A  new programme for young people is gaining momentum in Cayman. And while it may not be the long-sought after cure-all for Cayman’s myriad employment ills, it certainly looks like it may already be having a positive impact on those who are taking part.

Passport2Success is geared at recent high school graduates and young Caymanian school-leavers looking for a job that’s the right fit. The hope is that participants who complete the process will be better equipped to move on to further education, choose a career and eventually succeed in a job that they enjoy. The programme provides training in work areas that interest the participants while they gain work experience and also valuable exposure to employers. Participants can choose from a variety of activities and training modules.

“You don’t need high school qualifications or work experience to join the Passport2Success programme,” says programme coordinator Shannon Seymour of the Wellness Centre.

“You just need to want to improve your skills, secure a job you want and be willing to work.”

The government funded programme, set to run four times a year has garnered a lot of interest.

“We held an orientation evening in April when the programme was initially launched and over 35 young people attended,” says Seymour.

In the end, organizers received over 40 applications for the first session, and are getting a steady flow through the programme’s web site, www.passport2success.ky.

Career exposure

 Seymour says one of the programme objectives was to provide an opportunity for career exposure.

“With the participants, we visited different types of industries, ranging from retail, banking, tourism, construction, and transportation,” she says.

“The reason for this was to broaden participants awareness of the variety of jobs available and the diversity of career paths. Many young people in Cayman still believe the only good job is in a bank, and often won’t even consider other types of work.”

Seymour says the needs of participants varied significantly, but some themes did emerge.

“They all required help in the area of oral and written communication, and they all needed to challenge misconceptions that they were unemployed because of some external factor,” she says.

“We really challenged participants to take responsibility for themselves and acknowledge that they are solely responsible for their own unemployment as long as there are jobs they refuse to take. Most of them knew very little about the ‘world of work’, including the Labour Law, employment contracts, probationary periods and so on.”

She says that for most this was the first opportunity to actually learn how to search for a job, so a lot of focus was placed on resume writing, job search skills and interviewing. 

A dose of reality

For some young people they realised that they had a false impression of their abilities and skills. “For instance, many of them mistook Facebook skills for computer skills,” says Seymour.

“They thought that because they knew how to watch videos on YouTube they could call themselves computer literate. This was an important lesson for some.”

She also says the instructors had to help participants understand that being able to ‘talk amongst friends’ was not the same as having workplace communication skills. 

“Letting go of high school attitudes and expectations and embracing a sense of adult responsibility for their own path, was something we addressed often,” she adds.

The company’s take

 “All of the participating companies have been wonderful,” says Seymour.

“The feedback we have received about our participant work placements has been very positive for the most part.”

LIME is one of the major sponsors of the programme and Marketing Manager Julie Hutton sees Passport2Success as a very positive initiative.

“We feel it is something that is needed in our community – a bridge between education and the work place,”

“As a large employer in the Cayman Islands and with the majority of our employees being Caymanian, we have a vested interest in the education and development of young Caymanians.  This programme really is about getting participants ready for the real world which obviously is a big change from full time education.”

Another company taking part is KPMG.

“We felt this was a highly beneficial initiative to complement our existing youth program,” says Cindy Reid, KPMG’s local recruitment executive.

“Our leadership firmly believes in the importance in assisting our young people to develop and grow professionally.”

KPMG’s role was definitely hands-on, as Reid volunteered her services as a guest speaker, visiting the participants at ICCI. 

“I spoke to them about the skills needed and desired for an entry level role,” she says, adding that she also used the opportunity to tell the participants about KPMG and the various job opportunities the company has.

Offering to look at cover letters, CV’s and making suggestions, she played an active role in the interviewing process of the participants that were interested in a role at KPMG, and helped out with their training once they arrived. 

“I feel the most important role I played was as a mentor to encourage, support and guide individuals,” says Reid.

Reid thinks the training given to her company’s participant allowed her to build confidence in herself and her abilities. 

“More specifically, I feel our participant gained sound knowledge and understanding of the way in which to conduct herself within a professional environment,” she says.

She thinks having the overall experience of working with several departments provided the participant with valuable insight into the different future career paths she might be able to take.

Positive outcome

Two of the programme participants joined LIME for the practical work experience period of the programme.

“Odetti Escalona and Shericka Seymour are very happy to have the opportunity to work at LIME and gain strong work experience,” says Hutton.

“LIME has retained both the young ladies past the two week work experience period of the programme and they will work in the Marketing Department for the summer.”

Reid too has a positive feeling about the outcome.

“KPMG looks forward to participating in the Passport2Success program again and felt it provided us with an opportunity to make a positive impact on a young person’s career,” says Reid.

“I would encourage other companies to take part in this program, as it helps our young people to grow and develop their professional skills.”

If anything, Reid says she would encourage the program to be expanded for a longer duration period.

“This will give the participants an opportunity to gain more experience and knowledge of the company,” she says.

Seymour is optimistic about the programme’s future.

“We started with 24 participants; one secured full-time employment during the second week of the programme, two opted to leave the programme, so in the end, 21 participants were set to complete the programme,” says Seymour.