The YMCA Youth Link Program was created to provide youth, including students, between the ages of 15 and 29 who face a few barriers to employment with access to employment support.
The Huntsville branch of the YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka works very closely with Huntsville High School (HHS) to bring this program to students in the community. Staff attend the high school one to two days a week to meet with students during their lunch hour and after school.
“We support youth in the community to transition into the work force, whether they are applying for their first job or whether they are facing some challenges or barriers making that connection to the workforce,” said Mary Ellen Fetterly, team leader of employment services at YMCA Employment Services in Huntsville.
To be eligible for support, an individual must be 15-29 years old, an Ontario resident, eligible to work in Ontario, and have no previous work experience.
“Youth who are trying to obtain their first job are eligible for employment financial support that can either be used to purchase uniforms, shoes, work boots, transportation supports that they may use for the job or the monies can go to the employer to offset some of their training costs,” said Fetterly.
The YMCA helps youth in the program with:
- career exploration workshops to increase knowledge of career options and the labour market;
- career management workshops to provide youth with personal management & life, work decision making skills;
- job search and readiness workshops to provide youth with the skills to conduct an independent job search; and
- job matching to connect youth with employment opportunities, including summer jobs.
If you or an individual you know could benefit from this program, visit the the YMCA Employment Services office in Huntsville at 60 King William Street or phone 705-787-0349 ext. 23.
You can also email Heather Dix at [email protected] to make an appointment. Heather can also make appointments to meet with students right at Huntsville High School.
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Thank you, Rob, for your comment. The YMCA offers a full suite of Employment and Learning services. One of these programs is the Youth Job Link in Huntsville and it is considered a “light touch” program – supporting youth 15-29 who do not face significant barriers to employment.
Your comment is valid though, that some job seekers, both youth and adults, do face a variety of barriers to securing sustainable employment. We do “roll up our sleeves and get dirty” to support these folks.
Through our programs, and working with a very supportive network of community partners, we provide and refer our clients to services which help overcome those barriers and support them on their path to securing employment. An example of one of these programs is Youth Quest. It moves a cohort of 12 job seekers between the ages of 15 and 30 through 6 weeks of intensive pre-employment training and a job matching portion that aligns them with local employers for a 16 week paid employment work experience.
People in the community may not know that of the job seekers and clients that we serve, 80% have realized a successful outcome of either employment or education. We are very proud of the work we do to serve Huntsville and the surrounding communities, and Rob, I would welcome you into our YMCA Centre to learn more about the work we are doing to help build a healthy community in Muskoka.
Youth Job Link is a service sorely required in our community. Perhaps, it can assist somewhat with the southern exodus after Grade 12. More importantly, I would suggest that the students of today are more prepared for the job market than ever before. It is with the other portion of your demographic that I have the greater concern. You have a captive audience for access to high school students: What outreach programs are available for the 16 – 29 age group? Do you, perhaps, have drop-ins for coffee and informal/formal discussion? You mention barriers to employment: What might be examples of this? Lack of a high school diploma? A disability? A criminal record, which needs to be expunged? The former can be handled through the green school in Town; but do you possess sufficient expertise to deal with the two others? Just saying. This is not all about sweetness and light, and showing up at the High School twice a week. This is about rolling up your sleeves and getting dirty; dealing with the family/environment problems at the root of the older teens and twenty-somethings problems.