4 days ago
‘This was my last chance': Fight to keep Job Corps open seen nationally and in Pinellas County
PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — The Pinellas County Job Corps will host a job fair Wednesday to help its students and staff after the U.S. Department of Labor announced it would be pausing the Job Corps program nationwide.
Job Corps is a vocational trade school designed to help low-income students.
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'This was my last chance to actually do something with my life so I kind of want to help save this place,' said Skye Considine, a student at Job Corps.
Considine said she had about a year and a half left in her program at the Pinellas County location. Now, she and more than 100 other students have just days left before the campus closes down.
The Department of Labor Secretary said, 'A startling number of serious incident reports and our in-depth fiscal analysis reveal the program is no longer achieving the intended outcomes that students deserve.'
The program will pause operations at all Job Corps centers by June 30.
'Job Corps does so much and it fills so many needs in our community,' said St. Petersburg City Council Member Corey Givens.
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Givens worked at this Job Corps for five years. He said the closure will leave a devastating gap.
'Not only are 150 young people trained here but over 100 people work here. Not only will you have young people who are homeless, but now you have people who won't be able to feed their families and it's just unfair,' Givens said.
When asked if the city of St. Pete can do anything, Givens said they can put pressure on elected officials in congress.
Tampa Bay representative Kathy Castor sent a letter to the DOL secretary asking to reverse the decision, and wants certain questions answered by June 15.
Castor asked how student participation numbers were gathered for their transparency report and why one year's worth of graduation rates was given. She also asked if COVID-19 impacts were considered, if there are efficient structural changes that can be made prior to stopping operations, and more.
Considine said she would tell leaders how Job Corps helped give her a future.
'It's a really good place to be here, and I don't want this place to be shut down because this was one of my only other options that I had left,' Considine said.
The National Job Corps Association filed a motion for a temporary restraining order to protect Job Corps Tuesday.
'For generations, Job Corps has provided life-changing education and hands-on training to young people looking for a pathway to a better future,' said Donna Hay, President and CEO of the National Job Corps Association. 'These students are often overcoming significant personal and economic challenges and Job Corps gives them the ability to gain the skills they need to build meaningful careers.'
The job fair will be Wednesday, June 4 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. inside the gym at Pinellas County Job Corps. Both students and staff may participate. See the flyer below for more information.
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