© F∙E∙G∙S Health and Human Services System F∙E∙G∙S CareerFirsts™ A web-based solution for work-based learning. “Out of the Box Programming” Session IAJVS 2008 Annual Conference Andrea Coleman Vice President, Education and Youth Services F∙E∙G∙S Health and Human Services System

© F∙E∙G∙S Health and Human Services System

F∙E∙G∙S Model for Preparing the Emerging Workforce F∙E∙G∙S as Intermediary

© F∙E∙G∙S Health and Human Services System 1. Work-readiness training does not always ensure that young people are “work ready.”  Over a quarter of our program participants faced challenges in an internship or job placement but had successfully completed work- readiness training.  The skills identified most by employers as essential for the workplace, (professionalism, teamwork, communication) were not the skills we assessed in our work readiness program. 1 Program Impact: We replaced work readiness training with a rigorous performance-based assessment to better match participants with work- based learning opportunities, and focused on our internship as the true training site.

© F∙E∙G∙S Health and Human Services System 2. Participants will only learn desired skills in an internship if the internship is set-up to teach and measure the desired skills. For high-school graduates, a majority of employers cited the following applied skills as “very important” for successful entry-level performance: 80.3% Professionalism/Work Ethic 74.7% Teamwork/Collaboration 70.3% Oral Communication 1 Program Impact: We focused on our internship as a work-based learning experience that included ongoing assessment of participants’ progress.

© F∙E∙G∙S Health and Human Services System 3. Our programs must ensure that each young person attaches from day one to a well trained Advisor.  Youth who are exposed to positive people and settings show lower incidents of problem behavior such as early pregnancy, drug use, and delinquency. 2  24% of HS students who have considered dropping-out cited the reason, “No adult in the school cared about me.” 3 Program Impact: We train our Advisors to be accountable for mentoring and coaching each young person, and to track their progress.

© F∙E∙G∙S Health and Human Services System 4. Most disconnected young adults will not achieve their post-secondary goals without access to meaningful employment.  Only 2% of CUNY students enrolled in an Associates program obtain their degree within two years. 4  Low-income students are more likely to take classes part- time while working full-time, and 75% of students cited income as the primary barrier to achieving their degree. 5 Program Impact: We are developing sector-based employment opportunities that will support young adults while they pursue their educational and training goals.

© F∙E∙G∙S Health and Human Services System 5. The administration of an effective work-based learning program requires sophisticated tools.  Post-Enron focus on corporate responsibility has demanded greater internal controls to assure that a nonprofit’s transactions are properly authorized, recorded, and reported.  On a 1-5 scale of importance, 70% of non-profits report that showing the impact of their activities as 1, “Very Important.” Program Impact: In partnership with AllSector Technology Group, a subsidiary of F∙E∙G∙S, we developed the CareerFirsts™ web-based system.

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Search for Opportunities

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References 1. Are They Really Ready to Work? Employers Perspectives on the Basic Knowledge and Applied Skills of New Entrants to the 21 st Century U.S. Workforce. A Report by the Conference Board, Inc., the Partnership for 21 st Century Skills, Corporate Voices for Working Families and the Society for Human Resource Management, Holzer, H and Lerman, R. America’s Forgotten Middle-Skill Jobs. The Work Alliance. Washington, DC, National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. Community Programs to Promote Youth Development. Committee on Community-Level Programs for Youth. Jacquelynne Eccles and Jennifer A. Gootman, eds. Washington,DC: National Academy Press, CUNY Institutional Data. 5. Terenzini, P., A. Cabrera, et. Al. Swimming Against the Tide: The Poor in American Higher Education. New York, NY: The College Board, Blackbaud State of the Non Profit Industry Survey