ONE Future coordinator Sean Simpson and a digital skills program attendee (Image: ONE Change Inc.)
A digital media program now in its second year is open for young adults in the Saint John area who want to learn digital media, photography and videography skills.
The program, called ONE Future, Digital Media Marketing Through Storytelling is being offered by The ONE Change Inc. and is open to applicants aged 18-to-30.
Program Coordinator Jill Richards-Cook says the program started as a tech mentorship and community development program last year and developed out of a need for employment opportunities for young adults in the community, in particular the north end.
“This version of ONE Future is a compliment to what we do here at ONE Change Inc. – we are trying to assist people with barriers to employment to overcome them and develop a secure attachment to the workforce,” said Richards-Cook.
She and fellow coordinator Sean Simpson took the program in a new direction knowing businesses would require more digital media skills during the pandemic and would justify a return on investment to businesses.
“It’s a good all-round general kind of skill set to have for a lot of people and what we’ve been able to find too is, depending on the person’s ability to take in all this subject matter, we can put them with a job where they can apply what they learn,” said Simpson, adding, “Some people who really soaked in a lot of the information, really took off with it and tried to learn a lot more on their own.”
The program is funded by the federal government’s Youth Employment and Skill Strategy and the Post-Secondary Education, Training Labour grant.
“We want to attach as many people to the job market or further the goalposts for people as we can,” adds Richards-Cook. “If they want to go to school, we try to make that happen for them if they want; if they want just a better job or access to different opportunities, we try to connect them in every way that we can.”
This year’s course begins May 24 and runs for 12 weeks for a total of 30-hours per week, and offered in a socially distanced classroom environment. Participants are paid minimum wage during the program with ONE Future helping to subsidize businesses to hire each for a 22 week work placement.
“One of the greatest things that we offer is mentorship – when they’re out on their placements, they have a few hours a week with Sean who helps them to elevate their projects and things that they’re working on for their employers, so that they are able to put together really a high-quality professional product,” said Richards-Cook.
The deadline for application is April 12. For more information, visit The ONE Change Inc.’s Facebook page.
