Helping youth secure employment

20 March 2016, 12:00AM

Forty youth from Savai’i and Upolu attended a one-day workshop “Supporting Youth into Jobs Trainings” on Friday.

The activity, held at the Development Bank Conference Room, was organized by the Samoa National Youth Council (SNYC) in partnership with the One-UN Youth Employment Programme (One-UN YEP) team. 

Facilitators of the workshop, which include SNYC, YEP and UNDP staff, provided information on how to apply for a job and how to prepare for the day of the interview. Mock interviews were also conducted to help the participants practice for future recruitment processes. 

At the end of the day, all youth left with a copy of their curriculum vitae, cover letter and plenty of good tips. Most of the participants, aged between 21 and 25, were early school leavers and only two of them had gone through a job interview before. 

 “One of the main components of the Youth Employment Programme is to create an Employment Network that provides information and services to facilitate youth’s successful entry into the labour market,” said Kaisarina Salesa, Programme Coordinator of the Samoa National Youth Council.

“This pilot workshop will help us assess how the YEP can better support youth from the rural areas - or early school leavers - to getting employment.

“Participants were asking many questions, they were eager to know how to better sell themselves and the skills they have. Young people want to get employed but sometimes their knowledge of the labour market is very limited. We are here to support them, to help them building their CV but also their confidence. 

“When we are seeking for a job, sometimes we are successful, sometimes we are not. It is important to never fear failure.”

One of the participants, Theresa Mann, is a Village Youth Representative of Tanugamanono. “The training was very useful and provided practical information,” she said. 

“Now I know what to expect from a job interview and the things that I have learned today will help me handle the experience in a better way. I feel more prepared and confident about my skills. I love this programme!”

Mata’ao Maria Bernard Tiatia, YEP Programme Manager, pointed out: “Today’s activity has been very successful and the information was well received by the youth. We put great emphasis on how they should prepare beforehand, spend time to write a good CV and cover letter, practice their answers and project confidence during the interview.” Mata’ao also highlighted: “Those who missed the training today, will still have the chance to receive counseling services and do mock interviews at the Division for Youth of the MWCSD on Monday and Tuesday, during working hours.” 

The One-UN Youth Employment Programme, lead by the Division for Youth of the Ministry of Women, Social Community and Development, is supported - and draws on the expertise -of five United Nations agencies: UNDP, ILO, FAO, UNESCO and UNV. The programme aims at reducing youth unemployment by improving their employability through capacity building and by creating an enabling environment for young entrepreneurs and small businesses. 

 

About the One-UN Youth Employment Programme 

The Samoa One United Nations Youth Employment Programme (One-UN YEP) aims to address in a holistic manner, the challenges of youth unemployment. This three-year programme is the result of a partnership between the Government of Samoa, through the Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development (MWCSD), and five United Nations (UN) agencies namely: the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the United Nations Volunteers (UNV). 

The programme, signed in June 2015, works across the following main areas: (1) Improving the employability of youth by closing the gap between labour market demand for skills and the supply from education and training providers; (2) Strengthening the capacities of youth to make sure they have the skills required to access employment opportunities within the sectors of agriculture, intensive manufacturing, tourism and creative industries; (3) Fostering young entrepreneurship and micro-enterprise development by creating an enabling environment for young entrepreneurs through policies, strategies and partnerships with the public and private sector. 

The programme activities are aligned with the National Youth Policy 2016 – 2020 and the National Action Plan for Youth Employment 2016 – 2020. 

20 March 2016, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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