Education/training
O.A.Y.E.C. - Hiring made easySay YES to job searchUnable to stay in one job for long, Tavis Ross finally said YES to help. Arriving at the Youth Employment Services (YES) office at 555 Richmond St. W., the 23-year-old was merely looking for a new start. NICK CANDIOTTO |
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 [ 2003-10-01 ] |
"I just wasn't in anything I could make a career out of," Ross says. "So I went to YES to start something more permanent."
"When he came to us, he was on the verge of being on the streets," says Braum Fader, job developer for YES.
Because of his age and employment status, Ross qualified for YES' Job Connect program and became part of the Job Development Placement Service (JDPS). For Fader, one of his first duties as a job developer was to find out what type of career Ross wanted.
"He let me know very early that he enjoyed working with his hands and was willing to work his way up," Fader said.
In February, Ross started a placement at Harley-Davidson of Toronto.
"I was interested in mechanics because I had some experience," Ross says. "But the thought of working with Harleys never crossed my mind ... the idea seemed too good to be true."
As it turned out, Ross was the one who seemed too good to be true for Harley-Davidson.
"From the start, he has been outstanding, a very good employee," says service manager Marc Frantz. "I would say he definitely has a knack for the work and applies himself successfully to whatever task he is assigned."
In fact, Tavis was so successful that Harley-Davidson ended his placement early so they could enter him in their apprenticeship program.
As part of his training, he will have to complete 3,500 hours of labour time with a certified mechanic, in addition to finishing his Harley-Davidson classroom education.
Find out more about Canada's first youth employment centre at www.yes.on.ca or call 416-504-5516.
And to identify your neighbourhood youth employment centre for hiring made easy at no cost to you, visit www.oayec.org/yejd_locations.html.
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