Youths from Leopold Street, Georgetown on Monday, February 5, 2018, graduated from a Youth Empowerment Programme (YEP), which focused on personal development and how to function in the workplace.
The training was facilitated by Specialists in Sustained Youth Development and Research (SSYDER) Incorporated and was funded by ExxonMobil.
Magda Fiona Wills, Executive Director of the SSYDER said the YEP aims to –as its name suggests – empower youths to transform their communities.
She explained to the 30 participants of the programme that “you can be linked to employment, to self-employment opportunities, even to further educational opportunities (but) at the end of the day, poverty is decided by management and so you have to know how to manage that money so that you don’t end up in a rot.”
The programme lasted for four weeks and covered topics including personal development, interpersonal communication, leadership and team work, employee and employer rights and responsibilities and financial fitness.
The training was hosted in the Leopold Street community and was also addressed by Presidential Advisor on Youth Empowerment, Aubrey Norton who encouraged the participants to work towards overcoming their challenges.
He noted that the Government manages a number of training programs and offered the youths five spots at an upcoming leadership training programme.
Norton also informed them of the Government’s agro-processing opportunities, early childhood training, skills training and financial training.
“I want to urge you to become involved in what I call; inter-generational preparation. It is simple…you must look at your parents and decide that I will do everything legal, necessary and possible to have a better life than my parents and then you must prepare the environment for your children to do better than you,” Norton told the youths.
Senior Director, Public and Government Affairs at ExxonMobil, Kimberly Brasington congratulated the facilitators on the execution of the programme.
Following the completion of the program, some of the participants are moving on to jobs while others will return to school.
