Five hundred youth—mainly high school students—have been encouraged to take advantage of the opportunity they’ve been offered through summer jobs to explore different career paths and begin building a future for themselves.
An opening ceremony for ASG’s Summer Youth Employment Program was held Monday at the DWYA Gym in Tafuna.
Rev. Poutoa Leituala, who delivered the invocation, quoted the Book of Psalms, Chapter 127 verse 3: “Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from Him.”
He said the summer jobs are an opportunity provided by the government to help prepare young people for the future. He urged participants to use the opportunity well and make their parents proud.
Governor Pulaalii Nikolao Pula recalled that he once sat in the place of the youth participants. As a junior at Marist Brothers, he applied for a summer job under what was then called the Comprehensive Employment and Training Program (CETA).
Later, after graduation, he worked for Senator Daniel Inouye and helped reauthorize the youth training program, which was then called the Job Training Partnership Act.
Today, the summer youth employment program is called the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).
The Governor spoke on this year’s theme: “Learning is Valuable Everyday.”
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Director of the Department of Human Resources, Titiaoalii Dr. Asenati Saau-Umi, noted that last year there were more than 700 participants. However, due to limited funding, DHR was only able to provide 500 summer jobs.
She spoke about the benefits the youth can gain over the six-week employment program.
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Photos: ASG
