WORKING GROUPS
SCALING UP SERVICE CORPS
In the down economy, many Americans are finding ways to transform economic dislocation into community engagement, and it is having a double effect. National service jobs – such as AmeriCorps, City Year, and Teach For America – ease entry into a tough job market by providing employees with vital career skills. Meanwhile, corps members are teaching in disadvantaged schools, fixing our national infrastructure, and rebuilding towns hit by natural disasters.
The private sector also has much to gain. Companies can strengthen ties to local communities through service corps mentorship programs, and new industries can establish pipelines that feed skilled corps graduates into their workforce. In order to expand these public services and business opportunities, this Working Group will scale up service corps programs through innovative partnerships between industry, workers, and the communities they serve.
SUBTOPICS
CORPORATE MENTORSHIP
Corporate employees can transfer professional skills to local communities by training and mentoring service corps participants.
LINKING SERVICE TO EMPLOYMENT
Service corps programs can work directly with employers to integrate industry-specific skills into service corps models, increasing the placement of graduates into new industries and higher-wage jobs.
SCALING UP PROGRAMS IN THE SOUTH
Additional resources can be channeled to meet the high demand for service corps programs among young people and older Americans in the South.
REACHING VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES
Service corps programs can provide both job training for and service to very low-income individuals, veterans, older Americans, and people with disabilities.