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Youth Apprenticeship Gets 10th Intake
Mon, May 29, 2017
Today the Youth Apprenticeship Program welcomed its 10th intake of participants. The program seeks to take youths off the streets and provide them with the opportunity to learn the necessary skills for finding a job and starting their own business. Today we spoke to the program's director, Dianne Finnegan, as well as some of its participants about the role programs like this play in keeping at risk youths out of trouble...

Dianne Finnegan - Director, Youth Apprenticeship Program
"For us this intake is really a special one, we are at the tenth intake, we've come a long way. Starting out with 25 apprentices, going all the way up to 150 per intake, and as you can see young people are still very much enthusiastic about being a part of the apprenticeship program. The program is about discipline, it's about getting them equipped to handle what happens in the workplace, and not just get a job, but holding onto their job."

"The apprenticeship program is about upliftment, it is about moving them from the level of where they came from to accomplishing their own greatness, getting a high school diploma and going beyond just high school, but all the way up to tertiary."

Chervin Tench - Youth Apprenticeship Participant
"I cuh join this program fi just change my ways, yo get di sense. Come out ah di violence and come outta di streets and stop do idleness, yo get di sense. And get up deh insted ah down deh, yo get di sense. Only that yeh."

"This dah wah good lee program, yo get di sense. Fi try change yo ways, yo get di sense. Go back dah school, work, do soh ting, get di sense. Cooperate d time weh yo gat."

Lorena Garnett - Youth Apprenticeship Participant
"Well I've been on the street before and nothing is out there. I have two kids because of the streets and didn't listen to my mom, and I joined the program because I want to do better for me, myself, my mom, my kids and my nieces."

"I've always wanted to have my own business, me and my mom. That's my dream, so that is what I'm pushing for."

Alex Courtenay, 7News
"And what kind of business are you planning to do?"

Lorena Garnett - Youth Apprenticeship Participant
"Well I love cooking, but I applied for office job because I also have experience in working in the office, and working with people, but my dream is to own my own cooking business, me and my mom."

Since it's inception the Youth Apprenticeship Program has gone from accepting 25 participants per intake to 150.

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