What Is the Job Corps in America?

A reader asked about the Jacksonville Job Corp and what it is all about.

Job Corps nationally has been present and operating since 1964 under US President Lyndon Johnson, but more current Presidents and Congresses have supported and promoted it further. During the GW Bush Administration, Job Corps remained active, while Summer Jobs Programs for kids were largely eliminated.

Under the Clinton Administration in the US, The Job Corps program became authorized by Title I-C of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998. At the same time, the WIA eliminated the large Summer Youth Employment Programs around the nation under Job Training Partnership (JTPA), like that in Columbus, Ohio that employed approximately 2,000 high school students for eight weeks or more each year after school ended in June. This program contributed a substantial amount of money to family incomes before the new school year began.

JTPA also provided some funding to pay a stipend to hundreds of additional local students to enhance their math and reading skills during the summer to better prepare them for the school year and for work the following summer.

Some programs were able to offer a bridge session during the school year for math and reading enrichment, including lessons in Work Readiness. To many youth, JTPA was their source for money for school clothes, shoes, and school supplies for four years. WIA eliminated the large summer employment programs. For some, Job Corps was the answer.

President George W. Bush was blamed by many of the previous JTPA participants and their familes for the end of the large summer employment programs, because the first years of its absence under WIA fell, in many cities, under his early administration years that began in 2001. However, Job Corps continued.

I ran a large GED program for over a decade and the youth among the students that were ages 16 - 24 benefited from academics, Work Readiness, some Job Placement services and related elements. Youth ages 16 - 24 were in GED classes for a large number of reasons.

Some youth in GED had been bullied in school and dropped out, some were having babies, some suffered serious family problems that included moving from school district to school district and losing credits, some dropped out of school to work, some had been severely ill and lost a year or two of school, etc. GED classes worked for many of them, but some ultimately transferred to Job Corps.

This transfer gave youth a chance to be away from the drama and problems in their home environment, experiences in another city, study time in an encouraging atmosphere, and the benefit of gaining soft employment skills, actual job training, and a job. People could drop out of high school at age 16 and return in their early 20s to earn a diploma. Job Corps became a popular option.

Job Corps Jacksonville in Florida is a residential training program that combines studies and work skill achievement in the place where students aged 16 - 24 live. Residential college programs have shown high success in the decade 2000 -2010, with the result that additional residential programs are opening. President Gordon Gee at The Ohio State University advocated for residential college life from Freshman Year through Graduation. The first part of this, the change from the Quarter to the Semester System, began in the college school year 2011 - 2012.

Benefits of Participation in Job Corps

Students in the Jacksonville program receive free Room and Board as well as a bi-weekly financial Allowance. Taxes are taken form the allowance because participation in Job Corps is considered work under the US Federal funding that supports it. A Wellness Center provides health care and enhancement. Many forms of recreation are also provided at the center and in the community. Jacksonville is the largest city in the State of Florida and has a lot of fun things to do.

After successful graduation, youth will receive a large lump sum Stipend for transitioning into the community, Job Placement Services at no cost for 6 months, and other aids. Career Counseling and other counseling are also available. Have a look at the links above for more class and career listings.

In Job Corps. Stimulus Funds have been applied to construction, property rehab, and property acquisition. Job Corps has implemented "green" technical training programs and began construction projects from 65+ Job Corps Centers coast to coast to help create more jobs.