On June 12, the Oscar Romero Centre for Youth hosted its annual career expo to give students of the Alpha Vocational Training Centre (AVTC) exposure to the world of work.
The first organisation to make a presentation at this year’s event was the Jamaica Defense Force (JDF) which spoke to the students about the wide range of vocational opportunities within the organisation which the young men could pursue. These included STEM-based fields such as cyber security, mapping, drone operations and dentistry, as well as other skilled areas like construction, welding, and the culinary arts. The AVTC students also had the privilege of being addressed by the event’s main guest speaker – Michael Johnson, the founder of Custom Furnishing & Joinery Ltd. Mr. Johnson shared several pearls of wisdom with the young men regarding life in general and how to get ahead in the world of work. He cautioned them to be discerning in who they sought advice from in their professional journeys and to remain self-disciplined. He also impressed upon them the need to continually try to upgrade their skills in order to keep up with the latest technological industry trends as a means of remaining marketable.
The latter part of the expo was filled with fun trade skills demonstrations performed by students from all four trades: music, carpentry, screen printing and barbering. Throughout each demonstration, instructors were present to narrate the actions of the students to the attentive audience as well as explain how each skill can be used to build a well-paying career. The final presentation of the day was delivered by a team from the HEART NSTA/Trust who had an interactive discussion with the young men about qualities employers look for in job candidates such as discipline, punctuality, respect, and flexibility. Students were also invited to apply for the HEART NSTA/Trust’s summer programme which places youths in partnering organisations to work for 3 weeks in order to gain work-experience and good wages.
Many students chose to take application forms for the programme before leaving the session to attend a series of brief job interviews which were being held with recruiters from Sun Island Jamaica (an apparel manufacturing company which employs screen printery tradespersons) and Custom Furnishing & Joinery (which employs carpenters). From these interviews, job opportunities were extended to 3 carpentry students and 2 screen printing students (one of which has to be delayed due to the young age of the student). All in all, students agreed that it was an enjoyable day from which we are certain that knowledge and connections were gained.
