The Ministry of Youth Development and Sports (JOS) is preparing 750 young people between the ages of 16 and 25 for participation in the holiday employment project. The participants will have the opportunity to gain work experience over a period of ten days. On Tuesday, August 25, the first training sessions for young people from Wanica, Saramacca, Commewijne, and Coronie began.
The so-called teach-ins for this group will last until Wednesday. Young people from the other districts will be trained on Thursday and Friday. During the training sessions, attention will be paid to skills that they need to further develop during the work trajectory.
At the end of the training, the participants will sign a contract and receive a regulation that they must adhere to throughout the project. The official program will start on Monday, August 31, in all ten districts.
The 750 participants will be divided into two groups. After the first group completes the ten-day program, the second group will begin.
The holiday employment project is part of the GRO holiday program, Growth Towards Development, of JOS. The project is being implemented in collaboration with the Directorate of Public Green and Waste Management (OGA).
During the program, young people will be engaged in tasks such as working at care institutions and cleaning up litter.
According to JOS Deputy Director of Youth Centers Milton Tuart, the program is not only intended to provide temporary work for young people but also to prepare them for the labor market.
He mentions skills such as teamwork, communication, leadership, and problem-solving as competencies that need to be developed during the project. According to Tuart, these are skills that young people will need later in the labor market.
The ministry had initially set a maximum of 750 participants. However, interest turned out to be greater. According to Tuart, more than a thousand young people registered, necessitating a selection process.
One of the conditions for participation was that young people must be between 16 and 25 years old and must be attending school.
The participants will work daily from 08:00 to 13:00 and will receive SRD 400 per day. According to the ministry, they will receive a total of SRD 4360 per person at the end of the program. The government has allocated approximately SRD 4 million for the implementation of the program.
This year, the selection also took into account the accessibility of the areas where young people live and the availability of supervision. Especially in the interior, transportation poses a challenge, according to Tuart.
To enable participation from young people in remote areas, various clusters have been formed. Young people from villages in Upper Suriname, Apoera, and Upper Tapanahony have been selected, among others.
JOS also aims to increase the social involvement of young people with the project. According to Tuart, tasks such as cleaning up litter and supporting social institutions should make young people aware of the contribution they can make to their environment.
