Ten Coral Bay area teenagers are getting a leg up in the job market though the Coral Bay Job Club – Career Exploration sponsored by the Coral Bay Community Council and the Labor Department.
“I learned to talk without being shy,” said 16-year-old Cassandra Mathurin.
Shyness was a problem for many of the students. Dallas Phillips, 17, and LaTiah Jackson, 14, both said practicing in the program helped them to be better speakers during interviews.
Loran Jackson, 17, said he learned how to best use the one minute many employers give applicants to tell them about themselves.
The other students all said they’re discovering many skills related to job seeking. Raven Phillips, 13, said she now knows how to stay confident during interviews, and Asha Williams, 15, said she’s learned how to write a resume.
Rahshek’ka Titre, 15, said she’s learned that each job requires hard and soft skills.
Mark Corbeil, an employment counselor, has volunteered his time to lead the class. He had a lot of information to share with the students, including the fact that being an entrepreneur was the wave of the future.
Two of the students participating in the program already put what they learned about being entrepreneurs to good use by starting a company called Rooster Roundup. Courtney Matthias and Lashawn Jackson, both 15, formed the company in response to the annoyances caused by noisy roosters and chickens in the Coral Bay area.
Matthias outlined the problems the two initially encountered, including their unsuccessful attempts to use a string to capture the roosters.
“Then we got a big mongoose trap and the rooster went in there,” he said.
The counselor reminded the students that if they want to be business owners, they need to know how to do all the jobs in the business.
In a mock job interview, Phillips practiced her job seeking skills. Jackson played a restaurant owner and Phillips the applicant.
“I have a good work ethic. I work very hard. I try my very best to be on time. I don’t have very much experience in the restaurant business but I hope you hire me,” she told Phillips, the restaurant owner.
The students are all residents of the Coral Bay area. All will make the trek to Eudora Kean High School on St. Thomas for their education once school starts.
They are in the second week of the four-week program. It runs four hours a day Monday through Thursday.
The Coral Bay Job Club is funded through a $4,500 grant from the Labor Department. The grant pays for some expenses and organizer Bonny Corbeil’s salary with the Community Council picking up the administrative costs. The Labor Department pays the students $15 a day as a stipend. And the Rotary Club of St. John donated a camera so the students can record their practice interviews.
According to Bonny Corbeil, the program works because the students are “thrown into” learning how to get a job.
“They want jobs and that’s the power behind it,” she said.
