About 15 percent of young adults ages 16-24 years old are not in school, nor are they in the workforce, according to the Ringer Center of Excellence Inc.
These young people are not listed as unemployed because they’ve given up looking for work, some having been without a job since graduating college, others since high school.
Nattlie Ringer, the CEO of the nonprofit organization, said most unemployed youth want to work but lack many of the soft skills necessary to find and maintain a job. She said her organization has successfully trained and assisted more than 25,000 Georgia youths and young adults in gaining the skills employers want.
She said the Ringer Center for Excellence has been able to help young people through their Youth on the M.O.V.E. conferences and workshop at Clayton State University and other locations. They’ve also help young adults via their work-ready and career-mentoring internship programs.
On Thursday, she said, the Ringer Center of Excellence will host its first-ever Employment Boot Camp & Career Expo in Brunswick. Keynote speakers for the event include Kali Kold and Yolanda Neely of WMOB 92.7 FM.
“We want to make sure the participants know and do what it takes to gain and retain employment,” Ringer said. “Youth and young adults seeking employment are often ill-equipped for the job search. There is a big difference between telling and training. We focus on training, and we are going to train them.”
Ringer is a businesswoman with a bachelor’s in business administration and concentration in human resource management. She has published three workbooks to assist youth with job readiness, including “Motivated to Obtain Valuable Employment,” “Youth on the M.O.V.E.” and “Work Ready: Meeting Employer Expectations.” She offers an online course for both M.O.V.E. and Youth on the M.O.V.E.
She said the $10 online registration fee for the employment boot camp includes lunch, workshops and job-readiness workbooks. Because employers will participate, youth attending the boot camp are advised to dress professionally and bring two forms of identification and two copies of their resume.
“The workshops … will include interviewing techniques, resume writing, employer expectations, dress for success and completing employment applications,” she said. “Soft skills will also be covered in the workshops.”
Some of the soft skills taught in the work-ready program include employers’ expectations for employees to come to work on time, avoiding absenteeism, interpersonal skills, rules of conduct, customer service skills, problem-resolution skills and cellphone etiquette, she said.
The employment boot camp, which runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Embassy Suites Glynn Place Mall in Brunswick, is co-hosted by Perfectly Suited Career Consulting.
Coastal Georgia youth and young adults ages 16-24 are encouraged to attend. To register online, go to www.ringeremployment.com, or call 866-904-3140.