New Publication highlights how Corps and Workforce Boards can form Partnerships
“Snapshot: Youth Corps and Workforce Partnerships” helps Corps and workforce systems see each other as assets in the shared mission to reconnect millions of Opportunity Youth.
WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA), the National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB), and The Corps Network (TCN) have released Snapshot: Youth Corps and Workforce Partnerships. The document is research-based and provides information on how Corps and workforce systems can collaborate and best utilize resources to engage youth in comprehensive programming and reconnect to education and the workforce.
Developed through an interview process with local Workforce Development Boards and Corps, Snapshot identifies promising practices for how Corps, Workforce Development Boards and American Job Centers can serve more youth by leveraging funding, co-enrolling, and co-locating services. Snapshot is designed to help workforce systems and Corps see each other as assets in a shared mission to improve the nation’s workforce development system and prepare the next generation for the labor market. It also offers examples of successful partnerships locally.
The release of the document is timely given the July 1, 2015 implementation of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which supports states and local areas in helping job seekers acquire skills, education, and find employment. WIOA is especially focused on helping America’s 6 million youth who are out-of-school and out-of-work gain job experience and additional support to succeed in the labor market.
“Our workforce development system often hears from employers that their applicants lack an appreciation of what it means to be at work. The acquisition of technical skills is critical to be successful in the labor market,” said Ron Painter, CEO of the National Association of Workforce Boards. “However, the ability to navigate the social environment of the workplace and manage the relationships that impact our individual work is equally critical. The types of work-based experiences offered through Corps programs equip young people with these critical skills. It is for these reasons that we believe in the strong partnerships being cultivated by workforce boards and local Corps across the country.”
Snapshot describes how partnerships between Corps and Workforce Development Boards can benefit youth by providing them access to a comprehensive array of services that might not be available through a Corps or Job Center alone. Youth can gain hands-on service and work experience, education, and career-readiness through enrollment in a Corps and can simultaneously benefit from career guidance, case-management, and other supportive services offered through the workforce system. Through these partnerships, previously disconnected young people are prepared for in-demand jobs in their communities or post-secondary education and have access to local employers.
“Partnerships between Corps and Workforce Development Boards are mutually beneficial and I hope this effort, in conjunction with WIOA taking effect, will help spur the development of new Corps-Workforce System partnerships throughout the country,” said Mary Ellen Sprenkel, President and CEO of The Corps Network. “Wherever there are Corps, local employers benefit from having a pool of career-ready, responsible young applicants. Partnerships like those described in Snapshot make the connection between employers and the Corpsmembers who would make perfect employees.”
Snapshot: Youth Corps and Workforce Partnerships is available to download at The Corps Network’s here and the National Association of Workforce Board’s website.
About The Corps Network
The Corps Network provides critical leadership to the Corps movement and our nation’s Service and Conservation Corps as they harness the power of youth and young adults to tackle some of America’s greatest challenges and transform their own lives. Our 100+ members operate in all states and the District of Columbia. Each year they collectively enroll approximately 26,000 Corpsmembers from ages 16-25. Corps are comprehensive youth development programs that provide their participants with job training, academic programming, leadership skills, and additional support through a strategy of service that improves communities and the environment. Learn more at www.corpsnetwork.org
Media Contact:
Levi Novey
The Corps Network
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