Students in St. James and Hanover to Benefit from NYS Summer Employment Programme

More than 500 students from the parishes of St. James and Hanover will benefit from the National Youth Service (NYS) Summer Employment programme, set to begin by July 11.
Through the programme, students of grades 9, 10 and 11, along with some from the tertiary level, will be recruited and placed in various government and private sector enterprises for periods of up to three weeks, and paid a stipend by the NYS office.
In an interview with JIS News, Regional Corporate Services Officer with the NYS Omar Steer, said that the ratio for selecting the students would be 70 per cent from the high schools and 30 per cent from the tertiary level. He pointed out that the national programme, which was now in its fifth year, was being financed by the government.
“Each student who has an interest in being a part of the Summer Employment Programme has to take in a written letter of application along with a resume, and be prepared to attend an interview at a time that we stipulate,” he noted, adding that the interviews will be conducted by persons from the different stakeholder organizations within the two parishes.
“However, we must note that the programme is a needs based one, so we will endeavour to take the persons whom we consider to be the neediest among the groups first,” he emphasised.
While commending the private sector organizations that were currently participating in the programme, Mr. Steer said there was a need for more private sector companies to participate.
He said that the feedback from students who had benefited, and their parents, had been positive.
“What we have found is that quite a number of participants are honest enough to let us know that had they not been a part of the NYS Summer Employment Programme, they might not have been able to purchase the requisite things for their return to school,” he said.
Mr. Steer explained that the programme offered a two-fold benefit to the participating students, in that they would earn some money to assist them in purchasing items for the new school term, and at the same time, gain on-the-job experience.