1. © 2008 - 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 acoleman@fegs.org Vice President, Education and Youth Services F∙E∙G∙S Health and Human Services System

2. © 2008 - F∙E∙G∙S Health and Human Services System

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

4. © 2008 - 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.

5. © 2008 - 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.

6. © 2008 - 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.

7. © 2008 - 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.

8. © 2008 - 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.

9. © 2008 - F∙E∙G∙S Health and Human Services System

10. Search for Opportunities

11. © 2008 - F∙E∙G∙S Health and Human Services System

12. 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, 2006. 2. Holzer, H and Lerman, R. America’s Forgotten Middle-Skill Jobs. The Work Alliance. Washington, DC, 2007. 3. 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, 2002. 4. 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, 2001. 6. Blackbaud. 2007 State of the Non Profit Industry Survey. 2008.