This week, a look at youth workforce development legislation. Effective youth workforce development programs not only focus on providing technical, sellable skills but also develop holistic life skills. We've seen an emergence in policies and initiatives that support youth employment and workforce development over the last few years. Let's take a deeper look into what Workforce Development programs aim to do and some recent legislation aiming to develop these resources around the country.
What is Youth Workforce Development?
Youth workforce development refers to the various programs, initiatives, and policies aimed at preparing young individuals for employment and equipping them with the skills, knowledge, and abilities necessary to succeed in the workforce. These programs work to recognize the unique challenges faced by young people, like entry level jobs requiring years of experience or the rapidly changing climate of today's job market. Successful programs equip youth with the tools and support they need to navigate these challenges by focusing on empowering young people and arming them with the tools they need to secure meaningful employment, contribute to economic growth, and progress professionally.
By investing in youth workforce development, societies can unlock the potential of young people, reduce unemployment rates, foster economic growth, and create a skilled and productive workforce for the future.
Youth workforce development initiatives typically encompass a range of activities targeting transitions from education to work:
- Technical Skills: Training and development opportunities tied to job-specific skills and competencies like vocational training programs, apprenticeships, and internships aimed at enhancing employability.
- Soft Skills: Non-technical skills, also known as soft skills, are incredibly important in the workplace. Building communication skills, teamwork, problem-solving abilities, adaptability, and other essential skills are crucial for success in any profession.
- Financial Literacy and Life Skills: Providing young individuals with knowledge and skills related to financial management, budgeting, saving, and other practical life skills that contribute to their overall well-being and success in the workplace.
For more on financial literacy, check out this blog from late last year. - Education and Career Guidance: Guidance and support helping young people to make informed decisions about educational and career pathways. Think counseling, mentoring, career fairs, and workshops. This support helps people explore different career options and understand how to align aspirations with job market requirements.
- Entrepreneurship Support: Encourage and support young individuals in starting their own businesses or self-employment. This type of support ranges from entrepreneurship training, to financing access, to mentorship programs, to networking opportunities.
We saw an interesting program out of West Virginia aimed at supporting youth in entrepreneurship when we looked into the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Act earlier this year. - Job Placement and Matching: Helping youth find opportunities via job placement centers, online job portals, or partnerships with employers to ensure a smooth transition into the workforce. Think of career days in the gym at your university or your online internship board.
- Finally, states are looking at advocacy and policy development to enhance these programs. Let's take a look!
The Bills
Youth workforce development has has been seeing more and more legislative action recently, with 43 bills passed 2019-2020, 55 bills passed 2021-2022, and 15 bills passed already this year. Today, we'll focus on on five of bills from across the country.
Florida Step into Success Act
The Step into Success Act, or FL S1190, is a workforce education and internship pilot program which is specifically aimed at foster youth. The purpose of the program is to give eligible foster youth and former foster youth an opportunity to learn and develop essential workforce and professional skills, transition from the custody of DCF to independent living, and become better prepared for an independent and successful future. The bill appropriates $500,000 for the 2023-2024 fiscal year for the purpose of implementing this act. The bill was signed end of June and took effect July 1, 2023.
Maryland Apprenticeship and Training Council
Maryland's SB104 Apprenticeship 2030 Commission / Apprenticeship and Training Council looks to expand access to apprenticeship to reduce skill shortages in high-demand occupations. The bill has three main goals:
- Expanding registered apprenticeships in industry sectors with skill shortages
- Growing the number of registered apprenticeships to at least 60,000 by 2030
- Reaching the Blueprint goal for 45% of high school graduates completing the high school level of a registered apprenticeship
The bill requires a council identify the largest occupational sectors with current or projected skill shortages, including health care, information technology, public service, manufacturing,and business services and examine the best practices for scaling registered apprenticeships used in other states and countries. It also makes sure the Council itself is diverse in makeup and considers a wide variety of employment possibilities. The bill was signed in April this year.
New Jersey Youth Transitions to Work Partnership Act
New Jersey's Youth Transitions to Work Partnership Act, or S525, enhances, and allocates funds for pre-apprenticeship programs, in particular trying to maximize participation not only by women and minority group members, but by individuals with disabilities as well. The bill increases funding for the Youth Transitions to Work (YTTW) Partnership and requires that consortia which receive YTTW grants use at least 25% of the grants for pre-apprenticeship programs.
The bill enhances the services provided to program participants by adding training in life skills, including communication, working in teams, and meeting employer expectations, training, including one-to-one tutoring in needed basic math and literacy skills, and supportive services in addition to those provided in current law. Finally, the bill requires employers and other participants in the consortia, when selecting applicants to participate in their apprenticeship programs, to give first priority to applicants who have successfully completed the pre-apprenticeship programs and have met all other requirements for entering the apprenticeship programs.
Vermont Apprenticeships
Vermont's H0452 developes apprenticeships and industry-driven, high-quality career pathways in partnership with employers. “Accessibility” is defined in the bill as the design, construction, development, and maintenance of facilities, information and communication technology, programs, and services so that all people, including people with disabilities, can fully and independently use them. “Apprentice” is defined as an individual who is:
- 16 years of age or older, except when a higher minimum age standard is otherwise fixed by law
- Employed to learn an apprenticeable occupation under the standards of apprenticeship established under section 1117, standards of apprenticeship, of this title
- Registered with the Department
The bill also states "The Commissioner of Labor shall work with the Vermont Office of Racial Equity to examine ways in which to better incorporate necessary language to promote equity and diversity in apprenticeship programs, including the expansion of underrepresented communities in apprenticeship programs."
Oregon Youth Workforce Development Programs
Finally Oregon's HB3563 (passed but not yet signed) creates youth workforce development programs and the Oregon Youth Works Advisory Board. The members or the board must be residents of Oregon who reflect the geographic, racial, ethnic and gender diversity of this state and who have necessary experience that will enable the advisory board to meaningfully advise the commission on topics including, but not limited to:
- Career-connected learning that provides learners with career awareness, exploration, preparation and training in connection with professional and industry-based expectations
- Development of career pathways
- Youth education programs
- Workforce development programs
- Rural workforce needs
- Workforce issues affecting underrepresented communities
As you can see there's lots of work being done, coast to coast, to try to help youth in challenging circumstances get on the pathway to a good career. I'm interested to see how these programs continue to develop.
Cover Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
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