By Kathy Amoroso and Oralia Alvarez, USCM Intern
July 16, 2007

The U.S. Conference of Mayors Jobs, Education and the Workforce Committee, chaired by St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, approved a number of major policy resolutions at the 75th Annual Conference of Mayors in Los Angeles June 23. They included issues ranging from investment in at-risk youth employment opportunities to No Child Left Behind Reauthorization, increasing access to post-secondary education and training and providing federal and state support for universal preschool.

To follow up on discussions regarding at-risk youth employment opportunities initiated at the Mayors Summit on At-Risk Youth in Miami, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa first addressed the Committee to outline his HIRE LA Youth program.

HIRE LA is a public/private partnership that aims to increase the number of summer youth jobs in Los Angeles as well as to equip youth with the necessary skills to enter new jobs. The program’s five components offer youth ages 14 to 21 job placement, professional development, and even academic remediation courses. To outline the program’s immense success in two years and its promising future, five young adults, past and present participants of the program, spoke to Committee members encouraging them to support programs aimed at employing young peole as they turn their lives around.

Eddejay Santos-Cota, an eighteen year old program graduate, opened the discussion saying, “We have the support of our families, but we need the extra push. It can only be provided through programs such as this.” In high spirits, Eddejay shared the impact the Los Angeles Youth Opportunity Program had in his life with Committee members. Prior to his participation in the program Eddie recalls, “I would go out looking for a job. I would wear baggy pants and my head was shaved. I didn’t know how to present myself. When I was asked for a resume I had no idea what they were talking about. I thought I had to type a paragraph saying what I knew and what I wanted to do. As for school, I was not doing my best. I ran the risk of being expelled.”

The program assigned him a case manager who helped him secure a job and attend professional development seminars. “I now have goals. My dreams are no longer just dreams, they are a reality,” he said. Eddejay is currently enrolled in East Los Angeles College and is studying journalism with plans to pursue a career in the film industry.

To complement the workforce initiatives, J.B. Schramm, founder and CEO of College Summit, next addressed the mayors. College Summit works in partnership with schools, school districts and colleges to develop a sustainable model for raising college enrollment rates community-wide, especially among low-income students.

School districts provide a course in post-secondary education. Teachers and counselors are trained in a three day institution and student leaders are recruited and trained to then go back to their schools and in partnership with teachers create a college-going culture.

Paris Thompson, a College Summit alumna, now a sophomore at the University of St. Louis, attributes her academic and personal success to College Summit. “Without this program, I don’t know if I’d have gone to college or my friend for that matter. As a young boy his family was very poor. He had to wear his sister’s jacket.” College Summit ensures that even the most disadvantaged student attends college. “The people who wanted me to succeed made sure I got there,” Thompson said.

The final speaker of the afternoon was David Jefferson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of JNET, with more than 30 years of experience in a wide range of operating and management roles at AT&T and Comcast.

Jefferson outlined the model partnership between Trenton city government, corporate America (i.e. Comcast), and a minority holding company (JNET), to train and employ at-risk youth as cable installers with Comcast Cable. This serves as the basis for his employment model entitled, “A Moral Imperative: Creating an Economic Model for Job Creation in Urban America.”

In his remarks, Jefferson reinforced the importance of educational opportunities such as those created by College Summit, and the development of an effective workforce such as those made possible through initiatives like the Los Angeles Youth Opportunity Movement and HIRE LA as “the keys to a promising economy, not only city-wide but across the country.”

As the Committee adjourned its meeting, the mayors expressed their intent to continue support for and commitment to programs such as the Los Angeles Youth Opportunity Movement, Hire LA and College Summit, as outlined by young adult panelists.

Adopted Resolutions