THIRTY-SIX youths are better equipped for the job market following their completion of a six-week ‘Work Readiness’ course delivered through the US Agency for International Development [USAID].

The closing ceremony of the Skills and Knowledge for Youth Employment [SKYE] programme was held at the St Francis Community Developers Training facility at Port Mourant, Corentyne, Berbice on Friday. The SKYE programme is part of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative partnership between the United States and the Caribbean.
Adjudged the best overall students  were Jamal Bennett and Marsha Rajaram who were given trophies donated by Republic Bank [New Amsterdam Branch] as awards for their outstanding efforts, while their peers were each given certificates of participation.
SKYE, a two-year project, provides targeted alternative sentencing, work readiness training and livelihood coaching activities for 1,500 youths, aged 15 to 24 years in four democratic regions.
Youth Challenge Executive Director [Guyana] Mr Dimintri Nicholson, who urged the youths to participate in volunteerism, highlighted that the programme offers participants an opportunity to know themselves, to be team players and to enhance their knowledge of factors in finding and maintaining employment.
US Ambassador to Guyana D Brent Hardt , while congratulating the youths on  their participation in the programme which will enhance their marketability and life skills, noted that 119 persons have so far benefitted from the project, which is a supplement to what is offered by the Guyana Government.
He reminded the enthusiastic group that the technical skills imparted are also crucial life skills which would in life with greater self-confidence.
The U.S. ambassador, whose tenure locally commenced eighteen months ago, emphasized that employees would value a strong work ethic, punctuality and personal integrity, which the SKYE programme sought to develop and strengthen.
Also addressing the gathering during a midday ceremony, Secretary of the Upper Corentyne Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vishwa Doerga, representing the private sector, opined that while it was difficult to change one’s body, one can nevertheless change the way one thinks, which can be propelled to bring self-belief. “Having a will can be a drive for you to succeed,” he advised.
Meanwhile, participants Lionel Ross and Marsha Rajaram related to Guyana Chronicle that the programme had been very beneficial in that it increased their self-confidence and allowed them to see themselves differently.
For the duo who are both seventeen years old, they have recognized the need to acquire additional CSEC certificates before moving into the job market.
Ross related that he heard about the SKYE programme through his former lecturer at the New Amsterdam Technical Institute, while Rajaram was recommended for the training when she was a student at the Upper Corentyne Information Technology Institute.
The curriculum included trust building, job interview techniques, effective speaking skills, identifying job sites, and qualities and styles of leadership, among other areas.
It was noted that many of the youths engaged in the SKYE programme had previously faced difficulties being employed because of their limited qualifications or lacked the relevant interpersonal skills for finding or maintaining employment while some may have been involved in the juvenile justice system.
Additionally, those who have completed the training course have demonstrated that they are determined to make a change in their lives and are now seeking new ways to achieve their goals for the future, with the intervention of the SKYE project.