The UpNextAjax Program

I had the honour of being a participant of a wonderful youth initiative that took place over a three-week period over the summer. The Town of Ajax created the "UpNextAjax" program as a way to help improve participants chances of landing a job or starting their own business by training them in digital marketing and offering real-world experience to use these skills with small business owners. This program came as perfect timing for me, as I was resigning from my current job and beginning a new one after the program ended, so this program kept me busy during my transition.

Youth unemployment is a serious and chronic issue in Ontario, and it is particularly bad in the Durham Region. For example, the youth unemployment rate in the Oshawa CMA is around 20%, which is higher than the national rate. I can imagine the youth unemployment rate for Pickering and Ajax to be a similar number to Oshawa. In my opinion, the federal and provincial governments do not do enough to reduce youth unemployment in the province, but to see a municipal government like The Town of Ajax attempt to take this problem head-on is refreshing to see. Not only do The Town of Ajax want to reduce youth unemployment, but also by collaborating these young professionals with small business owners, they have a desire to make Ajax an attractive place to work and to keep jobs in the area. Personally, I would rather work here in Ajax than drive or take public transit to Toronto, as The Town of Ajax is a great community to live and work in. The UpNextAjax program has reaffirmed that in me.

Every day in the three-week program consists of a presentation in the morning by an industry professional/small business owner or a group, and the afternoon consists of a technical session where we would learn how to use social media for businesses. We would then have time to work with our businesses to create and post content on their social media platforms to maximize reach and engagements. The morning presentations consisted of everything it takes to market yourself to potential employers, from writing a good resume and how to network to something like how to dress properly for an interview. All of the morning presentations were informative, and I always found myself learning something different every day that I can use in my future career. All of the presenters were memorable in their own way, and the stories and insights that they have provided were interesting.

I gained valuable experience in digital marketing, through the afternoon technical sessions where we would learn how to use social media for business use, and from actually working with our assigned businesses to apply what we have learned. The businesses that I have worked with were very excited to work with me, and they understood the fact that I was learning the aspects of digital marketing myself. These businesses presented unique challenges, which had me thinking of different ideas for each business in order to market themselves. I did not expect to make miracles, but as long as I could make a positive impact, by getting more likes and engagements and extending the reach of the business, then I am happy.

I was also happy to meet many other young professionals that were just like me. They all came from different backgrounds and I could sense that they all had their own personal motivations as to what they wanted out of this program. From talking to many of these young professionals, it was fascinating to hear their stories about what motivated them to sign up for this program and what they hoped to get out of it, from gaining new skills to find a job, to growing their professional network.

Overall, I am glad I signed up for the UpNextAjax program. I could have remained at home and kept my free time between my jobs, but I wanted to further my personal and professional development, as well as to continue to build my professional network. The wonderful thing about all of this is that I can use the digital marketing skills I learned here in my new job where I can be a more valued employee. I have met so many great, motivated people here, and I hope this program was an asset to them as it was to me. I also hope that they can take what they learned here and apply it to their future careers, instead of putting this knowledge in the basement of their brain. The Town of Ajax should continue this program for years to come, so that other young professionals can absorb things that they can use in their careers. This experience is something I will never forget.

The 2015 Gold Cup Matches in Toronto

I went out to BMO Field to watch a couple of Gold Cup Group B matches, which were Jamaica vs El Salvador and Canada vs Costa Rica. As someone who regularly goes to Toronto FC (and some Canada) matches, this would serve to be a rather unique experience for me, especially watching the Jamaica/El Salvador match, where I was a neutral.

It was a poor start to my evening, as I missed my train to the stadium and showed up in the 20th minute of the Jamaica/El Salvador match. The first thing I noticed was the amount of El Salvador supporters in the stadium. They vastly outnumbered the Jamaica supporters and they made a lot more noise. The stadium attendance itself was a bit sparse, but the El Salvador supporters made sure that they made their voices heard. I got the feeling that making noise came naturally to the El Salvador supporters, and they made more noise than Toronto FC supporters did on some TFC match days.

The match itself was decently entertaining despite the fact that it was low scoring. Both teams had their chances, but El Salvador were the more aggressive side, as they needed to get a result to have a chance of advancing to the next round, and they were also spurred on by the boisterous support. The overwhelming El Salvador support also affected the referee, as he made a number of calls in their team’s favour. It was a heated affair, as both sides looked like they would come to blows on multiple occasions throughout the match. Despite Jamaica being down a man due to the referee sending off Darren Mattocks and El Salvador applying pressure on Jamaica's back line, they managed to get a late winner and win the match 1-0. With El Salvador having all that pressure, they seemed more intent on passing the ball among themselves instead of getting shots on goal and testing the keeper. 

With Jamaica winning the group, the attention turned to Canada and Costa Rica. Canada had to win in order to advance. As the south end Canada supporters sections started to fill up and supporters started to make more noise, the rain came crashing down, which only made the Canadian supporters louder and more fervent. When the rain came down before the teams came out, it felt like I was in a pool of hungry piranhas.

Canada actually did not play too badly against Costa Rica. They were solid at the back, but they lacked the final product on offense, which were two major story lines of Canada's Gold Cup campaign. Costa Rica did not play like the team that made the 2014 World Cup quarterfinals, and it was an opportunity Canada wasted when the match ended scoreless. A Canada goal ruled offside and a shot cleared off the Costa Rica goal line only contributed to the visible anguish of the Canadian supporters. Many people point the blame of Canada failing to advance at Benito Floro, and I think that is fair. He felt more content to play for the draw instead of going for the win, especially for this match, and it reflected his game management and substitutions (putting in Andre Hainault, a defender, for example). On the other hand, Canada was missing a number of regular starters, and I think Floro's priority lies in progressing in the World Cup qualifiers, rather than the Gold Cup. Floro’s tactics raises some concern, but I would hold off on pulling the trigger and firing him.

Speaking of the Canada supporters, I think it was the loudest I have ever heard the Canadian supporters at BMO Field, in which the periodic, pounding rain and the Canadian team's "must win" situation contributed to it. I always thought going to Canadian national team matches produced a much stronger atmosphere than going to Toronto FC matches, and this match reinforced that thought, even though the attendances are much smaller. That night was something special, because everyone in the sections came together to create unified support. One particular moment from the supporters section came before halftime, where someone decided to let off a smoke bomb in our section. Personally, I have nothing against smoke bombs, even though it is against the rules, but it ended up being more of a nuisance than anything else. I was not able to watch the rest of the half because of it!

Overall, it was a unique and interesting night to go watch some football on a Tuesday, from El Salvador supporters fighting among themselves, to the smoke bomb incident in the Canada supporters section. I hope that there are more events like this in the future, because I had a lot of fun.