Job Training & Education

Planning a life worth celebrating

Unemployed at-risk youth have many barriers to success, but lack of a life plan may be the most discouraging. CFLC’s Youth Opportunity Centers in Hemet, Lake Elsinore, and Rubidoux identify career aptitudes for young job seekers, teach interview skills and customer service, arrange paid internships and employment in the business community and connect them to higher education. An experienced Youth Development Specialist tracks each participant's progress, guiding, encouraging, coaching (and sometimes parenting) them for a full two years.

Our new 14,000 square foot Rubidoux Youth Opportunity Center, with a hard wood basketball court, recording studio and computer lab, opened in February. Together, the three centers employed over 1,400 youth this year. The Summer Work Experience Program was particularly successful, employing 700 youth in just a few months, many of them as young as 14. Sixty-five found permanent unsubsidized employment in the construction, medical and industrial fields, public utilities, schools, counties, cities, retail and restaurants through CFLC's Job Training in 2009.

Certificate Training in customer service, computer skills, work etiquette, auto technology, photography, film and recording technology and many other fields helped our youth qualify for, and keep those jobs. Many earned their GED and 53 enrolled in college this year.

CFLC Job Training youth also volunteered for food drives, city beautification, children's day camps, charity fundraising events and many other public services. But it’s not all work; beach and snow trips, theme parks, sporting events, picnics, movies, and holiday celebrations showed them how to have good clean fun.