The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

MINISTER of Youth, Sports and Culture Michael Pintard told young persons participating in the government's summer job programme that there are some valuable lessons they will learn from job placements.

He noted that even though it may not be their chosen or primary career choice, it exposes them to additional options that would allow them to be flexible during times of unexpected transition.

The minister said that he too had worked at various jobs, including a fast food restaurant, in landscaping, and with a national publishing company where he learned valuable lessons that prepared him for where and what he is today.

"During the course of my life, I worked many different jobs, and those varied experiences prepared me for what I am doing now," he told participants gathered at Christ the King Church auditorium on Thursday for job orientation.

"It is important in a tough economy in The Bahamas and even internationally to have options because sometimes your primary goals and plans do not unfold in the way you desire. And, it is useful to have varied skills to make the transition into another area that would sustain you until you can do the thing that is your passion."

He noted that when the Grand Bahama economy went into a downturn, many persons had to transition from wearing suits to coveralls. He said they were forced to look for other options.

Minister Pintard said the programme provides the option for the young people to work in areas that are not their primary choice which allows them to be flexible when the time comes.

"I am asking you to consider the experience and what it provides. It provides the option. Life will require of you to be incredibly flexible. There are some of your peers who had interest in attending a certain university, but the finances were not in place, and you have to be flexible enough to make adjustments," he explained.

Secondly, he said the programme would teach them valuable lessons.

"Try not to walk away from any experience without asking yourself what the lesson in the experience is," he stated.

Mr Pintard shared with participants some of the different jobs he worked at a young man: McDonald's, as a landscaper, and with Dupuch Publications.

He noted that he learned lessons from all of the jobs. At McDonald's he learned the importance of making the best possible use of your time; as a landscaper, he learned the valuable lesson of tolerance and respect for humanity working alongside immigrants, and at Dupuch Publications, he learned the lesson of comparative advantage, finding your niche and being the best at what you do.

"Don't leave any experience without learning the lesson," he urged youngsters. "Every job opportunity reveals to you some incredible lesson."

And thirdly, Mr Pintard told participants that they should focus on being problem solvers and find solutions to obstacles.

"You will go on these jobs that will need some radical adjustments, and you have the answers to things we have not sorted out as a society," he said.

"We Bahamians have this gift of detecting and mentioning what is wrong. We need to give fewer brownie points for figuring out what is wrong, and more kudos for being a part of the solution," Mr Pintard said.

"You have a charge to pour the best of you into the organisation you work for. It is not just about us providing the opportunity to you, it's about us being able to get from you the gifts and talents that God has placed in you so you could help improve this island, and this country," he said.