SJ Youth Works

Problem

Youth unemployment remains as high as 20% in some San Jose neighborhoods while a troublesome trend shows an increase in the number of younger youth (14 – 16 year old’s) committing burglaries and other crimes. The City’s gang- and crime-impacted neighborhoods fall short in opportunities for youth to be safe, engaged and productive over the summer months and gainful employment is a seemingly unreachable concept. A program that has long-targeted at-risk youth in these neighborhoods—The Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force—has long addressed the social, health and safety aspects confronted by at-risk youth and traditional youth employment programs have focused on the 18 and older group. An age-appropriate youth employment program for younger youth had not been attempted. 

Solution

This summer, Mayor Liccardo helped launch SJ Youth Works, a five-week summer youth employment program for younger, at-risk youth recruited through the public and nonprofit agencies already supporting them. SJ Youth Works improves on an already-existing youth employment program with the priority of addressing the reality faced by, and the needs of younger, at-risk youth. The methodology is one that coordinates with the support services already available through public and private continuum-of-care agencies like the County government’s social services programs and probation department or non-profits like TeenForce and Unity Care. By exposing younger youth to well-supported employment experiences that are supplemented with case management, life-skills and financial literacy training, SJ Youth Works is creating pathways for these youth to envision a career while making some money. Youth employment programs, even for younger at-risk youth, have been shown to decrease the likelihood that the youth will become an offender and decrease recidivism rates for those that have. 

Made in San Jose

Problem

Manufacturers consistently report a shortage of skilled workers as a key challenge to their operations in the U.S. As manufacturing today involves complex tools requiring technologically skilled operators, managers, and technicians, there is a strong need for increased access to the training and skills needed to fill these jobs and boost local economic activity. 

Solution

Mayor Sam Liccardo launched an initiative this summer to preserve and strengthen manufacturing activity in San Jose. By leveraging partnerships with industry leaders, energy providers, and educational institutions, he hopes to help San Jose boost its manufacturing base and provide a pathway to the middle class for residents in the wave of next-shoring taking place. These kinds of partnerships can provide students with a clear path to employment, and help boost flagging public college budgets. By focusing upon sites, space, and skills, this initiative will help revive dozens of underutilized warehouses and industrial sites and restore the wages and dignity of thousands of our unemployed neighbors. 

Summer Jobs 253

Problem

In Tacoma, there are few options to help address the challenges of high youth unemployment, low on-time graduation rates, and poor financial literacy skills among students ages 14-18. With these obstacles, students do not have adequate access to the skills and experiences they need to graduate on time and succeed in the 21st century workforce. 

Solution

Marilyn Strickland has helped lead the development of Summer Jobs 253 (SJ253), a program that allows incoming high school juniors and seniors the opportunity to earn credit toward graduation while working as an intern for a local business. Students in the program work up to 96 hours for an employer as well as attending an additional 24 hours of classroom time to learn resume writing, interviewing, and financial literacy skills. The City coordinates the robust partnerships that make the program work because of growing support in the business community and amongst private and corporate donors. The Summer Jobs 253 program has helped connect high-risk students to the skills they need to graduate on time, enter the workforce prepared, and establish bank accounts to help save for their future.

Careers Gateway Program

Problem

Many low-income individuals who do not speak English as their first language face several challenges from obtaining meaningful full-time positions with stable wages in key industry sectors or to excel in their careers. 

Solution

Mayor Kim Driscoll helped create an occupational skills training program in Salem, Massachusetts aimed at low-income, unemployed or underemployed non-native English speakers that focuses first on key career skills (i.e. Microsoft Office and general computer skills) and then on specific emerging industry sectors. The City partnered with the regional Workforce Investment Board and Career Center, the community college system, local major healthcare employers (two major hospitals), and other community level stakeholders to help make this program a success . The program has already successfully matched many of these individuals to full-time employment in its first year and Mayor Driscoll is hopeful for expanding the program to reach more participants. 

Advanced Manufacturing Pilot Program

Problem

Over the next 10 years, more than 44,000 jobs in the precision manufacturing sector will go unfilled in Massachusetts, due to a lack of qualified workers, despite the fact that the average salary in this industry can approach $75,000. Historically, Western Massachusetts has been left out of the red-hot economy in the eastern part of the state. Part of that problem is a gap between the number of well-paying, stable manufacturing jobs and the number of local residents who can fill them. 

Solution

Senator Eric Lesser has proposed an idea to provide advanced manufacturing training to unemployed and underemployed individuals, including veterans, to build a locally based, highly qualified manufacturing workforce across Massachusetts, particularly in the western Massachusetts where manufacturing was the key employer for 10 generations. The precision manufacturing pilot program is already operating in Western Massachusetts and has resulted in an exciting partnership between the Regional Employment Board of Hampden County, Inc. and the Western Massachusetts Chapter of the National Tooling and Machining Association. Together these organizations are working with local community colleges, vocational schools and advanced manufacturing companies to train unemployed and underemployed individuals, career changers and youth across the region.

Beech Technologies

Problem

Too often teens growing up in poorer neighborhoods in Louisville lack the access to the skills and training they need to fill competitive job openings in the local tech industry. Additionally, businesses in this community need to increase their web presence and better connect to online tools to grow their business. 

Solution

This year, Mayor Greg Fischer expanded the Code Louisville program to target teens living in public housing and help them develop 21st century technology and business skills. Students from the new “Coding at the Beech” program have already transformed their skills into a new business venture, called Beech Technologies, which helps neighborhood and community business leaders establish and maintain a web presence to drive economic growth. Through this initiative, Mayor Fischer has helped prepare students for jobs in the tech industry and helped revitalize the communities where these students live. 

Mayor’s Internship Challenge

Problem

The shortage of skilled workers in the U.S. Labor Market threatens business productivity, international competitiveness, and economic opportunity for hundreds of thousands of Americans. According to economic forecasts, the skill gap will dramatically affect the manufacturing, trade and transport, and energy and utilities industries, a key source of revenue for the city of Long Beach, California. Internships have been well-documented as opportunities for developing skilled workers who become central asset to businesses and their local communities and increasing job placement and income for workers, yet the number of businesses offering internship opportunities has steadily declined in the last decade. 

Solution

To remain economically competitive, Long Beach aims to strengthen its talent pipeline so today’s youth are prepared for tomorrow’s economy. Mayor Robert Garcia launched the “Mayor’s Internship Challenge” in June 2015 to help double the number of available internships to students in the local economy, to increase the quality of current internship programming, and to align opportunities to the needs of the changing economy. The Internship Challenge gains its strength from a collaborative team of business, community, education and government leaders who are focused on creating sustainable slots (not one time expansion investments), strengthening institutional coordination, and emphasizing placements linked to learning and future career goals. By working together, this effort will enrich student learning through meaningful internship and other career-building opportunities, increase operational capacity for businesses, and add a competitive edge for communities and the local economy via investments in its future employees.

Code Louisville – Free Training for Web Development Careers

Problem

Every ninety days, there are about one hundred unfilled junior software development opportunities open in the greater Louisville area, and those numbers are growing fast. However, the region lacks the number of qualified applicants to fill these positions. The community needed a quick, entry-ramp approach that makes these good jobs possible for a broad and diverse range of people.

Solution

Code Louisville, developed by KentuckianaWorks (the region’s workforce development board) offers a series of 12-week software development tracks to adults who want to pursue a career in the software development industry at no cost to the student. The program is designed to provide accountability, guidance, and support to people using online tools to learn. Students learn web development using the latest technology and practices. Aided by expert volunteer mentors and online software, students complete coding projects and build portfolios of their work. This community-supported program organized by a public entity is able to train people for a challenging career at a large scale for a fraction of the cost of an in-person school or boot camp. More than 90 companies have hired from Code Louisville with many of those serving in an advisory capacity to make sure the program is responsive to their ever-evolving needs. The program also has a community college partnership to help more people earn Computer and IT certification.

Career Calculator

Problem

All too often, people make decisions about their education or careers with little or no labor market information. People decide on careers without knowing how much money they might earn or how many jobs are available. People decide on college majors without knowing the earnings implications or what jobs people with that major end up doing. And the few available tools are difficult to use, difficult to understand, and prone to leading history majors into being historians or philosophy majors into being philosophers–which is generally not what people with those majors end up doing.

Solution

Career Calculator is a web application that helps students, parents and job seekers plan for careers and chart the education needed for good jobs. The app puts all information needed to make informed education and career decisions in one place. Information is gathered from six different sources–the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the US Census Bureau PUMS data, EMSI Analyst, Burning Glass, Kentucky Center for Education and Workforce Statistics, and O*NET Online. The platform is incredibly intuitive and easy-to-use, with simple searching, clean design, and only the most important information necessary for making good education and career decisions.

Occupational Licensing Reform

Problem

State rules for licensure and registration for certain occupations has become burdensome and created barriers to entry for workers through unnecessary fess and other requirements. 

Solution

By reexamining our occupational licensing and limiting it to those positions where it is necessary because of higher levels of training, health or safety considerations we are removing regulations and opening up employment to people who might not otherwise be able to enter these fields. This also cuts down on the costs to consumers and businesses, while maintaining safety for consumers by keeping licensing where it’s needed. First, we passed a law to phase out occupational licenses for jobs that don’t have educational or professional prerequisites, including for Wholesaler Salesmen, Residential Flat Glass or Automotive Glazier, and Real Estate Intern. The next step will be to continue to work with the relevant state agencies and across the aisle to examine all of the occupations and determine whether they are being properly regulated by state government or not.