The Youth Apprenticeship Program, it's where young people who've struggled with traditional schooling can still get an opportunity to gain employable skills by doing an apprenticeship under a volunteer employer.
The program started in 2010, and, since then, approximately 3000 graduates have passed through the program.
Today the coordinator, Diane Finnegan held a luncheon for those employers who have generously taken a chance on the apprentices.
And while the luncheon was hosted as a token of appreciation, it was preceded by a training that took the employers through the program's hand book so that they might better understand their role in mentoring program participants.
Today, we stopped by to listen in on Finnegan's overview of her no nonsense approach to preparing young people for the workplace.
Diane Finnegan, Coordinator, Youth Apprenticeship Program
"It's a program that focuses on young people who have dropped out of school, young people who have had contact with the law, and single mothers. We do make an exception for individuals who are high school graduates but that is specifically for three schools that we allow their students to be able to participate in the apprenticeship program because of the challenges they face often times in being employed."
Cherisse Halsall:
"We notice that the participants aren't here today, why is that?"
Diane Finnegan
"Well they're at work and today is not about them. Today is about why they are where they are. So today is about the employers. We really have put together a training for employers to go through the handbook so that they can understand their role and importance where these young people are concerned while they are on the job because while the employer is not paying them they get paid through the government of Belize, through the Ministry of education. So it is crucial that they are at work everyday, that their dress code is appropriate, that the discipline that comes with the program is also being carried out in the workplace."
"Today we're celebrating 10 years into the apprenticeship program and this program could not be this effective, this successful if it wasn't because of the employers so what we did we put together a dinner for them and invited all of them to come and celebrate with us so that we can express how grateful we are thy have been with us."
"We've had close to 3000 individuals who have passed through the apprenticeship program and of those apprentices we also have countless amount who are highschool graduates, today have an associates degree, and are now pursuing a bachelor's degree."
Employers in the program include Angelus Press, Ramirez engineering, Belize Diesel, Belize Estate, the KHMH and many more.
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