YUTE GROOMS 50 FOR WORK DURING RESTAURANT WEEK

Youth Upliftment Through Employment (YUTE) is more than doubling the number of young food service graduates that it is grooming for internship placements in the biggest ever Restaurant Week Jamaica, coming up November 11-19, 2016. A total of 50 trained YUTE protégés and HEART Trust NTA graduates have been recruited into the annual Restaurant Week Job Readiness Programme facilitated by these two partner organisations. This is compared to 20 youngsters prepared for last years’ Restaurant Week, 18 of whom obtained placements with participating restaurants during the week-long food festival.

Now in its sixth year of partnership with Restaurant Week, the Job Readiness Programme has been expanded from one to two full days of refresher courses in practical tasks, vital soft skills such as attitudes, deportment and workplace protocol, plus interview techniques. YUTE’s newest partner organisation, C&C South Beach Café, hosted this two-day training course at its Brompton Road, Kingston venue, on October 25 and 26.

Stephanie Scott, Managing Director of SSCO Events Management and conceptualiser and executer of Restaurant Week in Jamaica, explained to the young recruits just how important their input will be, in light of the significant expansion of the event. She noted that Restaurant Week, launched in 2004 with 22 participating restaurants in Kingston, now boasts 80 restaurants in seven cities, with the 2016 addition of Mandeville, Alligator Pond, Treasure Beach and Bluefields, and a new category in which nine caterers will offer an “Eat in” option.

Mrs. Scott pointed out that with participating restaurants offering “deep discounts” of 30%, the popular event is patronised by some 40,000 persons per year, and that the intensive work it demands offered an important opportunity to the YUTE and HEART protégés.

Offering employability advice to the trainees during the workshop, she noted, “You are responsible for your own progress. When you go out there you need to shine, to distinguish yourself. This may be your passport to a new job, a new career!”

YUTE Executive Director Alicia Glasgow Gentles notes that her team will be making every effort to place all 50 of the recruits in jobs with participating restaurants during Restaurant Week 2016. To the youngsters, whose training had ranged from food preparation and mixology to a variety of related skills, she stressed, “Only you can convert these placements into jobs!” In a lunch hour pep talk, she stressed making a good first impression and following this up with consistent professionalism, positive attitudes and a good work ethic.

Key presentations during the two day Job Readiness Programme included Providing Food & Beverage Service; Workplace Ethics & Values; Dress & Deportment, Interview Techniques; Emotional Intelligence & Healthy Workplace Relationships; Managing Diversity at the Workplace, and an extensive session of Mock Interviews by actual employers.

Trainers included Sharlene Brooks, YUTE Community Engagement Officer, who also coordinated the programme, and from the HEART Trust NTA: Dottline Lawson-Hunter, Employment Coordinator; Jonnett Clarke, Career Development Officer; Asheca Hall, Industry Liaison Officer (Acting); Rockoya Johnson, Industry Liaison Officer; Marsha-Kaye Gordon, Career Development Officer and Dawn Harvey, Employment Coordinator, as well as Roanna Henry, Instructor, of the Girls Town Professional Development Institute.