Job Corps Provides Free Training, Marketable Skills

By Lucie Juneau Patrowicz

(Tulsa, OK) In a tough economy, landing and keeping a good job can be especially difficult for young people who lack skills and an education. But students enrolled in federally-sponsored Job Corps training programs can complete their high school degrees while developing skills that prepare them to succeed in specific trades.

For a T.V. feature story that aired on Tulsa’s News on 6, reporter Emory Bryan of Channel 6, the local CBS affiliate, interviewed students and administrators from Tulsa’s Job Corps to learn how the program helps the area’s young people while benefiting the region’s employers. The Tulsa program is operated by ResCare, the nation’s second largest operator of Job Corps facilities.

In the Channel 6 story, twenty-year-old Rod Wilkins said that he was stuck in dead-end jobs prior to enrolling in Job Corps, but is now training to obtain state certification in the security field. Like many Job Corps students, he lives on campus and attends the program for free. “Every student that comes here basically gets a $25,000 scholarship,” Wilkins said.

To qualify for the program, applicants must be low-income U.S. citizens or lawfully-admitted residents between the ages of 16 and 24. Students spend an average of nine months in the program. In addition to receiving training in specific career areas, they also receive career counseling, an education to earn a high-school diploma or GED, and support to help them make a successful transition to independent living and the working world.

The Tulsa Job Corps center is particularly known for its culinary arts program, but offers training in nine different areas, including carpentry, office technology, and other fields. Local employers appreciate the program because it generates a pool of potential employees whose skills dovetail with their needs. Local Job Corps administrators work hand in hand with employers to arrange internship opportunities that give companies and young people the chance to work together. Companies and students thus get to “test drive” each other, said Caesar Latimer of Tulsa Job Corps.

Administered by the U.S. Department of Labor and federally-funded, the Job Corps program was founded in 1964 and has helped over 2 million young people. ResCare currently runs 20 Job Corps centers enrolling approximately 7,500 students across the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

To view a video clip of the news report or read the Channel 6 story, please visit the Channel 6 website, newson6.com. For more information about ResCare’s Job Corp program, please go to the Job Corps service page.