Since its launch in 2019, the Job Start Plus Programme has become a vital stepping stone for young Barbadians seeking to enter the job market, with hundreds benefiting from its training and placement opportunities.
Speaking during a stakeholder engagement meeting at Sandals Barbados Resort and Spa, Dover, Christ Church, on Wednesday, Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Labour, Wayne Sobers, revealed that “since the programme’s inception to the present time, approximately 800 young persons have been trained and 372 placements have been facilitated including through direct employment opportunities.”
The initiative, aimed at youth aged 16 to 24, offers both work experience and employability skills.
“In addition, many more of the job starters had secured employment on their own accord or returned to formal education while walking the career path that we helped them to chart,” Sobers said.
Originally designed to give young people an introduction to the “world of work,” the programme has evolved significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Since [COVID], the programme…. has been strengthened in significant ways. In direct response to feedback from you, our partners, the world of work training has been expanded, and we have introduced modules on emotional intelligence, managing workplace relationships, sexuality, customer service excellence, financial literacy and time management, among others,” he noted.
Training now spans three weeks, allowing more time to equip participants with essential workplace skills, career planning tools, and life skills while balancing other aspects of their lives.
Sobers credited the programme’s successes to the commitment of private sector employers and third-sector partners, but urged more to come forward. “We need new partners who can provide more placements, more pathways for our young people to transition successfully from school to work. Additional participation can be the turning point for young persons who need that first chance to prove themselves.”
He stressed that these collaborations have an impact far beyond immediate job opportunities. “Partnerships like these do more than just provide jobs. In reality, they transform, they build critical skills that will serve our young people in the future.” (SB)
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