THE convocation ceremony for youths who successfully completed training in the USAID/Skills and Knowledge for Youth Empowerment (SKYE) project was Tuesday held at the Red Cross building, Eve Leary. The event celebrated 107 youths trained in the Work Ready Plus and Work Ready Now! curricula as part of the project. The SKYE project works with at-risk youth who are school dropouts; youth who have completed formal education but do not have the necessary skills to find employment; and youth who have fallen foul of the juvenile justice system.

Charge d’ Affaires of the US Embassy, Bryan Hunt, in his feature address to the gathering encouraged the youths to recognise their efforts that have brought them thus far, but in doing so, to acknowledge the hard work ahead. As they have acquired the skills and knowledge necessary for a job, they must now strive to sell themselves and their abilities to their potential employers.
He asserted that the skills they developed will take them further than towards gaining a job; those skills will allow them to build character in their lives. “It is not about the circumstances you came from, but about what you make of your circumstances.”
The youths were additionally motivated by Technet Solutions CEO, Kerry Small, who illustrated the struggles he had passed through and the ways the SKYE programme and his mentor helped him to become the young, successful entrepreneur he is today.
Chief of Party for the SKYE Project, Magda Wills, urged the youths to instill within themselves a desire to succeed and to utilise the links they have made with their coaches; success for youths means success for the project.
A total of 1,500 youth in Regions 4, 6, 9, and 10 will receive Work Ready Now! training by August 2015. The training is funded through USAID’s Skills and Knowledge for Youth Empowerment (SKYE) programme.
It was implemented by the programme’s local partners, Catholic Relief Services and Youth Challenge International Guyana. The SKYE programme is part of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative partnership between the United States and the Caribbean.

(By Raveena Mangal )