Community Center director works to create job program for local youth: Teen Temps would provide training, experience

It’s still in the conceptual stages, but if it transpires Teen
Temps would offer local teens the skills they need to land a job
and area businesses prescreened, pre-trained temporary
employees.
Sebastopol Community Cultural Center Executive Director Diana Rich
came up with the idea for Teen Temp after she saw the success of a
pilot program she implemented last summer at the community center,
called Teen Job Toolkit.
A teenage boy, Isaak Acuna, with no previous employment, was given
a job at the community center for the summer. His job duties
consisted of an array of office work, including filing and
answering phones which helped him develop some primary job skills.
He also gained customer service skills and basic work ethics, such
as showing up on time and filling in his time card
accurately.
While there he also helped develop the Teen Job Toolkit, an online
program, consisting of sample resumes, interview tips and
guidelines on obtaining job shadowing and interviewing
opportunities.
“I realized that with some basic skill development and support and
mentoring, this youth developed into a very valuable employee. He
just needed some basic skills and training in order to be really,
very employable. And through the experience he now not only has a
basic skill set and training, but he also has prior employment to
put on his resume,” Rich said.
Teen Temps would offer multiple high school students similar
opportunities, as well as job placement, like someone would expect
from a typical temp agency.
“The idea, as I see it now, would be to prescreen teens, meaning
they would be hired by the community center. They would fill out an
application, they would interview and we would check their
references just like any other temp agency. These are entry-level
employees with no prior employment history and we would provide
them with job ready skills,” Rich said, referring to things like
attendance, appropriate dress and appearance, customer relations,
and so on.
Youths involved in Teen Temps would also be provided specific
training related to specific jobs. A teen wanting to become a
receptionist, for example, would need to learn more phone skills
than someone who wanted to be a grocery stock clerk and a file
clerk’s training would not be the same as a waiter’s.
The classroom instruction is one element. Actual work experience is
the other.
“What I foresee is having a system where a local business, if they
need a temporary employee, could call Teen Temps and a real person
would answer the phone, who would be knowledgeable about the teens
who are available for placement. The business would have confidence
in knowing the teen has been prescreened and is job ready,” Rich
said.
“What I see is about three months to ramp up, then we launch by
bringing on approximately 10 teens and spending about two-to-three
weeks in the job readiness stage and then we make them available to
local businesses in the fifth month. If we start in January we can
have those kids out working by summer,” Rich said.
Part of the “ramping up” stage is building local partnerships, Rich
said.
“There is a lot of outreach that has to happen; it can’t succeed
without partnerships with local businesses and government and
social service agencies,” she said, noting she will be pursuing
funding options in the next couple of months, which includes
approaching local service clubs.
Rich said she has already gotten positive feedback from many people
who “will know what local youth need and the best way to deliver
services to the teens.”
Laguna High School Principal Brenda Hoff is one of them.
“I’ve already got seven students who are ready to participate,”
Hoff said. “The idea of having a program that would do more than
help them write resumes is really wonderful. This program has the
really important additional elements of training and job
experience. In today’s world, that’s essential.
“These seven kids are willing and hard-working, but they cannot
find jobs because they have no real-world experience,” Hoff said.
“Some businesses aren’t willing to take a chance on them. This
project could change that for them, and allow them to contribute
meaningfully to their community.”
Teen Temps has the potential to benefit both students and the
community, West Sonoma County Union High School District
Superintendent Keller McDonald said.
“Kids would get real-life employment experience and employers would
connect with trained motivated workers. I don’t know why it’s so
difficult for kids to get that first job, (but) it often takes work
experience in order to successfully move up the ladder, and this
program would help students get that important work experience,” he
said.
Rich said that both of the local Rotaries have expressed support
and an interest in partnering on the project.
Sebastopol Rotary President Aleia Coate agreed that Teen Temps is
an idea that is long overdue. She said she recalls going to job
fairs as an Analy student, and having job shadow opportunities when
she was growing up. She is saddened by the lack of work experience
opportunities for youth currently, and heartened by the idea that
Rotary businesses could partner with Teen Temps to help fill that
gap.
“Vocational programs are a major focus for Rotary. This program
sounds like a perfect way for Rotary to help local youth get
real-life work experience,” Coate said, adding, “I’m very excited
about the possibilities.”
Sebastopol Sunrise Rotary President Jerry Meshulam agreed with her
sentiments: “Rotary has always been interested in finding a way to
provide youth with job shadow or similar work experience
opportunities. Teen Temps sounds like a format that could be the
solution, especially with local businesses involved in the
developmental stage.”
Teen Temps is still in the conceptual stage, open to partnerships,
suggestions, support and input from the community.
“This project, to succeed, has to be a community project,” Rich
said.
People interested in helping or donating resources of any kind can
call Rich at 823-1511.