THE 11th annual Scotiabank Bring Your Kids To Work Day took place last week, and TEENage was on site to see the programme in action.

This year the programme hosted seventy four kids, all related to workers at the bank, at the company’s Arcadia Boulevard training centre.

Hopelin Hines, director of Total Rewards & Evaluations, who planned the initiative, said it was great “getting to know the children of the employees” and helping them to get started “networking and preparing for work so that you leave here with something solid. You (the students) get the career talk in school, but you don’t get the feel.”

Joseph Cunningham, a public relations assistant also working with the programme, echoed the sentiment, saying that “this will be like an introduction… to operating effectively in the workplace.” Sadly, he remarked, the programme is “only open to relatives of employees”.

Sitting down with Michael Jones, the senior vice-president of Human Resources at the bank, told us that “Scotiabank felt that it was important to give the children of our staff an opportunity to see and to get an understanding of the environment in which their parents were working, and secondly to enable them to have a live experience of what it is like to work in a bank.”

The programme has definitely been a success as “we’ve had children who have become employees, who have been better able to transition from school to work,” he continued.

The day consists of a career talk, a presentation on dressing for success in a work environment, a tutorial on building an effective résumé, and the teaching of proper workplace and dining etiquette.

Previously the students would be kept separate from each other, but this year they are “trying to get us to socialise,” said Hillary Hines, who just graduated fifth form at Campion College. “They actually give you skills to survive in the work world. They taught me how to market my skills.”

For her twin, Hanielle Hines, who is also at Campion, she expressed that one of the most valuable parts of the programme was being taught “how to be more flexible when you’re actually in the working world. Mr Jones told us what qualities we need to succeed, such as humility.”

Thirteen-year-old Aaliyaah Barnett of Alpha Academy said that it really “helps you get your mind settled on what you want to do.” While 16-year-old Kingston College graduate Kyle Reid said simply that “I like the people, the staff, the general programme.”

Jones in closing our interview said that, “we are in this for the long term. It is a part of Scotiabank’s investment in the children of our staff.” Hopefully one day the programme will be open to other TEENagers with a desire to get involved in banking.

— Damien Chang