S2S — How it Started and What We Do
We can all agree that the last few years have been very challenging and deeply life-altering on a global scale. For youth, the pandemic has been especially hard at a time in life when things are already difficult to navigate and changing rapidly.
The Skills2sucSEED program came out of a need to create accessibility and engagement for youth in the midst of lockdowns, stress and anxiety caused by the pandemic and the changing world around them. The program was designed to bring some structure to their lives as well as an opportunity to learn new skills and interact with a wider circle of youth, while making it easy and fun to spend time online.
The virtual program structure has allowed us to reach youth from all over the province, including many living in rural communities where access to employment programs is limited and travel can be challenging. Last cohort we started with over 30 youth from over a dozen different locations all across Nova Scotia.
All youth in the program are given laptops to use, and once they successfully complete the program, they are theirs to keep. We all gather virtually through Google meet twice a week in the evenings for 12 weeks. During these workshops we teach the youth valuable skills and play engaging games and activities.
The workshops focus on our three pillars of education: employment, digital literacy, and wellness. Every workshop has some kind of interactive activity and a chance for youth to win prizes and test their knowledge, individually or in teams. We also bring in guest speakers whenever possible to enhance the experience for the youth and give them a different perspective than that of the facilitators.
The employment pillar of the program focuses on skills like income management, time management, how to be confident and motivated at work, teamwork and professionalism in the workplace. We also create resumes, learn about interviewing and networking, and offer opportunities for youth to get certifications like WHMIS or Occupational Health and Safety to help build their resumes.
For the wellness component we include workshops on mental health awareness and self care techniques, stress management, self-esteem, and building community.
Digital literacy is the last pillar we focus on. We are sure to teach the youth about how they appear online and on social media (digital footprints), how to communicate professionally, and how to tell if something is “fake news” and be safe online.
During this time the youth also complete self reflections about what they're learning, and do weekly individual sessions with facilitators to get additional support. We also have an online gamification platform where youth can learn even more and earn incentives, this will be discussed in detail in a later blog post.
After 12 weeks of workshops participants are placed in 8 week work placements that suit their personalities and skill sets and help them engage with their community. These partnerships with local organizations are essential to the youth being able to practice the skills they've been learning over the last three months. This is the part where we get to see the youth really shine as they start to formulate their visions for themselves for the future, what they want their lives to look like and start to see themselves getting where they want to go.
We are soon to begin our fifth cohort, and have had 41 youth successfully complete the program so far with another 16 on track to finish in March.
Written By: Michelle Sayers, S2S Program Officer