Do you know a young person between the ages of 15 to 30 who could benefit from a paid working and learning experience?
The YMCA of Simcoe Muskoka has launched a program in Huntsville to help young community members hone in on their employment skills while also making a little money.
The first six weeks of the 22-week Youth Quest Program will be spent helping participants with their resume and interview skills as well as other employment skills such as CPR and WHMIS training. The participants will then be matched with local employers for 16 weeks, all the while being paid for their participation by the YMCA through Federal funding, explained YMCA’s Saleem Hall during a special visit to Huntsville Council at its October 23 meeting.
Hall said the program works out to about four and a half months of paid full-time employment. Participants will be paid $11.60/hour for a 35-hour work week. Anyone between the ages of 15 and 18 will have to provide a rationale for why they are not in school. Other stipulations include being legally entitled to work in Canada, not being in receipt of EI (Employment Insurance) and that participants live in the Muskoka area.
Hall said the program is aimed at helping youth get into the work force, “because we all know youth unemployment is at double digits, it’s double the national average and frankly it’s tough for anyone getting a job so the more resources that are out there, I think is better. The YMCA is committed to helping people improve their position in life and we believe employment is one big piece of how do we get there as a community.”
Hall said YMCA will also be reaching out to employers who may be short staffed and would benefit from the program. “The idea is this is an added incentive, especially during the shoulder season, to help the employers to bridge that gap and save a little bit of training dollars by us picking up the cost of those 16 weeks of employment,” said Hall, who asked council to spread the word about the program.
For more information on the Youth Quest Program you can email [email protected] or Rachel Baranik at [email protected] or call or text 706-716-8222.
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