The federal government recently announced its continued support for youth in 100 Mile House by helping them develop skills and gain knowledge that will aid them in succeeding in the job market.
Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo MP Cathy McLeod was in 100 Mile on Sept. 4 to announce the Cariboo Family Enrichment Centre (CFEC) is receiving more than $272,000 to facilitate the Skills Link program, which is part of the feds Youth Employment Strategy (YES).
CFEC program manager Lloyd Garner says interest in the program is high and 25 eligible people have already applied for the 12 available spots. To be eligible, people must be between 15 and 30 years of age, not be enrolled in school, not in receipt of employment insurance benefits and not be working full time.
The program offers two, four-month sessions with the next intake scheduled for the end of December. Gardner says Community Employment Services is already taking names for the wait-list for the next session.
CFEC program facilitators Bree Odd and Thurza Aspinall will spend the first eight weeks of the program working with their students on basic employment skills, such as resume-writing and presentation, computer skills, and self-esteem and confidence-building. Community members also offer workshops on various aspects of employment training and familiarization.
The remainder of the program focuses on job placement, which includes identifying a job interest and honing the skills needed to find and keep a job in that field.
Students will then do a practicum with three days on the job and one day in the classroom each week, says Odd.
“When people leave the program, they’ve already worked on initializing and making that contact. It’s unbelievable the amount of value I see in this.”
This will be the seventh time since 1995 the program will be offered in 100 Mile House.
