We took Cody this past Friday to check out Job Corps. He decided he is going to go. He'll be able to get his GED, Driver's license, and training for a trade. He is going to check out Electrical work, Carpentry and Culinary.
The first week he goes, he'll have a physical, blood tests, drug tests and academic tests to see what he needs to learn for his GED.
The 2nd and 3rd weeks, he will 'shadow' a student so he can see what the training classes are like. He can check out all three of the trades and decide which it is he'd like to do. The 4th week, they help him with job applications, resumes and interviews.
Then he goes on to do his GED work and when a place opens up for the class he chooses to go to for his career, he'll start doing that too. The classes alternate each week, so he'll do GED work every other week, and his training on the other weeks.
He'll stay on campus in dorms. They provide all of his medical and dental. They provide all of his food, training and even entertainment. They even provide his bedding! He can go to the movies, skating, bowling, etc. They pay for the admission to that sort of stuff, but he has to cover his snacks.
They give him $20 biweekly to start with, then it will go up to $50 biweekly. Also, when he graduates, he'll get $1200. They'll help place him in a job and he'll have someone like a counselor for 1 year to make sure he is doing well at his job, and help him if there are any problems.
Their placement rate is 90%!!
Their dorms have lounges and they have big screen tv's, and computer with internet service. They also have stuff on campus for him to do, like arts and crafts and a weight room.
They also give him a $200 clothing allowance.And, in the dorms they have laundry facilities, so he can wash his clothes and such.
This won't cost us anything either. They go according to your income, and if ours is too high, then we will just not claim him as a dependent this year and he can file his own taxes, so he can qualify. I think it's a small price to pay for all of his training.
He will come home on weekends and he will have 2 - 2 week breaks in a year. One will be in July, but we don't have exact dates yet.
The place is about 45 minutes from home, so it's not too bad of a drive for us to go see him or get him. We can also go visit anytime, as long as we let them know in advance we are coming.
Oh and they'll help him get into college if he wants to go, after he finishes his GED. So he can do college and his technical training at the same time.
He's very excited about it, and he is going to call tomorrow to start the application process.
I told him when he graduates, I am throwing him a huge graduation party, just like I'd have done if he graduated from high school.
Electrical is the shiznit see if they offer lineman classes
see if they have a welding class, when i was in school i tock a class and loved it.
That's awesome Karen! Good for him. That's going to be a nice step into the "real world' for Cody.
*note to self: we'll now need less food for the picnic this year*
;)
LMAO Eric, I am trying to figure out how to do my grocery shopping without him here.... my bill will drop tremendously! :rollin:
They do not offer welding at this campus. He's really not interested in that. It is possible that he will go to 2 years of college while he is doing his training too.
I got him all signed in today.... he'll start in about 1 1/2 weeks if all goes well.
Good luck to him.He'll get a lot out of it if he applies himself and puts a lot into it.Glad to hear that the future is looking bright and there's a lot to look forward to for your boy.
Is this a government program? State? Federal?
I've never heard of this program
Jerry
It's a federal program. They have 122 centers all over the US. Each one teaches different things, but all operate the same way.
http://jobcorps.dol.gov/ (http://"http://jobcorps.dol.gov/")