Course graduate Gabriel Farisa at his first formal job.
The first 40 young people, whose fees were paid by the Peter O’Connor Foundation, have just graduated (or are just about to graduate) from various skills courses through Ginigoada, according to news just in from The Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The Foundation has also provided funding to pay for their On Job Training placements for the next two months .
The course teaches everything from personal health and gender equality to basic financial awareness and interview skills.
Helping young people to employment
The Peter O’Connor Foundation has contributed 25,000 kina to a program that runs two-week life and business skills courses to help young people from settlements around Port Moresby into employment.
The course teaches everything from personal health and gender equality to basic financial awareness and interview skills.
The course was set up by the Ginigoada Bisnis Development Foundation, a local non-governmental organisation.
Those who complete the course are eligible to apply for vocational training organised by Ginigoada in conjunction with the Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The training helps participants connect with employers such as supermarkets and hotels, or supports them in developing small businesses in, for example, electronics repairs.
The Peter O’Connor Foundation has committed a further 65,000 kina in the coming financial year.
Below are the overall figures that we have for 2013. We trust you find these encouraging. Many of these participants are grassroots people who had limited prior education and potential opportunities.
Bus 1 Young Life Program enrolled 1527 graduated 1155
Bus 1 Adult Literacy Program (new) enrolled 172 graduated 142
Bus 2 Young Skills Program enrolled 3702 graduated 3070
Bus 3 Life & Business Skills Program enrolled 3804 graduated 2775
Bus 4 Financial Skills Program enrolled 2335 graduated 1541
Short term skills training courses enrolled 2258 graduated 1778
2013 TOTAL enrolled 13,798 graduated 10,461
And here are some real cases:
Gabriel Farisa completed the course and after six years of doing odd jobs he has secured his first formal employment at the Waterfront Foodworld bakery in Port Moresby.
He is one of several young people from a settlement in Konedobu in Port Moresby. Many people who come from rural areas to the city end up in the settlements. They have little hope of education. Health services and running water are usually absent.
The settlements are marked as “no-go” areas for expatriate oil and gas and development workers.
Many families in the settlements have a subsistence existence, Many pull their children out of school to save on book costs and other educational fees – and making it hard for such unqualified youths to find work.
At first, the courses, which are held on rotation in different settlement areas, attracted only a few dozen young people. But this quickly grew to more than 150 in many cases.
Last year, nearly 3,000 people signed up for the life and business skills program, which was run in 17 settlements and three villages, and 2,269 completed the course, which requires them to attend every day.
More than 1,400 people have graduated this year from the course.
Last year, 333 of the business and life skills graduates attended the further skills training and 56 of those obtained permanent jobs. This year 92 have attended further skills training and 19 have obtained permanent jobs.