Job Corps’ return on investment is not limited to the dollars recovered as a result of its students’ educational and skills gains. Job Corps campuses also represent a base of economic activity in their communities that is particularly important during these challenging economic times.
Job Corps succeeds because it takes a demand-driven approach to workforce development. Job Corps recognizes that the only way to prepare workers to be successful in the workforce is to train them for the jobs and to the standards that employers themselves identify.
Studies consistently find Job Corps to be the most effective national dropout recovery program. Last year, 75% of Job Corps’ nearly 50,000 enrollees entered employment or higher education, potentially saving taxpayers and society as much as $38 billion over their lifetimes!
Job Corps students have access to charter schools, online high school programs, co-enrollment programs with local schools and community colleges, and vocational offerings in over 100 different trades in 11 major industries. Everything they need to begin a successful career!
–PRESIDENT LYNDON B. JOHNSON (Special Message to the Congress Proposing a Nationwide War on the Sources of Poverty through the Creation of Job Corps and Other Programs)