Community Chat

[liliblu]

This is a great program that has been around for decades.  The Forest Service program trains low-income and rural students in firefighting and other jobs.  The participants are often some of the first to respond during natural diasters.  They help communities during wild fires and hurricanes.  They learn skills that allow them to succeed in whatever they set their minds to. 

The Trump administration has proposed closing nine Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers (CCCs).  The Department of Agriculture's Forest Service will no longer operate CCCs.  The 16 CCCs not expected to close will be operated by a contractor. The closure could result in over 1,000 people losing their jobs.

I've had the opportunity to see some of the job work done the people who run the program and the students.  It breaks my heart that something so wonderful is being dismantled to allow a contractor to get rich.  

[Scooby Doo]

There are a number of Job Corps centers run by other government agencies as well as the Forest Service.  My previous employment involved staffing for Reclamation.  They have a few Job Corp centers and train in various trades.  They turned out chefs, welders, masons, carpenters, and office workers.  These people also had to complete their high school education while training for the career they selected.  It's a wonderful program with a high success rate.

[Kachina624]

I supervised a large unit of people who recruited for the Job Corps Centers and placed returnees in jobs, in a major metro area.  It's a highly successful program, giving drop-outs the opportunity to finish high school while learning a trade.  It's one of the last programs the feds should consider cutting.

[Scooby Doo]

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Job-Corps

Article states that three fourths of the Job Corp Centers are already operated by private companies.

[Kachina624]

@Scooby Doo.  They always have been.

[SXMGirl]

@liliblu  I have never heard of this program, but it does not sound like it should be cut.  I taught in both an inner-city and rural schools and this program would be wonderful for those students.  I wonder why guidance counselors in both of those schools did not bring the program to the attention of staff and students.

[liliblu]

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@SXMGirl wrote:

@liliblu  I have never heard of this program, but it does not sound like it should be cut.  I taught in both an inner-city and rural schools and this program would be wonderful for those students.  I wonder why guidance counselors in both of those schools did not bring the program to the attention of staff and students.

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Most schools do not mention the program.  The are two Job Corps programs.  One is run by the Dept. of Labor.  One by the U.S. Forest Service.  

[bathina]

Anything worth anything is being dismantled. The damage will take years to repair.

[qbetzforreal]

This makes me sad because these programs help many, many youth and young adults.

[Ketra]

$1.7 Billion Federal Job Training Program Is ‘Failing the Students’

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/26/us/politics/job-corps-training-program.html