Finishing Your Path at Job Corps
The world is a very diverse place, with just as diverse people. The population of the earth is about six billion people and it goes without saying that every single one of these people is going to be unique and specific in their own way. Each takes a different route while going through life. If everyone took the same path then life wouldn’t be very interesting. This is especially true in the education system, where not everyone is meant to or able to go to high school. There can be many reasons why someone might not go to high school. Some examples may include life being too difficult at home, or maybe the approach high school takes on homework and exams is not someone’s style. There are many alternatives to high school though; one of the best programs out there being Job Corps. It’s worth pointing out about what makes Job Corps the best kind of program in its class and why students should take full advantage of its benefits.
Job Corps primary aim is to help students become more employable, responsible, and productive citizens. They are the largest vocationally program for students between the ages of 16-24 in the country. “The author Peter Schochet” Job Corps increases educational attainment, reduces criminal activity, and increases earnings for several post program years. Job Corps can teach students a variety of different trades. This includes wielding, electrician, business, facility management, culinary, forester, carpentry, and many others. The students who attend Job Corps don’t have to pay anything out of their wallet and the program also provides food and a place to stay.
Despite Job Corps excellent services it continues to have a high dropout rate. The article “Retention in the United States Job Corps” great detail goes into analyzing what contributes to Job Corps high dropout rate. It says that about 15 percent of the students who join leave within the first 30 days and another 25 percent leave after 60 days. It was the younger students who were most likely to leave the program I had the chance to talk to one of the administrators at Job Corps Deedee, and she told me her thoughts on why students leave the program early. She said a lot of it had to do with the rules Job Corps has in place. Students are responsible to make their beds on a daily basis as well as wear a uniform and abide by a strict curfew. Most students come from an environment where they are not use used to such uniformity and it can be too much to take on. I would have to say though that this system is not so bad. In return for abiding by these rules students receive free food and shelter, along with a GED and practical job training. Not only that but this structure and discipline actually help prepare a person for the workplace where the environment depends on a rigid code. Other reasons students don’t finish the program, Deedee explained, can because they find love and think their partner can provide for them. To this I would have to say its better a person be self reliant and not have to be dependable on other people, it’s simply too risky. Relationships a lot of time only last a short period, and if it were to end the person would be left without anything to fall back on.
It’s important to consider the alternatives when making a decision about leaving a program that could help aid you in the future. For example Deedee told the story of someone who entered Job Corps who at the time was living under a bridge. Unfortunately he didn’t like being told what to do and constantly resisted. After staying for longer than any other student he was finally let go. The boy had no other family and nothing to fall back on; sadly he was never heard from again. There are also stories of students who turned their entire lives around too. One student at Job Corps always had to play the role of the trouble maker, but through the program’s guidance and his desire to get his life on track, he managed to not only graduate from Job Corps but also become a mentor there. To this day that same student still works there and is able to really connect with the kids in the program because of his once devious ways.
Another reason not to give up on Job Corps is the fact that they are actually the best in their class for the type of work they do. In a paper written by “Peter Z. Schochet”, on the effectiveness of Job Corps, it talks about why the program is much better than other similar institutions. Job Corps provides a wide arrange of services from recreational activities to student counseling, plus Job Corps has a great campus. One of the best parts about Job Corps would have to be the food they serve, which is outstanding. Job Corps’s chief is so talented that he was even featured in the Boise Weekly. I have even had the chance to see the food they have when I was given the tour, and can truthfully say it’s very deluxe. Other aspects that make Job Corps stand out from its competition is that it offers a very varied choice of field training, including culinary, wielding, electrical, forestry, and facility management. Best of all is that Job Corps is very uniform across the nation so all of these quality characteristic are emplaced in every institute “Peter Schochet”.
In the Idaho Statesmen it talks about how hard it is to get work nowadays The United States as has about seven percent unemployment ,“Idaho Statesmen”. In the past it was entirely possible to find a job without any college or even high school education. However things are very different now, and the job market has become very competitive. It’s just about impossible to get a decent job without some kind of background training, which is exactly what Job Corps can offer. The best part about Job Corps as well is it does all of this without costing anything. Although students get free training at Job Corps, they still get a lot of knowledge out of the program. The training done at Job Corps is nothing short of very intense and as a result very rewarding. Everything taught is very up to date and Just recently the program has added green procedures and technology, which all students take. This kind of information can look really good on a resume, and it’s probably information that most companies don’t teach their employees because of cost issues.
Job Corps supports all students not just top achievers. An article in IBmag magazine describes how in traditional schools D and F students are left behind, this however will never happen to a student who is in Job Corps, where all you need is a will to learn, “Vermont Business Magazine. In a research that was done it actually showed that those same students who fail out of high school or college are actually the best types of entrepreneurs, so there’s a lot of potential in these kinds of students, and Job Corps wants to tap into it. Lora Davis-Allen, director of the Cleveland Job Corps says “We try to look at different learning styles, and we say that every student has potential to reach their goals.” Since Job Corps caters to every student despite whatever problems or hardships they might have shows that they really care. Job Corps will work with any student even if they are disabled. In the Frontersmen newspaper it had an article talking about a young women enrolled at Job Corps in Alaska. She uses a service dog and has episodic servers. ? Despite her draw backs though she is incredibly motivated, and Job Corps can see that in her.
Job Corps has a positive reputation throughout the community and has even been acknowledged with varies various awards. One of these rewards is described in vermontbiz.com where the Northlands Job Corps was chosen as the business of the month. It saw Job Corps as one of the most valuable components to the community. Job Corps helps pick those who are struggling up and get them back on their feet. The resources offered at Job Corps should be taken full advantage of. The program has a wide array of trade training as well as recreational activities, counseling, and uniformity. The education provided at Job Corps can help give a person an advantage in this competitive work environment. Don’t be one of the students who leaves Job Corps without finishing, be strong and you’ll come out with more than you ever could have imagined.
Works Cited
Ginsburg, Kenneth, Christine Forke, Sara Kinsman, Eric Fleegler, and Eric Grimes. "RETENTION IN THE UNITED STATES JOB CORPS ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS." Thesis. Prepared by The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Craig-Dalsimer Division of Adolescent Medicine. Web.
Hartman, Anne. "Reworking Cleveland's Job Corps | Articles | Archive | Inside Business Magazine." Northeast Ohio's Business Enthusiast | Inside Business Magazine. Web. 30 May 2011. <http://ibmag.com/Main/Archive/Reworking_Clevelands_Job_Corps_8648.aspx>.
Hunt, Barbara. "Local News : Service Dog Helps Job Corps Student Excel - Frontiersman." Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman. Web. 30 May 2011.
<http://www.frontiersman.com/articles/2011/03/27/local_news/schools/doc4d88399f3f102208401778.txt>.
"Letters to the Editor | Letters to the Editor | Idaho Statesman." Boise, Idaho News, Weather, Traffic, Jobs, Classifieds | Idaho Statesman. Web. 30 May 2011.
<http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/04/22/v-print/1619337/letters-to-the-editor.html>.
"Northlands Job Corps Chosen as Business of the Month." Vermont Business Magazine. Web. 30 May 2011. <http://www.vermontbiz.com/news/february/northlands-job-corps-chosen-business-month>.
Schochet, Peter, John Burghardt, and Sheena McConnell. "Does Job Corps Work? Impact Findings from the National Job Corps Study." Thesis. Http://www.claremontmckenna.edu. Web.
"Top Chefs | "In Culinary, This Is the Best Job in the Valley." | News." Boise Weekly. Web. 30 May 2011. <http://www.boiseweekly.com/boise/top-chefs/Content?oid=1903942>.
