This December, CONNECT2Careers (C2C) hit its goal of providing 2,000 employment opportunities to San Diego County young adults in 2017. This represents more than doubling job placements from 2016—which was a twofold increase from the year prior.
This success was made possible with the support of partners in government, philanthropy, community-based organizations and the private sector.
The City of San Diego and the James Irvine Foundation provided key operating support for the program. With the support of the County of San Diego’s Community Action Partnership, C2C was able to operate two cohorts of the School Break Externship Program. Through an exciting new partnership with the City of San Diego’s Volunteer, Internship and Work Readiness office, C2C now hires 250 youth each year to serve as paid mentees for City of San Diego employees. Additional funding for C2C came from the San Diego City Council, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, Bank of America, the San Diego Foundation and Vista Unified School District.
Employers in countless industries opened their doors to youth from C2C, and with the help of nonprofit and education partners, C2C provided training to over 6,000 young people.
In collaboration with the San Diego Workforce Partnership’s Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act funded partners who provide comprehensive employment and wrap-around services, the impact on youth employment in San Diego County was further expanded.
Lastly, these results would not have been attainable without the efforts of C2C’s internal team. In 2017:
- Peer job coaches sent and received more than 150,000 text messages and spend almost 250 hours on the phone with their peers to help them attain employment
- Business program specialists organized hiring events for over 1,000 youth
- Training specialists taught over 6,000 young adults key job search skills like résumé-building and elevator pitches
Great strides were made for youth employment in San Diego County this year, but there’s still more work to be done. With 43,000 opportunity youth in San Diego County, we need your help to expand our work and reach our 2018 goal of 3,000 jobs for San Diego’s youth.
Stay tuned for announcements about exciting new partners in key sectors like retail and STEAM.
Ready to get involved in the coming year?
- Employers interested in hiring with C2C can request more information
- Schools and community-based organizations looking to partner with C2C can request a training
- Funders interested helping C2C continue to bring jobs to more of San Diego’s young people in 2018 can contact Karmin Noar, Director of Programs, at (619) 228-2917 or KarminNoar@workforce.com