About 120 people showed up to the Multi-purpose Sports Complex on Monday to participate in the Youth Employment Services’ 2017 job fair.
YES Coordinator Rochelle Lawrence said the event was designed for the more than 80 Virgin Islands belongers between the ages of 15 and 29 who have participated in the agency’s training workshops in recent months.
Approximately 40 more people showed up to Monday’s event and registered with YES for future training opportunities, she added.
“We have an ongoing registration process: You register, go into office, have one-on-one to determine your soft skills, and then go to training workshops,” Ms. Lawrence said of the programme. “Then we do a personality test to determine what industry would best suit them.”
Ms. Lawrence said 12 job offers were made during Monday’s fair, and representatives for the 18 businesses at the event said they will review resumes and possibly hire candidates later.
TICO salesperson Ebony Andrews said the company is looking to hire interns and administrative assistants. She added that she judged job fair participants partly on the interpersonal skills they demonstrated while at her table.
“Some of the young people just came in and stood there, but others said, ‘Good morning, I am so-and-so,’ and that’s a good sign personality-wise,” she said. “There are a few persons who stood out, and we’ll probably call them in later.”
S&D Security owner St. Clair Springette said his company isn’t hiring now, but is collecting resumes for when it moves to an expanded location in Fish Bay in the near future.
“We’ll need technicians for sure,” he said, adding that his company provides training for its employees. “We’re also going to need people in the storefront, and persons to deal with sales.”
While not all the participants came away with job offers, Ms. Lawrence said she hopes they were exposed to new opportunities that they will explore further in the future.
“It’s not just about throwing them into a job because they need a job,” she said. “We’re trying to make sure they can have success in a given industry.”
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