Local officials, business leaders, and Job Corps staff   joined the student body in celebrating student success during Tuesday’s assembly dedicated to National Job Corps Commencement Day.

 Job Corps is a unique national program that provides a safe environment for unemployed, undereducated, low-income youth to prepare for successful careers or further education. Approximately 60,000 students complete the Job Corps program each year at one of 124 centers across the country. Nationally, about 86% of Job Corps graduates go on to find and keep jobs, continue to higher education or enlist in the military.

 “As you complete your education at Job Corps, you may be asking…Where do we find the jobs? There is hope for our region.  Pittsburgh has long been the energy capital of the world, and will continue to be because of new energy development, which will drive job creation for years to come and lead our nation to a clean and independent energy future.” said Nate Nevala, Field Director for the Honorable Tim Murphy, the keynote speaker at Pittsburgh Job Corps Center’s ceremony Tuesday.

Since Job Corps was created 47 years ago, it has served more than 3 million out-of-work young adults and underserved youth nationally. Many are high-school dropouts or public-assistance recipients, and Job Corps helps them become active contributors to their communities. Tuesday’s event marks the first time ever that the majority of the nation’s 124 Job Corps centers have held student success celebrations and graduations on the same day.

“In June we graduated 183 completers of our program.  Today we celebrate 88 who have accomplished academic requirements of High School diploma, GED, driver’s license, or career technical training” said Molly Taleb, the center’s director.  “We are celebrating current students who have written poems about success and others who will tell their story on why they came to Job Corps and what they hope to accomplish.  In addition, I hold in my hand  a proclamation  from the Mayor’s office honoring staff who are past graduates of the Job Corps who model the core values.”

 Pittsburgh Job Corps Center also promotes local job creation and economic support. For every dollar invested in the average Job Corps center, almost $2 is returned to the local economy.

 “You are the future and you can do whatever it takes to be whatever you want to be,”  said Majestic Lane, Senior Executive Assistant to PA Senator Jim Ferlo. 

 The Pittsburgh Job Corps gives youth a chance to become productive citizens with skills that meet industry standards and puts them on a career path to success.