Back to Basics

As Job Corps works to enroll new students and utilize its campuses’ full capacity, the NJCA is collecting resources from across our community to aid Job Corps campuses in enrolling and retaining as many students as possible. As a result of the disruptions our campuses have experienced this year, there are many new Job Corps staff across the system. These resources will aid them in learning best practices with respect to welcoming and retaining new students. We encourage Job Corps operators to utilize and adapt these templates to their campuses’ needs.

Building Up OBS

A goal without a plan is just a wish, so one of the most important tools for ensuring our teams are aligned toward the goal of onboarding and retaining as many students as possible is to have a OBS build up plan.

• OBS Build Up Plan Template
• OBS Case Study Briefs – NYC and Earle C. Clements Blitzes
  • Reengaging Withdrawn and Inactive Prospects
  • ECCJC Action Plan to Increase Enrollments

Data Integrity

Consistent and accurate data integrity is an essential part of Job Corps campus operations.  Accurate OA documentation protects applicants, staff, and the Job Corps program. It supports compliance, and ensures eligibility decisions are complete, consistent, and audit-ready.  Accurate CTS documentation protects data integrity, supports continuity of services, and ensures transition services are traceable, consistent, and audit-ready.

• Data Integrity in Job Corps Admissions (recorded training)
  • Slide deck
• Data Integrity in Job Corps Career Transition Services (recorded training)
  • Slide deck

Leading Through Crisis

Job Corps staff have had to navigate extraordinary uncertainty this year. To aid our community’s leaders in continuing to effectively guide Job Corps staff and students through challenging times, it’s worth reflecting on best practices for leading through crises. The presentation below is meant to be facilitated in order to foster discussion and reflection.

• How to Survive as a Leader in a Crisis
  • How to Survive as a Leader in a Crisis (FACILITATION GUIDE)
  • Rate Yourself Handout

Outreach and Admissions

The Department of Labor has reduced its investments in Job Corps marketing. Effective outreach and admissions will be critical to ensuring the necessary flow of prospects, applicants, and arrivals to utilize Job Corps’ full capacity. The tools and best practices below can help ensure we’re maximizing the efficiency and effectiveness of our outreach and admissions efforts.

• Back to the Basics: Outreach and Admissions
• Outreach Best Practice: Street Teams
  • Street Teams Tracking Template
• Back to the Basics: Using MyJobCorps
• Background Check Summary Report Template
• Outreach and Admissions Performance Tracking
  • OA Performance Tracking – Applicant Funnel Tool and File Production Tracker (recorded training)
  • Applicant File Clean-up
  • OA Production Tracking
  • Template – Applicant Funnel Tool
  • Template – Folder Production Tracker

Outcome Measurement System

• Job Corps Outcome Measurement System (recorded training)
  • Slide deck

PRH Compliance/Assessment Ready Tool

As normal operations have resumed, including DOL assessments, it is critically important that every Job Corps campus ensure it is complying with the PRH. To bring our compliance monitoring process into the 21st century, members of the Job Corps community have developed a mobile checklist that allows:

1. Staff to document compliance in real-time from their phones or tablets while moving around our campuses; and
2. Managers and corporate offices to generate reports and more easily monitor compliance.

If you do not yet have access to this tool but are interested in using it, please contact your corporate office. Your corporate office can work through the NJCA to get the necessary login credentials for your center.

Follow the link below for an overview of the tool and instructions on how to utilize it.

• Assessment Ready Tool Overview

Retention and Culture

One of the greatest challenges we faced during our COVID build up was retaining new students. The good news is we’ve made significant progress in returning our retention rates to historical averages by focusing on improving the culture of our campuses. This is a campus-wide effort.

• Job Corps Retention and Culture Presentation
• Back to the Basics: Center Readiness and Student Retention
• Improving Pre-Arrival
• Deescalation (Show) Strategies

Introduction to Training Management

• Academics (recorded training)
  • Slide Deck
  • Q&A
• CTT (recorded training)
  • Slide Deck
  • Q&A

Security

As more students, staff, and visitors arrive on campuses, it is critically important that every Job Corps campus ensure it is complying with the Policy and Requirements Handbook (PRH) with regards to security and maintaining a safe environment.  This training will review a variety of Job Corps security functions with an emphasis on recent incidents and assessments.

• Security Training: A Review Based on Recent Focus Items (recorded training)
  • Slide Deck