Local Group Offers Job Training, Experience To Teens
Program Has Been Operating For More Than 2 Decades
Updated: 8:29 am CDT October 9, 2008
MADISON, Wis. -- Getting that first job is a rite of passage, and a Dane County group is doing its part to teach and build a workforce of the future.
VIDEO: Watch The ReportCommon Wealth Development's Youth-Business Mentoring Program has been a fixture on the city's East Side for the better part of two decades, and now the project is expanding.The latest graduates of the program are punching a time clock for the first time. Fifteen students were chosen from 97 who applied.One example is Darcia Etchin, 15, who already is working in the field of her choice at Rejuvenation Day Spa on Mineral Point Road on the city's far West Side."They told me I was going to be placed at Rejuvenation, and I was like 'bingo,' because that's where I want to be," said Etchin.James Golden is working in retail at Marshall's at Greenway Station in Middleton. Though he has his sights set on a career in health care, the job at Marshall's not only gets him some money to help pay for college, it will also teach him valuable skills that will help him in whatever field he chooses."You got to be nice to people, like customer service is a must on the job and a lot of people don't know that. So, that's why sometimes you don't get hired. If you don't have those customer service skills," said Golden.Before they got their jobs, they took part in the three-week intense classroom portion of the Youth-Business Mentoring program. Tariq Pasha, who spearheads the program, said it's about a lot more than just getting youths placed in jobs."We talk a lot about jobs, but we're not a jobs program. What we are is a program that wants to go and set up nurturing environments where young people can succeed," said Pasha.The classroom portion teaches techniques in properly interviewing and basic customer service skills. Local businesses have a hand in the training, with special role-playing, teaching the young people how to handle conflicts in the workplace.Alexandria Benter, of Rejuvenation, said her business relishes the opportunity to give people the chance to give one of their possible career choices a test run."I hope she really finds out what she wants to do, if she wants to stay in this industry, and we provide tools that she needs to progress in her future career," said Benter.The hope is that James and Darcia take the ball and run with it."We're gonna be mentoring from our end. The business is going to be mentoring them and ultimately create this bubble of support for them, so they'll not only have a first employment experience but also take away things that will last them for a long time," said Benter.This summer, after much demand, the program expanded to the city's West Side and into Sun Prairie as well. Funding comes from Dane County. The money was set aside after recommendations from the Youth Gang Task Force last year.
VIDEO: Watch The ReportCommon Wealth Development's Youth-Business Mentoring Program has been a fixture on the city's East Side for the better part of two decades, and now the project is expanding.The latest graduates of the program are punching a time clock for the first time. Fifteen students were chosen from 97 who applied.One example is Darcia Etchin, 15, who already is working in the field of her choice at Rejuvenation Day Spa on Mineral Point Road on the city's far West Side."They told me I was going to be placed at Rejuvenation, and I was like 'bingo,' because that's where I want to be," said Etchin.James Golden is working in retail at Marshall's at Greenway Station in Middleton. Though he has his sights set on a career in health care, the job at Marshall's not only gets him some money to help pay for college, it will also teach him valuable skills that will help him in whatever field he chooses."You got to be nice to people, like customer service is a must on the job and a lot of people don't know that. So, that's why sometimes you don't get hired. If you don't have those customer service skills," said Golden.Before they got their jobs, they took part in the three-week intense classroom portion of the Youth-Business Mentoring program. Tariq Pasha, who spearheads the program, said it's about a lot more than just getting youths placed in jobs."We talk a lot about jobs, but we're not a jobs program. What we are is a program that wants to go and set up nurturing environments where young people can succeed," said Pasha.The classroom portion teaches techniques in properly interviewing and basic customer service skills. Local businesses have a hand in the training, with special role-playing, teaching the young people how to handle conflicts in the workplace.Alexandria Benter, of Rejuvenation, said her business relishes the opportunity to give people the chance to give one of their possible career choices a test run."I hope she really finds out what she wants to do, if she wants to stay in this industry, and we provide tools that she needs to progress in her future career," said Benter.The hope is that James and Darcia take the ball and run with it."We're gonna be mentoring from our end. The business is going to be mentoring them and ultimately create this bubble of support for them, so they'll not only have a first employment experience but also take away things that will last them for a long time," said Benter.This summer, after much demand, the program expanded to the city's West Side and into Sun Prairie as well. Funding comes from Dane County. The money was set aside after recommendations from the Youth Gang Task Force last year. Copyright 2008 by Channel 3000. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
