By Jamie Burch | Director of Development & Marketing
Through Youth Enrichment Services’ (YES) Career Exploration program (CE), teens from Boston’s under-resourced neighborhoods receive personalized attention and group experiential learning opportunities that inspire and prepare them to succeed in today’s workforce. Youth participate in 12 weekly skill-building and educational workshops where they learn and practice critical technical competencies (e.g. computer skills, resume/cover letter writing, and online job search tools) and job readiness skills (e.g. time management, goal setting, public speaking, problem-solving, and interviewing).
Corporate visits to local companies and informative panels (such as the YES Career Forum and YES College Panel) educate youth about an array of career opportunities. From urban planning to nursing and financial services to hospitality, teens learn about a wide array of professions. Through these experiences, teens begin to identify their career interests and get advice about how to develop their careers paths by meeting one-on-one and in small groups with upper management, employees, and recent college grads.
Through Job Shadows, teens gain insight into the occupations they are considering for themselves, learning firsthand about the challenges and rewards of particular roles and industries. YES youth have shadowed professionals at Citi, Boston Medical Center, and Boston University, among others. Not only do teens get an opportunity to understand a potential career choice more thoroughly, they are better able to envision the broader opportunities available to them.
The CE Internship at YES is a six week job training opportunity for youth to take ownership of a meaningful YES project under the mentorship of YES staff. At the end of the internship, youth have completed a tangible project, built new skills, and gained practical experience to enrich their lives and their resumes.
YES is particularly proud of its innovative partnership with the Boston Public Schools (BPS). During the 2013-2014 school year, CE was delivered onsite at the Jeremiah E. Burke High School located in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood. The Burke has a high rate of minority student enrollment with 70% of Black students and 23% Hispanic students. Students enrolled in the YES Career Exploration class earn credits while getting the chance to build essential skills, such as learning how to search for jobs online and how to write a resume. 16-year-old David from the Burke said, “I learned about websites where you can look for a job [in the YES class]. This summer, I was able to get a job at the New England Aquarium.”
For the 2014-2015 school year, CE is being offered for a second year at the Burke. We have also expanded to a second Boston Public School, Charlestown High. This partnership is essential to serving more of Boston’s students who are the least likely to have access to job training resources – namely, low income and minority youth. At Charlestown High - which serves some of the neediest students in Boston - 97% of students are minorities. Nearly 80% of students at Charlestown High are eligible for free or reduced lunch. Charlestown High is working hard to turn its performance and reputation around and YES is thrilled to be a part of this effort.
Youth Served: In the 2013-2014 academic year, YES served 48 youth in our Career Exploration program. Nine out of ten are low-moderate income and 67% are girls. Three out of four come from inner-city Boston neighborhoods including Dorchester, Mattapan, and Roxbury. Half live in female-headed single parent households while another quarter live in households headed by another relative (grandparent or sibling) or adult (foster family/guardian). 96% are youth of color.
Outcomes: YES’s overarching goals for the Career Exploration are to nurture young people so they are positioned to successfully pursue academic and professional careers and help facilitate their successful transition into adulthood. Outcomes from FY14 CE Program demonstrate its positive impact:
Additionally, all Career Exploration youth have the opportunity to form meaningful relationships with adults via the YES staff and volunteers. Nine out of ten teens say they had a positive experience with YES staff and volunteers. 100% of CE students say they would recommend YES to their peers.
Generous support from people like you are a major reason for the Career Exploration's continued success and tremendous growth. By June 2015, five times as many young people will have completed the CE program per year as compared to June 2012. From all of us at YES, thank you for your support and investing in Boston teens!
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