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July 18, 2007Making Connections: Engaging Employers In Preparing Chicago's Youth for the Workforce |
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The findings were derived from interviews conducted in 2003 and late 2005 with youth program providers, educators, employers, and policy experts. We highlight existing data that describe the need for employer engagement in youth workforce preparation. In more detailed analysis of employment rates, he found that teens in Illinois, especially teens without a high school diploma, urban teens, and African American teens, are unlikely to be employed. In Chicago, as in many other urban areas, there are major differences in program offerings for youth who are in school and those who are out of school. Programs that engage employers with in-school youth encompass employer involvement in teaching programs with an academic focus, supervising internships, mentoring, sponsoring after-school programs with career preparation goals, and/or employing youth. But there is a need to have supportive services for organizations like us to continue to do what we do and have more resources to do it so we can give [youth] extra support, so that we don't have to say to the employer, "Hey, hire this person because they need help." Some program providers also attempt to educate employers about the backgrounds of the youth who participate in the programs. Further, providers are concerned about youth readiness to engage with employers even if they do meet program-completion requirements. Local and federal workforce development policies place an increasing emphasis on programs to connect youth ex-offenders to employment.
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