Y.E.S. young people in Pincher Creek have help in their job search

Toni Lucas, Pincher Creek Voice

Y.E.S. Co-ordinator Kelsi Byam

For 12 years in Pincher Creek, Group Group Youth has been administrating Youth Employment Services (YES), a non-profit organization aimed at helping youth from the ages 10 to 24 find summer employment.  This is offered free to both the students and potential employers.


According to YES Coordinator Kelsi Byam,  "Our program is designed to help students find summer employment that is suitable to their needs. We offer a free registry of potential worker’s that can be accessed by employers in Pincher Creek and surrounding areas." 

"We also provide a number of workshops and entrepreneurial activities to help students develop skills such as problem solving, time management, financial skills, networking and effective communicating.  We promote the value of volunteering in our entrepreneurial activities that will help our youth to build portfolios.  These portfolios will allow room for future growth as they move forward into future career."

To help students along the path of their personal job search and growth, Byam has planned a series of workshops covering topics about resume & cover letter writing, lawn equipment safety, pet care, volunteering, active living, crafts, and personal safety.  These workshops will take place during the months of July and August.

Some of the challenges Byam faces are recruiting youth who are interested and seeking summer employment, as well as all the planning that is put in towards the workshops and entrepreneurial activities that are offered throughout the summer. 

In previous years YES has had approximately 50+ students register,  and about 70 job orders that are filled. These jobs include full-time, part-time, and odd jobs.  YES receives funding in part through Family and Community Support Services and receive donations from various service clubs and business in the community and surrounding areas.

Byam is familiar with the workings of YES, from the inside out.  "As a youth growing up in Pincher, I can remember participating in a number of the workshops and activities put on by Y.E.S.  Now looking back on what I learned and the fun experiences I had, it makes me feel important, knowing that I have the opportunity to make that same difference in someone else’s life. I hope that I will be able to help the students involved in our program learn the importance of work, and have an experience they will be able to look back on and feel appreciation for the things they will soon learn this summer."  

"The most rewarding parts of the job would be when our program is able to succeed in helping youth find the type of employment they are seeking,"  Byam said

Youth Employment Services are available now until August 24, 2012, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. 

For more info contact Kelsi Byam at (403) 627-5615, e-mail at yespcreek@gmail.com, or stop by the office at 723 Main Street (behind Four Winds Real Estate).