Career Academies
The Youth Workforce Program offers multiple opportunities to explore different career fields in real work environments, while being paid for your time. Each of our Career Academies offers an eight week training with three days per week of paid work experience in your career choice and a fourth paid day of personal development including leadership skill building and career-specific trainings and certifications. We partner with over one hundred industry specific businesses and organizations to ensure that youth have great opportunities to gain in depth knowledge about their chosen field.
Construction Academy
If you are interested in any construction fields including carpentry, pipefitting, electrical, metal work or others, this is the Academy for you. You will get hands on time working with skilled craftsmen and learning their trade. The Construction Academy spends a little time each day improving construction math skills and then puts that new knowledge to work on useful and meaningful projects.
Over the last several years, we've partnered with the Lower Columbia Community Action Council to build houses for Self-Help Housing and also the Columbia Springs Environmental Education Center where we've built decks, raised walkways and other projects. We've also worked closing with the Oregon Building Congress, the Associated General Contractors, the PGE Utility Training Center, the Willamette Carpenters Union, E.I.B. Construction, the Homebuilders Association and many others. Through these organizations, you gain valuable contacts and opportunities for continued employment. We also work closely with the Washington State Apprenticeship Programs to ensure educational opportunities for youth.
Available in Clark and Cowlitz Counties.
Health Care Academy
The Health Care Academy is for any youth who thinks it would be fun and interesting to work in a hospital, clinic or doctor's office. These businesses have hundreds of different jobs necessary to their success. For example, what hospital can survive without a fully functioning phlebotomy program? (Phlebotomists draw blood from patients.) Or, without a great x-ray department or a team of qualified nurses, medical assistants and nursing assistants, billing agents, nutritionists or hundreds of others? And, the beauty of health care jobs is that you can start working in health care and continue your education through community college classes-all at the same time.
We work closely with two major medical centers-PeaceHealth in Cowlitz County and Southwest Washington Medical Center in Clark County-to provide hands-on training to youth. Each Health Care Academy participant works three days per week in the hospital and has a fourth day for trainings, field trips and leadership development. We explore the varied careers available and also tour Clark College and Lower Columbia Community College to get some idea of the educational opportunities in Health Care. Many of our students have gone on to work in health care fields.
Available in Clark and Cowlitz Counties.
Hospitality and Tourism Academy
Have you ever wondered how your luggage gets from the airplane to the luggage rack so quickly? Or, how the food gets delivered to all of those airport restaurants without you seeing it happen? Or, maybe how security officers deal with criminal activity at the airport? Through a unique partnership with Concessions International, Wendy's, the Port of Portland and the Portland Airport, youth in the Hospitality and Tourism Academy learn the answers to these questions.
If you join the Hospitality and Tourism Academy, you will spend one day per week touring all of those underground and out of sight areas of the airport and learn how things actually happen there. During the other three days per week, you will work with Wendy's to serve customers, cook burgers and fries and learn about small business management in an unusual environment. Further, we will help you obtain your security clearance which is a major qualification for high paying employment in other areas of the airport.
Available in Clark County only.
Environmental Academy
What do Forest Service employees, Park Rangers, water treatment plant managers, city planners, and farmers all have in common? They all have to understand ecology, land management, hydrology, geology and many other sciences. If you are interested in the effect of humans on the land, you might be interested in this team-oriented Academy.
During the Environmental Academy, you will spend your days outside working on projects involving invasive species removal, fish maintenance, stream analysis and environmental tourism. One day each week is reserved for a field trip where you'll explore these subjects first hand. The Academy frequently involves hiking, trail work, visits to remote sites such as the Ape Caves on Mt. St. Helens or a river rafting trip on the Deschutes, and other exciting and fun adventures.
Available in Clark County only.
Business and Technical Training Academy
Every business needs employees who can operate computers, manage software programs, develop and understand a spreadsheet and create systems to manage employees and workload. The Business and Technical Training Academy offers you the opportunity to learn these skills and gain certifications in Microsoft Office User Systems. The MOUS certification is recognized by business managers as the top of the line certification in office applications. With this certification, your skills will be in demand.
Like the other Academies, the Business and Technical Training Academy offers one day per week of training. You'll work at your own pace to accomplish the MOUS training. During the other three days per week, you'll put your new skills to work at one of our partner businesses. In the past, we've partnered with the Clark County Sheriff's Office, Evergreen School District, nLight Photonics, the Vancouver Housing Authority and others where youth can put their office know-how to good use.
Available in Clark and Cowlitz Counties.
Cool Beans Small Business Academy
Latté! Breve! Cappuccino! What does it take to make a perfect cappuccino? What is a cappuccino, anyway? You'll learn all of this and more in your work experience at Cool Beans. Located in the ESD 112 main building, Cool Beans is a year 'round small business that caters small meetings, serves speciality coffee drinks to staff and guests and provides salads, soups and other menu items. While working at Cool Beans, you will learn the ins and outs of customer service, making perfect specialty coffee drinks and small business management from inventory to staffing. Cool Beans also offers opportunities to advance from Barista to Car Manager and then to Cart Supervisor. After you finish your work experience, we'll arrange for a job shadow or on the job training at one of our partner businesses.
Cool Beans operates from 7:30-2:30 Monday through Friday, making it a great work experience for a college student or a youth attending alternative school.
Available in Clark County only.
Design Engineering Academy
Whether your interest is designing buildings or the newest computer part, engineering skill is critical. Most engineering jobs require significant education and that's what this Academy is about. We've designed this eight week work experience to allow exploration of the many opportunities available in engineering and manufacturing. We visit a variety of manufacturing organizations and learn what skills the employees need to do the job right. We also spend some time learning about educational opportunities for aspiring engineers.
Available in Clark County only.
Technical Communications Academy
"Quiet on the Set!" The Academy focuses on the skills needed for video production. You'll learn to use a video camera and a computer to film, edit, add sound and create amazing videos. Each eight week course involves experience creating commercials, movies, television spots and home videos. It's fascinating to learn the behind-the-scenes skills necessary to every video producer. This real skill can help you earn money by allowing you access to the equipment after you've completed the Academy.
Available in Clark County only.
Early Learning Academy
The State Training and Registry System (STARS) Certification is a requirement for any employee in childcare in Washington State. It is the lack of this certification that keep some great teachers and child care workers out of a job. The Youth Workforce Program has teamed up with the Southwest Washington Childcare Consortium to provide not only the training, but also hands-on work experience in a childcare facility. This Academy offers the STARS certification classes one day per week and allows the youth to work in childcare on during three days per week. The combination of real work experience and classroom training has led to many successful completions of the training and to employment in the field. We're very proud of the large number of placements in employment that follow this Academy.
Available in Clark and Cowlitz Counties.