For years, the R.I. Department of Labor and Training’s youth work force development program wasn’t exactly living up to its potential.
DLT officials say just 350 youngsters each year took advantage of the job services that were offered because contingencies attached to the federal funding required that it help only the neediest children.
Now that’s changed.
The new Youth Work Force Development System that the state launched last year has rapidly expanded, helping 2,700 teens since July 2007, according to Lori Norris, DLT’s chief of statewide services.
And labor officials and various nonprofit agencies around the state that provide youth services are girding for much more growth.
Summer’s coming, meaning teens will be looking for work and turning to the new program for help. For that reason, DLT assembled a “fair” for the growing number of youth-service providers taking part in the DLT program, a sort of meet-and-greet so stakeholders would better know what services were available and where to refer youngsters seeking job assistance.
“Our youth system has changed so dramatically, and we’ve brought in so many different providers and expanded it,” Norris explained last week. “We wanted them to get to know each other, and get them connected so it’s a more efficient system.”
Indeed, things are different.
Last year, there was only one youth center in Rhode Island providing job-searching assistance, workplace preparedness and training to youngsters ages 14 to 24; now there are eight. By the summer, there will be 13, according to the DLT.
It’s projected that the youth job program will serve another 3,500 teens and young adults in the fiscal year starting July 1.
Why the sudden growth? Norris credited a decision by the Governor’s Workforce Board to contribute $2 million to the program last July amid growing complaints from the business community that high school graduates and some college graduates are leaving school not fully prepared for the work place.
The board’s money was added to the $1.3 million from the federal Workforce Investment Act that was earmarked for needy youth.
Now the “blended” funds are intended to help all Rhode Island youths – no matter the need – to enter the work force, or better prepare for it. With fewer restrictions on how the money is spent, more agencies are able to take part in the program, Norris said.
Before there were eight organizations partnered with the DLT. Now there are more than 30.
Finding summertime work is a crucial duty of the Youth Work Force Development System.
“It’s is a huge ramp-up time,” Norris said. “Starting about now, we start to get phone calls from parents and young people looking for summer employment.”
Summer jobs are important on several levels, Norris said: The jobs put money in youngsters’ pockets, while at the same time allowing them to use some skills they’ve learned during the school year. “Otherwise, there’s slippage,” Norris said.
Then there’s the experience. “The earlier young people are attached to the work force, the more likely they’ll have success in the work force as an adult.”
What the system is attempting to do is link programs. For example, Norris said the R.I. Department of Environmental Management may have 450 summer job openings to which some teens can be referred. But DEM is being asked to refer those who aren’t eligible for those jobs to the DLT’s youth system. “We want to link them into our system so they have a place to go to find help elsewhere,” Norris said.
But it’s not just about finding work now. It’s also about the future.
In one program, teens spend the summer learning about the health care field, spending time in hospitals and nursing homes. Then once a week, there’s classroom time, learning about anatomy and how to take blood pressure.
“We can give kids a lot of exposure to job opportunities, and industries and what to expect,” Norris said. “They are stipend-based programs, so as they participate, they’re also earning stipends.” ••For information about the youth program, visit www.dlt.ri.gov/youthworks
