It was a bright Saturday morning at the ManPower office in Crossroads that a group of 11 young men showed up to begin a program that is ultimately intended to secure them employment. Behind this innovative training program for this group of young men (who identify as gay, bisexual, sex workers, transexual or men who have sex with men) are Jermaine Burton and Astley Grey, founders of the Colour Pink Group (CPG). This group is aimed at securing employment for these young men, most of whom have been marginalized by society to the point that they can’t stay in their homes or communities or they have not gained the skills they need to work because they could not finish school or obtain training.

At 9 a.m., there were three young men dressed in the uniform of black shirt and pants and a pink tie. By 11:00 a.m., 11 had showed up, with Jermaine and Astley driving home the point that one of the most important elements of the program is learning to work within the requirements of employment, which includes being on time.

Practically, the young men will receive vocational training (in office administration), an internship and practical skills. They must show up every Saturday at 8:45 a.m. The program receives support from the Ministry of Labour, HeartTrust NTA, UNAIDS, UNFPA and Unicef, and a woman by the name of Mrs. Bevette Alveranga provides the training. In addition, the young men will receive psycho-social support.

As Saturday’s session was the first, it began with a discussion about expectations. The young men revealed that they want to obtain employment, as well as knowledge, skills to network, communicate and write a resume, motivation, commitment, confidence, character-building empowerment and the ability to work in a team. In turn, Jermaine and Astley indicated that participants will be required to be on time, follow the rules of the instructors and graduate with a certificate. As Astley put it, “We want you to go from low self-sufficiency to medium self-sufficiency to high self-sufficiency. We expect you to deliver your homework with no excuses. We see this as your opportunity.”

After this discussion, the young men engaged in a communication exercise of maintaining eye contact, which proved quite challenging for some. The reason? They felt a lack of confidence, had a short attention span or they felt judged. But Astley emphasized that they must practice eye contact because an employer will want to maintain eye contact during a job interview. Miss Alveranga then took over, giving an overview of the next several months, after which the young men will graduate with a certificate from a government agency, which will help them to obtain employment.

By all accounts, the first day was a success, with many saying that they thought it went well. One participant said he was happy to meet new faces. (Please note that while all the young men gave permission for their images to be used during the documentary process, I would rather not reveal their identities for safety and privacy reasons.)