Youth unemployment is at a shocking 12.3 percent - double the national unemployment rate – and has remained at a high rate over the past couple years despite falling national unemployment rates. Youth employment not only impacts an individual’s confidence and skills-development, it also impacts their future earning potential. It’s no wonder that youth employment is a major concern. On top of that, foster youth are among the most vulnerable group. A US Department of Labor study found that at age 18, 75 percent of foster youth have little to no work experience.
On the flipside, careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) are on the rise, with almost half of US economic growth related to technological advancements. The increasing need for a STEM-skilled workforce matched with a high rate of youth unemployment creates an opportunity.
Symantec helped fund TeenForce’s new program: the Foster Youth STEM and Work Readiness Training Program. TeenForce, a social enterprise that addresses the youth unemployment crisis by meeting the hiring needs of business, is specifically targeting STEM careers in this new program by offering training and curriculum in STEM, as well as setting up a paid internship for the youth that complete the training. The program launched in January 2015. Twenty students will complete the training in early June, and 16 will enter paid internships. In the 2015 - 2016 school year, the program is expected to serve 80 students. The program’s goal is to reach 100 percent of the Santa Clara county foster youth.
“The foster youth in Silicon Valley do not, unfortunately, feel like they are part of the Silicon Valley economy, and they don't see that in their future. This program is designed to change that entirely,” said John Hogan, Founder and CEO of TeenForce.
TeenForce was founded in 2010 and applies an “alternative staffing agency” model to connect disadvantage youth to employment by providing work readiness training, skills development and job placement services for youth, and a turn-key hiring service for the employers. Since inception, over 430 youth and 60 employers have benefitted from TeenForce. They focus on current or former foster youth as they are the most vulnerable group.
Watch the video below for more about this amazing program!
Cecily Joseph is Symantec's Vice President, Corporate Responsibility