CATCHING UP WITH MYF ‘GRADUATE’ EMILIO WALKER AND HIS POSITIVE PROGRESS
Emilio Walker, a thirty-three year old Rockfort resident has custom designed his own life goals and targets, including pursuing a unique entrepreneurial dream while determining not to leave behind the building industry which he as always loved.
The ambitious young professional explains that although he does not intend to follow in anyone else’s footsteps, he is deeply appreciative of the advice, motivation and very practical help he has received along his journey. This has included participation in two key MultiCare Youth Foundation training courses, YUTE Build I and a few years later, YUTE Build II. These enabled him to achieve his National Vocational Qualification of Jamaica (NVQJ) up to the advanced Level III in General Construction, from the HEART Trust/NTA. A graduate of Dunoon Technical and Vauxhall High Schools, he had also qualified in Practical Mechanics through City & Guilds. He is competent in carpentry, dry wall installation, tiling, painting and grill making, among other skills.
His YUTE Build training, which culminated with internships, paved the way for employment, and Emilio has been steadily employed since 2009, apart from time taken for the YUTE Build II course. His last job was with Matalon Homes, where he spent three years, and was promoted to Assistant Foreman. At the beginning of November 2020 he began work as a “Pusher” (a semi supervisory role in a work team) with West Indies Home Contractors Limited (WIHCON), a member of the ICD Group.
In addition to valuable construction related training, the YUTE Build courses included vital life skills grooming, which Emilio says made a world of difference for him.
“I really appreciated the personal development part of the course,” he notes, “It showed me how to calm my anger, and how to speak to people. It gave me a basic knowledge of supervising, and taught me how to be a responsible person.”
Emilio says he is also deeply indebted to his parents, who modeled hard work and positive values, and were always encouraging him and his two sisters to do their best. His mother, with whom he spent most of his childhood, is a former bailiff who now works in the cafeteria of a government ministry, and his father, who lives in Canada, is a carpenter formerly employed with the University of the West Indies furniture department.
The positive examples and consistent encouragement of Emilio’s parents provided a much needed bastion of support for their children in a neighbourhood not only marginalised and underserved, but which has been prone to disturbing levels of violence. Emilio explains that often fighting between different factions in the Rockfort community was “like a war”. There was a time when he had to move to another section because of gun violence, and once when he was 19, his home was burned down because of gang warfare.
“There’s a whole lot of tragedy in the community,” he says, adding that the death of one of his friends completely changed his perspective on life.
His mother’s down to earth wisdom – “Wha nuh dead nuh dash weh” (Even if you think it is over, don’t give up) and “It’s never too late for a shower of rain” (There’s always reason to hope), helped Emilio to persevere. He worked hard, saved painfully for the car of which he is proud owner, and is currently saving to buy two containers, a first step towards his dream of setting up a gaming lounge with a difference – “A casino but not a casino,” he explains. He also intends to build his own home, and is looking forward to purchasing land through the National Housing Trust.
The fact that Emilio is now working with WIHCON, a sister organisation of the MultiCare Youth Foundation within the ICD Group, is seen by the Foundation members as a sort of “coming home”.
MYF Executive Director Alicia Glasgow Gentles expresses sincere pride in Emilio’s progress, and says she regards his career progress as one of the tangible results of the YUTE Build programme.
“He is so consistent in terms of his work ethic,” she notes, “He was one of 33 young persons certified at the end of the second YUTE Build course, and in fact holds a diploma in General Construction. Ever since he left the programme he has been working, he was promoted to supervisor, and now he has landed a job with WIHCON. Living in a marginalised community, he put on his blinders, stuck through the programme, completed it and used the opportunities it offered through internships, etc. He keeps in touch with us; he recognises we had a role to play in his positive trajectory, and is extremely grateful. Where he has reached is significant. He was not just successful in overcoming his background, but the way he strives, and has a vision for himself, the way he knows where he is going, that inspires me!”
When he is not striving, Emilio enjoys listening to music and playing football, and when not restricted by the COVID 19 pandemic, partying with friends. He is also an avid reader, and researches his life goals and related topics, through books and online.