatives, which are intended to provide all young Caymanians with the skills they need to succeed in the workplace.”

The minister called upon participants in the programme to understand the importance of adding value to the organisation they work for and explained how Passport2Success was designed to reflect the values and expectations of the workplace. The initiative is sponsored by local firms, LIME, CML Offshore Recruitment and Butterfield.
 
The first intake of students is made up of 13 men and 12 women, two of which are young mothers. They were selected from all over the islands, including 10 from George Town, 6 from Bodden Town, 5 from West Bay, 2 from Cayman Brac, and 1 each from East End and North Side.
 
Programme facilitator Shannon Seymour of the Wellness Centre said the application process had gone very well with a flood of enquiries, many of which were from people who are still in school wanting to know if they can get signed up for September. “Applications are still being received via the website,” Seymour said, explaining that the first group represented a diverse range of academic backgrounds and career interests. She said that the business community has also been overwhelming in its support for the programme. “We will be able to secure meaningful work placements for all our participants thanks to the interest shown by local employers.”  
 
Ministry Chief Officer Mary Rodrigues said she was delighted with the response from participants and employers for this first Passport2Success programme. “The interest we have generated in this inititiave is indicative of the need within our community for education and training provisions, which bridge the gap between compulsory education and the workplace,” she said, adding that it was encouraging to see an appetite from young people to improve their skills.
 
“We will be monitoring closely the development of this programme to see how it best fits within our wider agenda for providing opportunities for people at every level of education and ability.” Rodrigues also acknowledged the support of the private sector in the initiative.  “We are very grateful to all the employers who have generously committed to giving lectures or offering work placements. We are particularly grateful to the programme’s sponsors, LIME, CML Offshore Recruitment and Butterfield, for sharing in the minister’s vision and helping us raise awareness of Passport2Sucess,” she added.
 
Passport2Success is a full time programme, which runs for 11 weeks. It will be based at the International College of the Cayman Islands in Savannah Newlands. More information about the programme can be found on its website at www.Passport2Success.ky.
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  1. Anonymous says:

    Minister Angin, I think this is a wonderful program!  We all must do our part, in order to fix our school, we must train our children!  Education starts at home!

      

  2. Anonymous says:

     

    We are always reinventing the wheel in government? There are numerous Government programs that cater to this purpose, like the tourism apprenticeship program. Rather than improving on the existing, we decided to start another. At a time when government is trying to cut cost, we create redundancy therefore increasing cost. So up to year 12, we paid for our children’s education, only to start this program and pay for them to have more work ethics.  Some lesson we are teaching our children!!
    Here’s a suggestion for cost saving, evaluation all the existing programs and improve on them, rather than starting new ones.
  3. Anonymous says:

    I would like to know if this program is designed to help our young people who has gotten into some sort of trouble as well. Because you know they need all the help they can get to get their lives on track. That’s the problem with a lot our employers, when a young person get into some sort of problem with the law no one wants to give that person a chance and then they just get into more problems. So thats why I hope that this program is going to help those young people too. 

    I do personally know that the Labour Office does’nt really want to help them because if you have even one little misdemeanor charge on your record that office behaves as if youdon’t deserve another chance in life.

    I personally know of some young people like that and they would welcome the chance to be able to do something constructive with their lives if they were given the chance. We have a lot of expats with all kinds of criminal records coming here and getting all sorts of jobs, so why can’t our own get a chance to get a piece of the pie too.       

  4. Anonymous says:

    Does anyone know which 25 candidates selected, and if so, is it made public?  Thanks!

    • Dilemma says:

      can you tell me why you need to know whos names are on the list.

      • Kermit says:

        Because that will open up a whole new avenue of complaint, allegation and finger-pointing.  These are the things upon which an entire sub-culture depends.

  5. Anonymous says:

    Don’t you find it ironic that these young people have come through the entire school system without adequate education or skills and now are expected to be made "ready to work" after an eleven week course?  I do.

    • Anonymous says:

      I agree with you, this is absolutely amazing. The system in this country has literally failed the children, including the new style of parenting, and we are now stuck with a bunch of uneducated, spoiled kids with bad attitudes and no goals in life.  It is going to be interesting to see what kind of impact Rollie’s new initiative will have on it all.

  6. Anonymous says:

    Why not just fix the real schools?

    • Anonymous says:

      Congratulations to the Minister, Staff and Companies who have created and endorsed this program. Mr.Minister you will get the typical Caymanian "whining" comments with no constructive advice or comments, but please do not get discouraged. We need more of these Programs and I would like to suggest that the next one is a Private/Public Sector Apprentice Program for a different type of young adult.

      The Cayman Islands recognized a few years ago that the purely academic school system and the lack of vocational/technical programs does not cater to the 100% population of different students, with different interests and abilities. 

      While we go about fixing this system we have children who are passing through the School System or who drop out who we need to help become productive citizens. Keep up the good work! I am looking forward to many more of these programs, while we address the problems of our school system.

      One question: Have you seen any comments or complaints  from parents, family members or friends protesting that their child or cousin is moving up from one year to another without the required skills? Or is it more likely to find them at the airport going to Miami to buy a Prom Dress for the graduate who is graduating without adequate academic or work place skills? I have seen the Miami scenario but never heard of the parent complaining that they don’t want their child moved on to the next year – nor have I heard the complaints of how tired they are from helping them with their homework.