THE VALUE OF EXPERIENCE
Job co-op provides valuable experience
It was just before 10 a.m. on Sunday when two teenagers knocked on the door of Ayesha Ahmed’s Notre-Damede-Grâce duplex.
While most of their peers were still asleep, Tae Yeoung Jung, 15, and Jennika Fletcher, 16, spent the morning dusting lamp shades, wiping down countertops and sweeping floors.
The teens, who are too old for day camp but not experienced enough to enter the summer job market, have managed to find valuable work experience this summer thanks to a new job co-op that operates out of the YMCA in N.D.G.
After an interview process, eight youths, age 14 to 16, were recruited to cut grass, paint, clean, wash windows and babysit for customers who saw their advertisements in flyers the teens had distributed throughout the neighbourhood.
Similar job co-ops exist in Little Burgundy and Park Extension.
An organizer says the job co-op, called United Youth of N.D.G., has given the teenagers work experience and has taught them the basics of running their own business. At the start of the summer, the teens distributed flyers advertising their work to homes in the neighbourhood. Every Monday, Tae Yeoung takes down messages from people who have called their number. He then calls prospective customers and arranges a time when the jobs can be done.
“At the Y, we want to pay attention to youth employability so our focus is to get them experience that is harder to gain in their age group,” said Barbara Lazcano, who runs the Teen Zone, a youth drop-in centre at the Y in N.D.G.
“If they want jobs in the future, they need experience. They have learned skills like cleaning and painting and know how to go out in the community and talk to people.”
Tae Yeoung said he was a bit bored at home last summer, so he jumped at the chance to apply to work for the co-op. The Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf student said he was initially nervous calling customers, but became more relaxed throughout the summer.
“I have learned a lot about leadership and it is great to earn money that I have worked for,” said Tae Yeoung, who lives in Côte-St-Luc. “I have enjoyed meeting new people and working as a team. This is a great experience for teenagers who want to get work.”
He said they have received great feedback from customers, who pay about $10 an hour for the work, depending on the job. “They say they want us to keep working in the fall and work on weekends,” he said.
Ahmed said she was intrigued when she saw the teens’ flyer in her mailbox and was pleasantly surprised with their work ethic. “I had them clean the area in front of my house and they did a great job,” she said. “They are good cleaners. I have kids and I like to help young people get work experience.”
Jennika Fletcher, 16, said, she too, had found previous summers a bit boring and was happy to get a chance to do something productive. “It will be good experience to have on my CV,” she said.
Over the summer, the students have made more than $1,000. The money is being pooled and most of it will be divided among the participants, with the rest going toward keeping the co-op operational. The program has been such a success that organizers are planning to keep it going throughout the fall and winter.
Thelonius Oliver, a Teen Zone co-ordinator who had previous experience launching a job co-op in Little Burgundy, said he wanted to get a similar project off the ground in N.D.G. because “summer is quiet for the kids” and he knew he would have good community support for the project.
Throughout the summer, the teens learned the basics of running a business. “They have learned a bit about finance, human resources and promotion,” Oliver said.
“They were thrilled to see the phone calls come in and they see that their promotion efforts were going somewhere. There was also an educational component to this project and that was teaching job skills. It has been a big success.”