What is Job Corps?
Over the last 40 years, Job Corps has built its reputation as the nation's largest and most successful residential and educational workforce training program for economically disadvantaged youth, ages 16 through 24. This voluntary program serves nearly 65,000 young Americans every year and has trained and educated more than two million young people since the first Job Corps center opened in 1965.

Where is Job Corps?
Job Corps has 122 centers in 48 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Through bi-partisan efforts on Capitol Hill, four new centers have opened since 2002 to serve more of our nation's eligible young people. While Job Corps has the ability to serve thousands of youth each year, there are more than 6 million economically disadvantaged youth eligible to participate in the program.

Who is eligible to enroll in Job Corps?
Income level determines Job Corps eligibility. Only low-income youth who lack the skills necessary to find a job are eligible for admission to Job Corps. The typical Job Corps student is a high school dropout who reads at slightly less than the 8th grade level and is motivated by the chance for a more promising future. Most students learn about Job Corps from a friend or family member, through school, a potential employer, faith-based or community organization, One-Stop Career Center, or employment services worker. To be admitted to this voluntary program, Job Corps candidates must be free of behavioral and drug problems and must agree to abide by Job Corps' Zero Tolerance policy for drugs, alcohol, and violence.

How does Job Corps work?
Interested young people apply to join the program though an admissions counselor. Eligible youth are assigned to a specific Job Corps center, usually one that is located nearest to the young person's home and offers vocational training of interest. Students live on Job Corps centers, which are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Job Corps also manages outreach, admission, and career transition operations at hundreds of locations around the country. While living on the center, students participate in academic and work-based learning, as well as employability skills training. After students leave the program, Job Corps provides placement assistance for jobs, further education, and the military. There is also a follow-up period during which staff support graduates in finding and retaining employment.

What do Job Corps students learn?
As part of their Job Corps training, students learn vocational trades through a variety of methods, from hands-on instruction to job shadowing to internships. Nationally, Job Corps offers more than 100 occupations in industries demonstrating significant labor market trends, including automotive, information technology (IT), security, construction, and health care. This holistic approach to training allows students to learn the employability skills that employers say are the key to success in the workplace. Additionally, Job Corps provides critical academic training, including high school diploma attainment opportunity and/or General Educational Development (GED) programs.

What are Job Corps' academic benefits?
Seventy-four percent of Job Corps enrollees are high school dropouts. The typical Job Corps student reads on slightly less than an 8th grade level. However, because of successful partnerships, small classes, and dedicated teachers, most Job Corps students dramatically improve their math and reading skills over a typical 8-month stay.

How long do students stay in Job Corps?
Job Corps is a self-paced program, and the lengths of stay vary. Students may remain enrolled for up to two years, but the average length of stay for graduates is 8.3 months. An optional additional year is granted for students who qualify for advanced training or college classes.

Does Job Corps assist students after graduation?
Job Corps provides career transition services for 12 months to ensure graduates have the support system to succeed in the workplace. For example, through regular follow-up, Job Corps provides graduates with transitional needs such as housing location services, transportation, childcare, and financial planning.

Who runs Job Corps?
Job Corps is funded by Congress and administered by the U.S. Department of Labor. Private sector companies that have been awarded contracts through a competitive bid process handle most center operations, outreach, admissions, and job placement at 94 Job Corps centers. The U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Interior and American Indian Nations operate the other 28 centers. Private sector employer partners, international labor unions, national trade associations, and national community-based organizations make significant contributions of equipment, curriculum, and instructors to enhance the quality of Job Corps' training.

What role do employers play in Job Corps?
Job Corps works with national and local employers to provide the entry-level employees they need, where and when they need them. Employers help students prepare for careers through involvement in areas ranging from curriculum design to mock interviews to internships. They also assist in students' career transition from Job Corps to the workforce through mentoring and support services.

Is Job Corps accountable for its results?
Congress and the U.S. Department of Labor establish performance measures for Job Corps on a yearly basis and Job Corps' center operators are evaluated based on center performance, specifically significant academic and vocational achievements by the student body. This performance measurement system makes centers accountable, and centers that do not perform must change management in order to achieve the results expected by Job Corps.

Is Job Corps successful?
In the program year ending June 30, 2004, 90 percent of all Job Corps graduates were successfully placed, with 76 percent getting jobs, 3 percent enlisting in the military, and 11 percent enrolling in higher education.

Job Corps Mission and History
Four Decades of Success Training Youth In 1999, the two millionth student entered Job Corps. For over forty years, Job Corps has prepared young people from all over the country for the world of work. How did Job Corps become our nation's largest residential job training program for youth?

Job Corps was created in 1964 by the Economic Opportunity Act (EOA). Sargent Shriver, Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity, modeled the program on the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Established in the 1930s as an emergency relief program, the CCC provided room, board, and employment to thousands of unemployed young people. Though the CCCs were discontinued after World War II, Job Corps built on many of its methods and strategies.

The first Job Corps center was opened on January 15, 1965, at Camp Catoctin, Maryland, near the Presidential retreat at Camp David. Although the Job Corps concept was originally designed to serve only men, Representative Edith Green of Oregon convinced Job Corps administrators that growing numbers of women were destined to become heads of households, and needed the skills to succeed in the workplace. The first women's center was opened in Cleveland on April 9, 1965. By the end of 1965, 87 Job Corps centers serving 16,968 young people were operational.

Early Job Corps students typically attended more than one center to complete their training. Small rural centers provided basic education to 100 to 200 "corps members," who graduated to larger centers for more focused vocational training. "Women's centers" offered vocational training in food preparation, household service, health occupations, and clothing industries. Vocational offerings at men's centers focused on construction trades.

Over time, Job Corps' training - and its student population - have evolved. Co-education was introduced at Tongue Point, Oregon in 1970; today, Job Corps centers are open to both men and women. Students can choose from more than 100 trades, including: building computer networks or repairing computers; filling prescriptions for eyeglasses or pharmaceuticals; installing, servicing and repairing air conditioning units and refrigeration systems; and operating and repairing heavy equipment.

Today, 122 Job Corps centers in 48 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, train nearly 70,000 students each year. Over 40 years, Job Corps has earned a reputation as the nation's premier workforce training program for disadvantaged youth. By consistently being responsive to employers' demands and the nations workforce needs, Job Corps has succeeded in meeting those needs by offering top-notched vocational training to students. As a testament to these successes, numerous bi-partisan political initiatives have supported Job Corps' expansion to serve more disadvantaged young Americans with each passing year. With a legacy of success spanning four decades, Job Corps is poised to continue delivering results for the nation and the next generation.

Content provided by The National Job Corps Association website.