Calls on next administration, incoming Congress to continue focus on student success, program longevity
WASHINGTON – The Department of Labor today announced new actions to secure the long-term stability of the Job Corps program and ensure this critical program operates within Congressionally appropriated funding levels. Specifically, the department will enter into negotiations with contractors who operate the non-federally operated Job Corps Centers nationwide in order to achieve savings that minimally impact services to students at those centers. The department will also temporarily pause operations at the Woodstock Job Corps Center in Woodstock, Maryland, and the Whitney M. Young Jr. Job Corps Center in Simpsonville, Kentucky.
For students at the two temporarily paused Job Corps Centers in Woodstock and Simpsonville, transfers will be arranged to nearby centers so they may complete their training. The department will also provide assistance to potentially impacted staff at these centers.
“The Department of Labor is committed to ensuring the long-term success and stability of Job Corps, which has operated for years in the face of increasing costs,” said Job Corps Administrator John E. Hall. “The department’s analysis indicates the strategies we have used to cut costs will not be enough in the coming year; so we must take further actions – including renegotiating contracts with all non-federal center operators and temporarily pausing operations at two centers – to ensure the Job Corps program remains viable into the future.”
Since 1964, the Job Corps Program has been a unique and transformational residential job training program, serving more than three million youth and young adults in all parts of the country. As part of the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to build on the program’s promise and success, the Department of Labor has implemented a “Job Corps 2.0” vision to enhance job training, job placement and student experience.
In the last four years, the Job Corps Program has taken a principled and balanced approach to its budget management to more efficiently deliver services in the face of limited funding increases from Congress. However, Job Corps’ budget has remained largely flat for the past several years despite rising program costs.
“The Job Corps Program recently celebrated 60 years of transformation in the lives of youth and young adults,” said Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training José Javier Rodríguez. “The Department of Labor has done everything possible during a period of effective budget cuts to continue enhancing job training and student services while taking a principled and balanced approach to cut costs and more efficiently deliver for students. The actions we announce today are part of positioning Job Corps for its next 60 years. It will be up to the incoming administration and the next Congress to follow this roadmap, build on the work of the Biden-Harris administration and continue delivering a transformational program to the youth and young adults served by Job Corps.”
In the coming weeks, teams from the Employment and Training Administration will be meeting with Job Corps program partners and impacted center operators as part of the department’s continued efforts to minimize student, staff and community impacts.
Learn more about the Job Corps program.
