The leap from Mohawk College to the GREAT Computer Learning Lab was easily made by Waylon Williams through the GREAT Youth Internship Program.

After two years of study in networking and hardware at Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ontario, Waylon was ready to apply his skills in an office environment. During college he studied troubleshooting, software installation, network set-up, system upgrading, and computer assembly. Although these skills are highly sought in the working world, Waylon had little hands-on experience outside of school. As a result, he faced an employment barrier that impedes many recent graduates from finding meaningful employment after graduation.

Mr. William's response to this barrier was to apply to the Youth Internship program offered by Grand River Employment and Training. GREAT arranged for Waylon's internship at the GREAT Computer Learning Lab, an organization that provides instruction on various software programs including Microsoft Word and Excel.

Waylon has been an excellent fit at the Computer Lab where he began as an instructor and now fills a variety of roles including network specialist and trouble-shooter. Mr. Williams is doing everything he learned in school in his job "plus a lot of new stuff I'm learning along the way - I research and keep up to date on software" he says.
 
Waylon Williams

Although Mr. Williams is expected to teach primarily at the Computer Lab, he was surprised when another opportunity arose: "When the company that set up the network for GREAT went out of business they asked me if I wanted to take care of the network and get some experience," says Waylon "and I've been working on the network ever since."

Through the internship program Waylon receives training while his employer receives a subsidy on his wages. The program is designed to compensate employers for the cost of training recent college and university graduates. An asset to the computer lab, Waylon's supervisor, Kevin Doolittle, speaks highly of him: "Waylon Williams has had a major role in the computer lab being able to offer new services such as network support as well as technical support. Waylon has been certified in some applications of Microsoft Office 2000 and is also A+ Certified. I myself have learned a lot from working with Waylon and hope to continue working side by side to provide the community with the best Computer training and support possible."

The Youth Internship program has not only helped Waylon to become a valuable employee at the computer lab, he also benefits from having practical experience added to his resume.
 
 

The transition from school to the labour market can sometimes send graduates running back to the campus in frustration. These individuals are enthusiastic and eager for work but are blocked from the labour market due to a lack of practical work experience. GREAT's Youth Internship program alleviates some of this stress and helps ease this difficult transition. Grand River Employment and Training developed the Youth Internship program in 1998 to provide recent University and College graduates with career-related skills and work experience to help them make a successful transition into the labour market.

The areas of concentration are health sciences, business and finance, environment, computer science and engineering. These areas have been targeted to meet the needs of Six Nations employers. Program applicants must have graduated in the area of health sciences, business and finance, environment, computer science, or engineering. The employer must hire the intern upon completion of the Internship Program. Stephanie Styres, Youth Services Manager at GREAT, explains that the "Internship program is a way to offset the cost of training a new employee and to ensure the new employee receives hands on, practical job exposure." This training should develop into full-time employment in a career-related field.

 

Stephanie Styres

Employers benefit through the Youth Internship program by receiving an enthusiastic, disciplined, well-educated employee with little or no experience.

Recent trends in the Youth Internship program show an increasing number of applicants in the area of Information Technology; which usually includes exposure to internet, intranet, programming, hardware/software, upgrades, modifications, networking and troubleshooting.

Waylon Williams recently completed the Youth Internship program with the GREAT Computer Learning Lab. Mr. Williams says he believes "the program has given me the opportunity to find jobs I wouldn't be qualified for in the past because I didn't have enough experience on my resume."

At the end of the program, says Ms. Styres, "Everyone wins, GREAT, the employer and the intern. The intern has gained valuable work experience, the employer has a trained employee and we have done our job." With this assistance, the difficult transition from post-secondary schooling to the labour market can be made with more ease while benefiting employers in the community at the same time.

For more information on the Youth Internship Program please visit www.greatsn.com/YouthInternship.htm.

 


September- October 2003

 

WORKSHOPS
  Workshop Name Dates Time Location
  Youth Intake September 23, 30
October 7,14,21,28		 10 am-12 noon Career Information Centre
  Surviving the Interview October 9 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. Career Information Centre
  Resume /Cover Letter Session September 16, 18, 25
October 9, 16, 23, 30		 10 am-12 noon Career Information Centre
  The Hidden Job Market September 25
October 23		 10 am-12 noon
2 p.m. - 4 p.m.		 Career Information Centre
  True Colours October 16 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. Career Information Centre