Students, Senators hope to keep Job Corps open
HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — Friday was the move-out date set for students in New Haven's Job Corps program.
Hartford students have a looming deadline to be out of their dorms by June 13. This comes after the Department of Labor announced a federal pause on all Job Corps programs nationwide.
In the week since the announcement, Connecticut Senators Richard Blumenthal (D) and Chris Murphy (D) joined the fight to keep both centers open.
Connecticut Job Corps centers to pause operations in June
In a press conference outside of the Hartford center, Sen. Murphy said, 'Why shut these doors, why throw these kids all out onto the street, why shutter a program that's changing lives? There's no answer.'
The Department of Labor released a transparency report citing the reasoning for pausing the program. One of the main factors is the financial deficit, specifically the cost per graduate. Nationwide the cost is about $155,000 per graduate, in Hartford it's more than a quarter million dollars and in New Haven it's below the national average at $149,000 per graduate.
However on Friday, Sen. Blumenthal argued, 'The amount of money spent on this program, is like a pittance, it's money falling out of your pocket, it's the money in your sofa at home which is not a lot. It's a minuscule amount that has an enormous impact.'
To continue in the fight to keep the doors of the centers open, a court order was filed to reverse the pause on the program in Connecticut.
Sen. Murphy said what the administration is trying to do is illegal.
'We believe these doors will stay open if the courts do what they're supposed to do and uphold the constitution and repeatedly say that the president cannot shutter a program that congress has authorized and appropriated,' Murphy said.
The next court hearing is set for June 17 and they're hoping to see the current temporary restraining order converted into an injunction so both campuses can bring students back and continue operating as normal.
News 8 talked with Hartford Job Corps student Tylher Jamieson, who told us she's been in the program since November.
'To be completely honest with you, I thought I had no chance,' Jamieson said. 'I thought I was going to be useless and a failure for the rest of my life.'
But seven months ago, that all changed after she joined Job Corps.
'I'm still proud of who I was seven months ago for being able to deal with everything I dealt with, but right now I've shown I'm a hard worker, I have an amazing work ethic and I am smart and I am able to do this stuff and this program is what helped me realize that,' Jamieson said.
Jamieson is currently on track to becoming a licensed practicing nurse. She is set to take some board exam over the next few weeks. However, if this program shuts down she said her life will look totally different.
'(I will) obtain my diploma, get my drivers license and get a part-time job because that's all I'll be able to do.'
On June 17, Job Corps Centers in Connecticut will find out their fate and if the court decides on an injunction the directors say students will be welcomed back and operations will go on as normal.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Johnson created Job Corps in 1964 to increase the employability of young adults by providing them with education, vocational training and useful work experience. Enrolled students also have access to housing for up to three years. The program has helped over two million people since its implementation. New Mexico houses Job Corps centers in Albuquerque and Roswell. Both centers enrolled a combined 461 students in the 2023 program year, according to the Job Corps Transparency Report. Costs per enrollee were $57,532.62 in Albuquerque and $56,389.29 in Roswell. Centers nationwide had until June 30 to pause operations, and students in Albuquerque were told to move out Friday. But the temporary restraining order now allows those individuals to stay on campus, while also leaving the door open for those who left. Zack Theuret, 21, has moved from house to house his whole life. He never felt bonded to anything until he joined the Job Corps' carpentry program. 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