Youth serving agencies in St. John’s and the surrounding area can refer youth to the program. In completing the referral form youth are asked to provide basic information and explain their personal/social barriers to employment. The referring agency is also able to explain why the individual would make a good candidate for Train for Trades. 

The Program Coordinator and the Youth Supports Coordinator complete an in-depth intake assessment, which is 12 pages in length. In addition to making sure that the youth meet the specified criteria, they also want to ensure that the youth is ready to make a change. Areas on the intake and assessment form include:

• reasons why the youth wants to apply for Train for Trades
• history with employment and employment training programs
• strengths and challenges in an employment setting
• conflict resolution
• educational history
• family and friends/support systems
• health overview (physical and mental health, dental and eye care)
• drug and alcohol history
• criminal justice history
• housing situation
• transportation access
• financial and identification status

Homeless Hub Thoughts:

The level of detail in the intake and assessment is critical to ensuring, not only that the youth is a good fit with the program, but also that the program can provide the necessary supports to the young person.

It is important that a full explanation is given as to the reasons these questions are being asked. Because T4T encourages and supports participation from youth with significant risk factors, youth need to be informed that their honesty is critical in answering these questions. Youth have probably previously needed to hide the extent of the challenges in their history and current situation. This is a rare opportunity for them to share the full range of issues in their lives with someone who is not going to judge them.

“Sometimes there’s some criminal activities and you know, the youth really respects that we don’t judge that part of them. That’s one thing I always hear: ‘you know what, the past was the past and now we’re gonna move forward’. So, for the most part they face a lot of issues but they’re resilient, they definitely fight through. There’s lots of empathy around what they went through.” — Corey Foley, Youth Supports Coordinator, Train for Trades