Youth Employment Services The Employment & Training department extends ds a heartfelt “Thank You” to all of our partners, parents, and participants for making the 2015 Summer Youth Employment (YES) program a huge success! The YES program partnered with host-employers in 13 Southeast Alaska communities to provide work experience/ employment to 54 tribal youth. For many tribal youth, this was their first experience with job applications, interviews, accountability to employers, and PAYCHECKS! A number of our youth were offered permanent positions or invited back during school breaks and next summer. Way to go, Youth! To end the 2015 summer program, youth were asked to create or update their resumes, capturing their new skills for future jobs and college/scholarship applications. One youth exclaimed, “Wow, I have more skills than I thought!” Several youth are already gathering references and submitting their resumes forr new positions. It has been wonderful to witness the growth of our youth. The youth were also asked to write a letter of appreciation in business format to whomever they chose. The exercise provided the opportunity for tribal youth to identify what was positive in their summer work experience, recognize and appreciate opportunity, say thank you to their biggest supporters, and learn how to format a business letter. The letters were addressed to host-employers for their training, local program coordinators for their guidance, parents/grandparents for their daily support, and to themselvess for “sticking with it.” In one community, the youth wrote letters to each other, recognizing one for driving others to work, another for early wake-up calls, and yet another for making the job a fun place to be! o Juneau participants were also encouraged to attend the Scholarships 101: Tap into Your Resources event and a financial literacy class coordinated by Tlingit-Haida o Regional Housing Authority. Both events had great turnouts and exposed youth to the importance of personal finance and provided financial resources for higher education. The YES program’s goal is to help create dreams through providing the necessary tools, support, and resources to accomplish those dreams. None of this was possible without the tremendous support of our community host-employers and supervisors willing to train and mentor. Special thank you to all of the local community coordinators who offer continuous guidance and support. Appreciation to the parents/caregivers who create supportive environments. A heartfelt Gunalchéesh, Háwaa (thank you!) to all of our partners, parents, and participants for making the 2015 Youth Employment Services program a huge success…and to our youth, we say, “Well done and we hope to see you next year!” 7
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