ERIC Number: ED572714
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2016-Dec
Pages: 26
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Relationships Come First: How Four Career Development and Workforce Readiness Programs Prepare Young People for Work and Life
Jones, Elizabeth Pufall; Flanagan, Sean; Zaff, Jonathan F.; McClay, Craig; Hynes, Michelle; Cole, Marissa
America's Promise Alliance
The Center for Promise researchers visited four programs across the country to find out what role relationships play in fostering workforce development and career readiness among "risk-immersed" youth: (1) Café Momentum in Dallas; (2) Per Scholas in the Bronx; (3) Urban Alliance in Washington, D.C.; and (4) Year Up in the Bay Area. The Center researched how these programs meet the wide-ranging needs of young people they serve while preparing them for careers. This report provides a summary of several bodies of literature that have shaped career development interventions for young people, describes each career development and workforce readiness program in more detail, and shares findings and common themes that emerged across program sites. This study builds on the Center for Promise's work examining the importance of relationships for keeping young people in school and on a path to adult success. Through interviews, observations, and document review, the research team explored three specific questions: (1) What role do relationships play in these programs?; (2) How do these programs work to foster relationships?; and (3) What role do relationships play in promoting successful job placement? Four major findings emerged from this research: (1) Relationships come first.Each program places relationship-building between young people and program staff at the forefront of their models; (2) Webs of support are integral to the program design.In each program, there's more than just one adult focused on the young people's well-being and development. They have what the researchers refers to as a web of support--a network of individuals that provides a young person with varying levels and types of support; (3) Relationships endure and extend beyond the program.Each program fosters webs of support for their participants beyond the program; and (4) Relationship-building approaches differ depending on whom the program serves.Each program takes a different approach to relationship-building, depending on the needs and strengths of the young people they serve.
Descriptors: Career Development, Labor Force Development, Career Readiness, At Risk Students, Intervention, Interviews, Observation, Interpersonal Relationship, Job Placement, Youth Programs, Program Design, Social Support Groups, Social Networks, Sustainability
America's Promise Alliance. 1110 Vermont Avenue NW Suite 900, Washington, DC 20005. Tel: 202-657-0600; Fax: 202-657-0601; e-mail: publications@americaspromise.org; Web site: http://www.americaspromise.org
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Citi Foundation
Authoring Institution: America's Promise Alliance, Center for Promise
Identifiers - Location: Texas (Dallas); New York (New York); District of Columbia; California (San Francisco)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A