A while back we featured Juma Ventures, which works with at-risk youth to help them improve their educations and gain skills to help them enter the workforce in California. Today we're looking at a similar concept in Canada called Street Youth Job Action (SYJA), which is a social enterprise that helps homeless youth (15 - 24) in Vancouver gain employment skills.
Launched by the Directions Youth Services Centre, "the project is set up to give these youth a chance to learn a set of skills and behaviours to prepare them for the workforce—soft skills like teamwork, punctuality, communication, getting along with others, a strong work ethic, and what it means to be part of a community."
Employers in both the public and privates sectors can participate in the initiative, by contacting SYJA with their jobs. For the most part, they partner with those who can provide longer term contracts, but "odd jobs" can be listed too, if given 48 hours notice.
"As a social enterprise initiative, funding for this project is self-generated from the revenue earned through its community contracts," the site explains.
Contact Information
Street Youth Job Action website
Image source
Street Youth Enterprises
SYJA Helps Vancouver's Young Homeless People Find Jobs
Trend Themes
1. Youth Employment Services - Opportunity for organizations to develop programs and initiatives that support the employment skills development of homeless youth.
2. Social Enterprise Initiatives - Growing trend of self-generated funding through revenue earned from community contracts to support social causes.
3. Partnerships with Public and Private Sectors - Opportunity for businesses to collaborate with organizations like SYJA to provide employment opportunities for vulnerable youth.
Industry Implications
1. Nonprofit - Nonprofit organizations can partner with SYJA to provide resources and support for homeless youth in gaining employment skills.
2. Hospitality - Hotels, restaurants, and other hospitality businesses can offer long-term contracts and job opportunities to homeless youth through SYJA.
3. Education and Training - Institutions offering education and training programs can collaborate with SYJA to provide specialized employment skills training for homeless youth.