The Lawrence Neighborhood Service Center launched a new hands-on program this week to help teenagers prepare for employment.
By:Lea Kahn Staff Writer
Sometimes, all it takes to help a high school student find a summer job or part-time job is to show a little caring and that’s what the Lawrence Neighborhood Service Center intends to do through a new program.
Creating Alternatives for Real Employment (CARE) was launched this week by LNSC officials. CARE targets children from 14 to 18 years old, and nearly two dozen teens have taken up the center on its offer to help, said LNSC Executive Director Carlos Hendricks.
"The purpose of the program is to prepare youths for jobs," Mr. Hendricks said. "It teaches them how to write a resume, how to dress for a job interview and what types of questions they should ask."
CARE also will position the neighborhood center on Eggerts Crossing Road to help place students in a job, he said. The center is making contacts with employers, ranging from Commerce Bank to the Educational Testing Service and the ShopRite grocery store on South Olden Avenue in Ewing, for example, he said.
During the yearlong program, CARE will arrange for guest speakers and also hold workshops, said Justin Leonard, LNSC youth services coordinator. He is involved in the program, along with program coordinator Elliot Brame.
During May, two workshops are scheduled one workshop on goal-setting and how to achieve a goal, and another one on how to dress for an interview, Mr. Leonard said.
The goal-setting workshop is important, Mr. Hendricks said. It will teach the teenagers how to set a goal and how to achieve it. A teenager who is athletic may want to become a physical education teacher, but he or she may not realize that the coursework involves science classes, he said.
In addition to workshops, field trips are planned including one to Commerce Bank, Mr. Leonard said. Field trips to other potential employers, including Lawrence Township and Mercer County, also are planned for later in the year.
"We will visit employers at least twice a month," Mr. Leonard said. "We will also have a workshop session to help the students assess what type of job they want to go into."
Plans have been made for a representative of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) to speak to the students and to explain the necessary steps to become an electrician and join the union, for example.
Mr. Hendricks said it’s a good idea to explain various jobs and career offerings, but it’s an even better idea to expose the teenagers to the jobs through field trips.
Job fairs are also important, and CARE will help the teenagers prepare for them, Mr. Hendricks said. Employers set up booths at a job fair to explain their business and also hand out employment applications to job applicants, he said.
Mr. Brame said many young people are poorly prepared for a job fair. They do not have a resume prepared and they often are not dressed in appropriate attire, he said.
Mr. Hendricks said job readiness programs have their place, but students may not be told how to actually find a job. It is difficult for young people to develop the skills they need to find employment and hold down a job, he said.
"CARE should help the youth get hired and keep a job," Mr. Hendricks said. "That’s where the LNSC as an organization wants to go."
For more information on CARE or to enroll in the program, call the Lawrence Neighborhood Service Center at (609) 883-3379. The office is open weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.