THE United States Agency for International Development (USAID) started a three-day ‘Skills and Knowledge for Youth Employment’ (SKYE) Coaches workshop yesterday, to prepare a cadre of ‘at risk’ youths for the world of work. Addressing the commencement, at Regency Suites Hotel, in Hadfield Street, Georgetown, U.S. Ambassador Brent Hardt said the project is a core element of President Barack Obama’s Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI).
The diplomat said the programme will involve personnel with the essential skills needed to assist the participants in finding sustainable employment opportunities which, in turn, would allow them to join the labour force and play a part in Guyana’s economic development.
It would make important strides in fighting crime and is a collaborative effort among the Guyana Government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the local Private Sector and the U.S. Government, Mr. Hardt said.
According to him, the plan is designed to provide effective approaches to reducing crime and violence in several ways.
The primary focus is on groups of people in society who are principal victims and perpetrators of violent crimes and, secondly, it emphasises the development of schemes that can be shared with all organisations that seek to work with at risk youths.
“This focus includes coaching, a work readiness curriculum, which was adapted with the involvement of the Guyana Government, NGOs and the Private Sector and an entrepreneurship curriculum, developed in collaboration with Guyana Youth Business Trust,” the envoy said.

WORK READINESS
It also focuses on a work readiness course, based on and adapted to the Guyanese situation and training of trainers focused on coaches and evaluation methodologies to monitor achievement of objectives and results, he explained.
According to him, a third focus of the project is to secure the integral involvement of key ministries in the outcomes.
He believes that, without the support and commitment of the relevant Ministries, the SKYE scheme will not be able to achieve its desired results, in terms of addressing the needs of at risk youth and reducing criminal activity and behaviour.
Hardt lauded the resolve of the Government and NGOs to collaborate in realising the goals of reaching out to and supporting at risk youth to gain the skills they need to succeed and prosper.
The inauguration saw the attendance of representatives from the Ministries of Labour, Human Services and Social Security, Culture, Youth and Sport and Education, all of whom pledged their commitment in ensuring the success.
The undertaking is also aimed at transferring employment coaching skills to a group of 22 SKYE coaches, empowering them to work with at risk youths to identify and reach sustainable pathways to employment and human development.
Coaches will work with 605 targeted at risk youths, providing access and linkages to a range of services, a process that reintegrates and connects youths to communities, while providing inputs along an individual pathway to employment, education, or ongoing training.
The UASID/Guyana SKYE Project is focused on strengthening youths’ access to reformative justice and equipping them with market driven skills to improve their ability to transition to the workforce. Its target youth beneficiaries are school dropouts, others who completed formal education or training but do not have the necessary skills to find employment and more involvement in the juvenile justice system and working in Regions Four (Demerara/Mahaica), Six (East Berbice/Corentyne), Nine (Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo) and Ten (Upper Demerara/Berbice).
The enterprise forms part of the broader CBSI and is being executed through the Education Development Center (EDC), a U.S. based global education and training institution.
SKYE has aligned the coaching approach with Government of Guyana reintegration and training programmes and is designed to bridge at risk youth in the path between vulnerable positions in life to an individualised developmental goal.