THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 16, 1996 TAG: 9602140184
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 06K EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY GARY EDWARDS
CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
Jamal Parker, 20, dropped out of Bayside High School before getting his diploma. Now the Lake Edward Apartments resident is getting a second chance at completing his education and learning a marketable skill.
Parker is now in Potomac, Md., where the Job Corps program runs one of its residential campuses.
``I'd like to either get into carpentry or electronics,'' Parker said recently at an information session at the Central Library to explain the Job Corps and its opportunities. He was one of 12 young people who signed up for Job Corps training as a result of the meeting.
Job Corps began in 1964, part of then President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society effort. It is administered by the Department of Labor, has 110 job centers nationwide and a coming fiscal year budget of $1.1 billion.
About 60,000 qualified applicants enter Job Corps training each year. To qualify, they must be unemployed and between the ages of 16 to 24 with limited financial resources.
Jobs Corps interest has waned in Hampton Roads in recent years, said Tony Alleyne, an admissions counselor for Job Corps recruitment in Norfolk who led the seminar at the Central Library. In the crowd of about 100 were possible applicants, joined by parents, friends and other interested people.
Alleyne gave a history and overview of Jobs Corps, showed a 12-minute video about the program and answered questions.
Mostly, though, he emphasized the benefits of the training, using as inspiration something people of all ages can appreciate: money.
``Even with all the budget problems with the government, Job Corps has increased funding to help give young people a second chance,'' he told them.
Job Corps participants receive vocational, academic and social skills education. They also receive room and board, free medical care and a cash stipend during their stay. They can remain in the program for as long as two years.
The Virginia Beach Police Department, in an effort to increase interest in the Job Corps among potential candidates in the city, spread the word in targeted neighborhoods, high-risk areas where Job Corps can offer a way out and a path to a brighter future.
The police talked to residents, placed fliers about the program in convenience stores and tried to spread the word on the opportunity.
Job Corps students who complete the training enjoy about an 80 percent success rate being placed in a job, Alleyne told the gathering. MEMO: For more information on the Job Corps, call Tony Alleyne at 587-2762.
ILLUSTRATION: Photo by GARY EDWARDS
Gail Parker's son, Jamal, says he'd like to get either into
carpentry or electronics after completing training.
by CNB