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28 graduate under the ‘Prepare for Work’ programme |02 September 2019

28 graduate under the ‘Prepare for Work’ programme

Twenty-eight young people who have successfully completed a four-month ‘Prepare for Work’ programme at the Guy Morel Institute received their certificates in a graduation ceremony held at the Savoy Hotel, Beau Vallon, on Saturday evening.

The ‘Prepare for Work’ programme is a transformational programme initiated by the Ministry of Employment, Immigration and Civil Status in collaboration with the Guy Morel Institute. It is aimed at providing personal and professional skills to young people, aged between 15 and 30 years of age, so as to prepare them to enter the world of work.

The 28 graduates form part of the first cohort and they embarked on the programme in May this year and completed the training in mid-August.

Present at the graduation ceremony were the Minister for Employment, Immigration and Civil Status Myriam Telemaque, principal secretary for employment Jules Baker, principal secretary for social affairs Linda William Melanie, executive director of the Guy Morel Institute Shella Mohideen, staff of the employment department and the Guy Morel Institute, partners, sponsors, lecturers, mentors, the graduates and their parents.

During the ceremony, three outstanding students were rewarded. Selma Estrale, 27, received the ‘Perfect Attendance Award’, 19-year-old Malik Didon received the ‘Outstanding Behaviour Award’ and 17-year-old Isabelle Robert received the ‘Outstanding Effort Award’.

In her address for the occasion, Minister Telemaque said her ministry has re-looked at the soft skills sessions’ strategies in order to better motivate students to adopt the right attitude to complete the programme successfully. She noted that the ministry is therefore reinvigorating its effort to ease the training of young potential jobseekers to, not only secure a job, but to remain in employment.

“I believe we can all attest to the many social ills that many young people are involved in nowadays, all of which have an adverse effect on our country’s economy. Therefore, more than ever, we need to empower our youth with the necessary skills that will build resilience, responsibility and preparedness to join the world of work,” Minister Telemaque said.

She went on to point out that the government remains totally engaged to double its effort to ensure that our youngsters receive the necessary support and help to secure employment or to realise their entrepreneurial or business dreams. She congratulated the graduates for making it through and she also advised them to adopt a positive attitude, stay connected, resilient with their vision focused on their chosen destination, and to stay away from negative influences.

Approximately 400 young people who do not make it to the different professional centres for failing to meet the necessary examination criteria exit secondary schools every year from secondary five (S5) to sometimes way down to as far at S3. Without vocational training or limited vocational training, those young people most of the time struggle to find stable employment because they lack the professional skills which in the end may force some of them to end up being influenced negatively.

So the programme is helping to transform them into confident and responsible citizens, equip them with the necessary skills, knowledge and attitude, which would enable them to pursue a career and be successful in their lives while also contributing to the economic growth of the country.

For her part, Mrs Mohideen said it was a privilege for TGMI to partner with the department of employment on such a programme as the institute believes in transformation. She noted that the country now has a group of young people whose focus is based on growth mindset rather than fixed mindset.

Being the first to teach them on the programme, Mrs Mohideen said the skills they have acquired will surely allow them to join employment or eventually think of starting their own businesses. She further said that the students will continue to be mentored in their workplaces.

The 30-day ‘Prepare for Work’ programme was spread over four months where lecturers impart knowledge and skills to the students on personal awareness in terms of attitudes, values, visions, mindset, professional soft skills in terms of communication, respect, attending interviews, behaviours, office etiquette, work ethics and also on IT and entrepreneurship.

Outstanding effort awardee, Ms Robert, who left Plaisance Secondary School at S5, said she joined the programme to develop her skills to get a job. She said she is waiting to be called for work placement as a clerk with the Ministry of Health and from there she will see what the future holds for her.

Malik Didon, the ‘Outstanding Behaviour Award’ recipient said he joined the programme because he had not been working since leaving Belonie Secondary School in 2016 and he now wants to start a job.

Still unemployed, Malik said he wants a job in the ICT sector, something he is good at.

Selma Estrale, the ‘Perfect Attendance Awardee’, who left Beau Vallon Secondary School some 11 years ago, said she joined the programme to get the necessary skills required to work in an office. She is currently registered on the skills development programme and working at the employment department as a senior office assistant. The mother of two said that before she had work as a chambermaid in a self-catering guesthouse on Mahe and also at Paradise Sun on Praslin, a job she did not like at all.

According to Minister Telemaque more than half of the group has already secured on-the-job training under the skills development programme with the ministry, all with the hope that they will be employed, either before, or at the end of their training. The ‘Prepare for Work’ programme will soon be launched on Praslin and La Digue.

The accompanying photos show the young people during the graduation ceremony.

 

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