British Virgin Islands: Albert Wheatley, a training coordinator with the Youth Unemployment Register (YUR), at a press conference on Thursday, advised unemployed youths that attitude in the workplace is critical to remaining gainfully employed, according to a report on the BVInews.com.
YUR is an initiative which was launched by the Ministry of Education and Culture in November 2011. The initiative seeks to help Government assess the status of disadvantaged and unemployed youth. Once operational, the database will serve as a medium to support young workers and integrate youth into the labour market. It will also serve as an information base for government to plan policies that will address employment and education.
Wheatley said, “One of the biggest challenges that we have in the BVI with employees is that we have square pegs in round holes. One of the biggest problems we have is with service. It’s where you have the back-of-the-house personality in a front-of-the-house position and vice versa and I certainly believe that this is going to be one of the critical things facilitators would go through as part of the program. We want to be more aware of workplace programs and skills that promote customer service and effective job culture. In an industry that depends so much and so heavily on tourism customer service and good customer service is absolutely critical; but if you’re not a people’s person it doesn’t matter how much you’re trained it will last for a day or two and then it disappears because they will gravitate towards their natural self”, according to the BVInews.com report.
He added that one of the things the facilitators will teach is: “We can do our best to get you into the workplace but the responsibility lies with you to keep yourself employed. So we will reiterate that this is not a welfare program, we may get you in but we certainly cannot keep you in, that is your responsibility. We trust that the employers also understand that. We will do our utmost to help every person who has registered; we will spend as much time with them and do whatever it takes, but our goal is to have the unemployed find a job”, the report said.
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