Looking for a new job is filled with constant emotional highs and lows. Battling the fear of if will you ever find a job?) is enough to make anyone feel frustrated, anxious, and downright bummed.
Elton Anthony Smith
Job hunting is an intense process that can seriously mess with your mood. For most people, your career is closely linked to your identity, so you may feel like searching for a job is like searching for a piece of yourself—and until that piece is in place, you can feel unsettled and incomplete.
It is against this background that 24-year-old Elton Anthony Smith launched his business and is currently on a mission to employ youths as it expands. But Elton’s story of launching his business is one that speaks of determination and ongoing hard work to achieve.
He was born on the 24th April 1996, at the Hackney Health Center to parents Elvis and Yonnette Smith. The young man grew up in Pomeroon River, Region Two, with his four siblings, O’neil, Rowana, Romona, and Robin. Elton attended the Saint John’s Nursery and Primary School after which, he was awarded a spot at the Santa Rosa Secondary School.
I was the only student in 2008 to gain a place at a high school. The other boys were not interested in their education, so they were placed at a close-by school, but they subsequently dropped out.During my time in the Pomeroon River, I had no internet access, and to date, they are using Digicel’s data to browse. At the age of 14, I volunteered with the Guyana Red Cross as a peer advisor.
According to Elton, volunteering with Guyana Red Cross exposed him to various communities in Region One. He added that he was tasked to go into communities like Waramuri, Kwebanna, Santa Cruz, Warapoka, and Assakata to engage youths.
Elton also relayed that he was an active member of the environment club during his five (5) years at Santa Rosa Secondary School. He then attended the Wildlife Festival in 2010 at Annai, Region Nine.
“While there, we socialized with people from all walks of life. We were given the privilege to climb a Mountain to view the Rupununi Savannah and the cave where Amerindians used to take their fellow Amerindians to be healed.”
“My team then ventured to the Canopy Walkway in Iwokrama Forest Reserve, which is situated at the edge of a mountain. Later we visited the Butterfly Farm. However, after graduating from Santa Rosa, I ventured into the gold mining town of Mahdia with my parents in search of work which was difficult to find in my community.”
While searching for a job at Mahdia, the young man relayed that the Guyana Mining School and Training Center invited him and his dad to complete studies in Prospector for the Extractive Industry.
While attending the evening classes, my dad and I met other gold miners who agreed to form a group to obtain lands for small miners under the Syndicate Initiative that the Ministry of Natural Resources launched in 2017. I was elected Company Secretary while my dad was elected President at Central Mahdia Mining, Agricultural and Logging Cooperative Society Limited. We had approximately 120 small miners on board; however, there was a split in the group because two persons wanted to register the company in their names and exclude the executive members.
Following the dismantlement of the group, the 24-year-old man was unemployed again. Nevertheless, he kept the faith and was among the first trainee broadcasters at the Radio Mahdia 95.1 when it hit the weaves in 2017.
My dad kept my introduction interview recording at the radio station, which was done by the veteran broadcaster in Guyana, Dr. Rovin Deodat. My dad would play it in our home theater whenever I visit home for others to hear. In addition, I volunteered to teach for one month at the Madhia Secondary School, along with two young ladies whom I met at Radio Madhia.
He later left Radio Mahdia 95.1 and came to Georgetown to search for an office job. He added that he sent out several emails and letters to businesses seeking employment. However, after many applications, he was contacted by Hand-in-Hand Mutual Fire Insurance Company Limited to attend an interview.
He said, “the Human Resources Manager asked me when I could start working with the company, and I gave her a date. I received a phone call and was informed that I was successful in the interview and asked me to begin work in the new week. Insurance was very new to me, I had a lot of ups and downs, but I survived for one year and seven months then resigned after I got another job at Massy Distribution (Guyana) Inc. as a Quality Management Assistant.”
He commenced working for Massy Distribution (Guyana) Inc. on the 1s October 2019 and is currently gainfully employed. After three months with the company, Elton said that he became very confident. He was trained in several fields from internal Quality Auditor, Effective Communication, and Customer Service Ambassador.
The training, he said, enabled him to launch his business, EAS Consultancy Services. He is also hoping to use his business as a catalyst for job creation.
“I have established my own business, EAS Consultancy Services; I am working on it to expand and employ young people. EAS Consultancy Services is a small business that will provide consulting and training services to new and expanding businesses in the local and regional communities. It will solicit clients and provide services through online consulting.”
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- Elton at Radio Mahdia 95.1
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- Elton Anthony Smith
Elton is aiming to complete his Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations at the University of Guyana. Apart from that, he is hoping to expand his business.
Contact Information for Elton Smith
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- WhatsApp: 592 692 – 8145
- Email: [email protected]
- Facebook Page: EAS Consultancy Services
- Instagram Page: EAS Consultancy Services
