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Career Systems Development Corporation

Facts About San Jose Job Corps

What is Job Corps?

Job Corps is an education and training program for low-income young men and women, ages 16 through 24 at the time of enrollment. It is primarily a residential program in which students live in dormitories on Job Corps centers. This provides a supervised environment where students can be directed and guided in learning the skills needed for success in America's workforce. Job Corps was established in 1964 and has trained more than 2 million individuals since then.

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Where are Job Corps centers located?

Job Corps has 122 centers in 46 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. In support of the Job Corps centers there are outreach, admissions and career transition operations at hundreds of locations, particularly at many One-Stop Career Centers.

In California there are Job Corps centers not only in San Jose, but also in San Diego, San Bernardino, Long Beach, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Sacramento. In Nevada there is a center in Reno. In Arizona there are centers in Phoenix and Tucson, and there is Job Corps also in Hawaii.

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How do I get more information?

Telephone toll free 1-800-733-5627 for guidance on how to reach your nearest admissions counselor. An admissions counselor can provide information about individual Job Corps centers and the application and admissions process.

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What happens when you apply?

A Job Corps admissions counselor will guide you through the process and determine if you are eligible for Job Corps, and/or if Job Corps or some other program would best suit your needs.

If you continue the Job Corps application process, your admissions counselor will help with filling out forms, give you information about Job Corps centers in your area, information about facilities and training at each center, answer your questions. You will be asked to provide necessary documents and to remain in contact with your admissions counselor as you wait to be assigned to a Job Corps center.

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What happens when you arrive as a new student at Job Corps?

Your admission counselor will give you an arrival date to report to your Job Corps center to begin the initial part of the career development services system, the 60-day Job Corps career preparation period.

If you live some distance from your Job Corps center, you are provided with transportation to the Job Corps which is paid for by the federal government.

It can be a little scary to be going off to a new place where you may not know anyone. Everyone has the same types of feelings. Its natural, and all the students you meet will have gone through much the same process. You may even be homesick at first, but if you stick to it you can achieve your goals.

When you arrive you will be welcomed and begin your introduction to center life. You will be assigned a dormitory room, begin making friends, and in your first few weeks take physical and dental exams, a drug test, tests to assess your skills and aptitudes, and learn basic information technology, job search and employability skills. These are the basic skills that will be the foundation for future training and future employment.

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What do Job Corps students learn?

Academic classes are available and students without diplomas are expected to earn a GED or high school diploma. Students also learn basic information technology skills, driver's education, vocational skills, social skills, and employment skills - including job search and job retention. Students may even, if suitable, enroll in leisure-time college courses, leisure-time employment, or participate in work-based learning internships.

Students receive regular evaluations of progress and update their personal career development plans as they adjust to changes in their competencies and in career goals. Students often find that they have the ability, with education and training, to do more than they once thought possible.

Students may remain in Job Corps for up to two years. Training is self-paced but appropriate progress must be maintained. Job Corps is a place to enjoy as well as a place to learn, but it is not a place to kick back for a free ride.

American taxpayers fund Job Corps so that the young men and women who join can graduate and enter the workforce, achieve the American dream, and contribute in turn to the success of our nation.

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Personal Career Development Plan (PCDP)

Working with your admissions counselor, you will develop your initial personal career development plan, a beginning guide for the education, training and development needed as you move through the Job Corps Career Development Services System (CDSS) towards your goals.

Success! Success! Success!

When students graduate they enter the Job Corps career transition period and are assisted in gaining independent living skills, in preparing for and obtaining a job or placement in advanced training or college, or in the military. Either way, student-graduates have earned one success after another in Job Corps, moving through the career development services system towards self-sufficiency. Career transition specialists work with students from the time they arrive at Job Corps and through to graduation and follow-up.

Follow-up

To assure that the success of student-graduates as a part of America's workforce, Job Corps offers an array of support services, including 12 months of follow-up after exiting the program.

Career Transition Specialists help students with issues affecting job search, job retention, and other issues that impact employees such as housing, stress management, financial management, child care, justice system, legal issues, and the like. These services are often provided by linking graduates to partner programs and through the One-Stop Career system.


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San Jose Job Corps Center 3485 East Hills Drive, San Jose, CA 95127-2970
Phone (408) 254-5627 Fax (408) 254-5663

For more information please contact rich.kathy@jobcorps.org