Youth Mentorship Program – July 21 & August 18
On July 21, Guidance & Career Coaches, Lorrie-Ann Linklater and Edie Fairburn, facilitated a Lifelong Learning Centre (LLC) presentation to youth in Grades 8, 9, and 10 who participated in this year’s summer Mentorship Program. An identical presentation was given to a second group on August 18, which included youth mentors in Grade 11 and 12.
The LLC presentation provided Sagamok’s Youth Mentors with exposure to resume and cover letter writing, a discussion about personal career goals and goals for friends, ideas for careers based on aptitude/interests, and group suggestions on what the youth feel they might want to pursue as well as what education will support their chosen career paths. Career Coaches helped youth to articulate their goals/experiences using business professional vocabulary, and to recognize the value of their personal strengths, experiences, volunteer positions, education level/achievements, and overall interests.
Lorrie-Ann mentioned that they taught the Youth Mentors how to:
- use the MS Word Resume Template on the computer;
- find various templates they could utilize;
- jot helpful notes;
- outline their experiences and interests; and
- use all of this to build their personal resume and cover letter
Lorrie-Ann said that, between her and Edie, they demonstrated the importance of determining an employer’s most essential requirements and ensuring this information is highlighted in a 1-page document, where possible. Youth Mentors used the computer lab located at the LLC to type up the resumes they developed with Career Coaches’ guidance. Each Youth Mentor left with a working resume in hand at the end of the day, which they can further polish, photocopy, and distribute as they choose!
Throughout the course of the Youth Mentorship Program at the LLC, Guidance & Career Coaches helped facilitate thought provoking discussions and encouraged peer support through sample scenarios of various types of jobs, education, and skills required to perform the jobs as well as the locations of schools where they can access needed courses, certificates, diplomas, or degrees. They also offered insights into what can happen during the job application process and how to prepare if an interview is awarded. The Coaches also talked about budget, wages, the importance of savings, and encouraged the youth to research careers of interest and their earning potential. Finally, Lorrie-Ann and Edie covered the programs and services available through the LLC to reinforce the availability of support for education, training, and funding opportunities available right here in Sagamok to help youth reach their full potential.
Overall, the youth commented positively about their learning experiences with the LLC Guidance & Career Coaches. It was a great opportunity for knowledge-sharing with both professionals and peers!
