What Works in Youth Employment and Training: A Discussion with the 1997 PEPNet Initiatives
A Forum — October 21, 1997
The program directors and young people from the 1997 PEPNet programs were invited to a recognition ceremony at the U.S. Department of Labor, a partial funder of PEPNet, hosted by Deputy Secretary of Labor Kitty Higgins and Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training Ray Uhalde. After this awards ceremony program directors and young people shared information on their programs, personal achievements and challenges at a forum on Capitol Hill. Alan Zuckerman, Executive Director, NYEC welcomed the audience, described the program and introduced the 1997 programs.
Overall Characteristics of PEPNet-Recognized Programs
All 32 PEPNet awardees have solid organizational and management records. Along with well-developed and comprehensive workforce development components, they emphasize youth development and have compiled evidence of the success they have achieved. The programs tend to focus on older youth, over age 16, and on youth from disadvantaged backgrounds. Services are provided for an extended period of time, from one to five years. Most programs had a "youth voice" in the design of the program, the recruitment of staff and day-to-day operations. In addition, this year's awardees used work as a tool for learning, for building responsibility, and for achieving personal development and growth as well as a source of income. Awardees emphasized the young people's families through home visits, counseling and services for both adults and young people. They also displayed impressive collaborations with housing agencies, private firms, non-profit service providers and public sector entities. Staff quality is very high and very stable, with some staff in place more than five years. Other qualifications and staff training explicitly focused on principles of youth development. Community service was also a focus of many programs (not just the service corps).
Young People's Voices
Edward DeJesus, PEPNet Director, NYEC, moderated a discussion with young people from the 1997 programs. Their situations before coming to their program varied broadly from "playing computer games all day" to using drugs and drinking. One young man was in Catholic school and could not receive his diploma because his parents could not make his last tuition payment. A former gang member said his main goal was to get his GED. Another young person dropped out of school because she hated the teachers and did not want to be told what to do. One young man had two older brothers in prison. A 19-year-old woman got her life together for her four-year-old daughter.
When asked what the programs were like, young people described caring adults who made a huge difference to them. At a Job Corps center, adults were described as "always pushing you to succeed and not just one staff member, but all of them, caring about you." Young people also learned to respect diversity and relate better to their peers. Groups decided they didn't like prejudices and ended up bonding and dealing with issues of trust.
When asked, "What skills helped you to get and keep a job?" one young person replied, "I was lazy, late, wouldn't show up for work and (the program) instilled a work ethic, motivation, an enjoyment of work, and a desire to go to work." Another young person described a mental toughness test which determined if program participants were willing to help themselves. Mental toughness was established in part by bootcamp-like physical training.
Edward DeJesus also asked, "What are your plans for the future?" A young man's goal is to be a fashion designer, another plans to study music in college, a third will be a carpenter's helper until he can join an Apprenticeship program. Another young man wants an electronics degree. The young man in the Fire Cadet training intends to work as a fire fighter and some day teach the cadet class. A young woman is currently working in a bank and another young woman, currently an employment recruiter for a firm, wants to open her own minority hiring firm someday.
Advice from young people in the programs includes:
"think of us like your own kids"
"stick with young people, respect them"
"stop stereotyping our organizations"
"look at us like rundown houses needing some rehab. We are all different and we all need some work."
"When you see three kids on the corner, two probably aren't doing wrong and don't want to be there."
"If not for these programs, we could not be productive members of society. Most people look at dropouts as really, really bad kids, but we are decent people who made mistakes."
"Tell young people to strive, network, don't be afraid to ask questions; there are always doors out there."
Recommendations from the young people included the need for more program funding as some programs are very good but "have 50 kids apply for 20 slots" and must turn people away.
Three congressmen were on hand to applaud the PEPNet awardees. Rep. Esteban Torres (D-CA) related his own story of success: from an East Los Angeles barrio, where he escaped gangs when a teacher took him under his wing, to congress. He sees part of his mission as guiding today's youth "who are mostly good and hard-working". Rep. Jose Serrano (D-NY) commended the awardees for their work and said that all those that work with youth are heroes because they are doing the work of the future. He stated that these types of programs need to be a national priority, and that they unfortunately are not today. Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) lamented that in parts of our country there are people who cannot pursue their dream and that economic issues are contradictory: the cost of supporting those in jail is $30,000 each per year, yet we balk at funding educational programs at $5-10,000 per individual per year.