Latest news with #youthTraining

Zawya
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Zawya
Eritrea: Training on Social Science in Gash Barka
The office of the PFDJ in the Gash Barka Region has provided training on social science to youth workers in the region. The training was conducted from 23 June to 2 July in Barentu. The objective of the training was to enhance the productivity and overall awareness of the youth working in PFDJ and Government institutions. The training was attended by 139 participants, including 68 females, composed of youth Government workers and PFDJ organizations. Mr. Ahmed Tahir, Head of Political Affairs of the PFDJ in the region, stated that the training covered the basic concepts of politics, the significance and necessity of organization, the history of the Eritrean people from ancient times to independence, the National Charter, organizational framework and transitional law, nation and nationalism, religious radicalism and its consequences, as well as the role of youth in resilience and development. Indicating that this was the first training of its kind organized at the regional level, Ambassador Mahmud Ali Jabra, Secretary of the PFDJ in the region, said that it would make a significant contribution to strengthening political and organizational activities. At the event, Brig. Gen. Eyob Fesehaye (Halibai), Commander of the Eastern Command of the Eritrean Defense Forces, delivered a seminar focusing on the role of cadres in the political and armed struggle of the Eritrean people, as well as on the current situation in the homeland. Brig. Gen. Eyob also called on the youth to develop their overall understanding and awareness and to strengthen their contribution and participation in national affairs. During the event, participants voluntarily donated blood to help enrich the blood supply of health facilities. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Information, Eritrea.


Reuters
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
US judge extends block on Trump's bid to eliminate Job Corps program
June 25 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Wednesday extended a temporary order stopping President Donald Trump's administration from shutting down Job Corps, a major residential job training program for low-income youth. U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter in Manhattan said the abrupt shuttering, opens new tab of the 60-year-old program by the U.S. Department of Labor without authorization from Congress was likely illegal. The ruling came in a lawsuit by the National Job Corps Association, a trade group for contractors who operate Job Corps sites, and some of its members. Carter blocked the Labor Department from ending the program pending the outcome of the lawsuit, extending an emergency ruling he issued earlier in June. Job Corps was created by Congress in 1964 and allows people aged 16-24 from disadvantaged backgrounds to obtain high school diplomas or an equivalent, vocational certificates and licenses, and on-the-job training. The program currently serves about 25,000 people at 120 Job Corps centers run by contractors and has a $1.7 billion budget. Shuttering the program is a small piece of a broader effort by Trump, a Republican, and his appointees to drastically shrink the federal bureaucracy, including by getting rid of some offices and agencies altogether. The Labor Department announced the end of the program in May, saying it was not cost-effective, had a low graduation rate and was not placing participants in stable jobs. The department also said there had been thousands of instances of violence, drug use and security breaches at Job Corps centers. The NJCA and other plaintiffs claim the Labor Department does not have the power to dismantle a program established and funded by Congress. Federal law allows the department to close individual Job Corps centers only after seeking public comment and notifying local members of Congress, according to the lawsuit. Ending Job Corps would have disastrous consequences for participants, contractors, and communities where centers are located, the plaintiffs said.


Washington Post
05-06-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
Judge and lawmakers question the Trump administration's plan to gut Job Corps centers
Members of Congress and a federal judge are questioning the Trump administration's plan to shut down Job Corps centers nationwide and halt a residential career training program for low-income youth that was established more than 50 years ago. The Department of Labor last week announced a nationwide 'pause of operations' for dozens of Job Corps centers run by private contractors . The department cited an internal review that concluded the program was costly and had a low success rate.

Associated Press
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Judge and lawmakers question the Trump administration's plan to gut Job Corps centers
Members of Congress and a federal judge are questioning the Trump administration's plan to shut down Job Corps centers nationwide and halt a residential career training program for low-income youth that was established more than 50 years ago. The Department of Labor last week announced a nationwide 'pause of operations' for dozens of Job Corps centers run by private contractors. The department cited an internal review that concluded the program was costly and had a low success rate. The review also identified safety issues at the residential campuses. The Department of Labor said it would transition students and staff out of the locations by June 30. The program was designed for teenagers and young adults who struggled to finish high school in traditional school settings and then go on to obtain training and find jobs. Participants received tuition-free housing, meals and health care. Critics have argued that closing the campuses would leave young people homeless and deprive them of opportunities and hope. They also maintained the Trump administration did not have legal authority to suspend Job Corps because it was created by Congress. Lawmakers asked Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer about the decision when she appeared before the House Education and Workforce Committee on Thursday. 'Job Corps, which you know has bipartisan support in Congress, trains young, low-income people, and helps them find good-paying jobs and provides housing for a population that might otherwise be without a home,' U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott said. Scott, a Virginia Democrat, read from a letter Chavez-DeRemer wrote in support of Job Corps last year. The letter said the program increased participants' employment and wages, and decreased their reliance on public benefits. 'You've made a starkly abrupt shift from a champion to a destroyer of this important program,' said Democratic Rep. Suzanne Bonamici of Oregon, adding that students in her district were distraught. In response, Chavez-DeRemer said she recognized that only an act of Congress could eliminate Job Corps. She said the Labor Department had instead used its authority to halt the program's operations but planned to comply with a federal court order that temporarily blocked the action. U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter of New York issued a temporary restraining order on Wednesday that prohibited the Labor Department from terminating jobs, removing students from the 99 contractor-run centers or eliminating the Job Corps program without congressional authorization. The order was sought as part of a lawsuit filed Tuesday by the National Job Corps Association, a trade group which includes business, labor, volunteer and community organizations. The group alleged the Labor Department's decision would have disastrous consequences, including displacing tens of thousands of vulnerable young people and forcing mass layoffs. During Thursday's House committee hearing, Scott asked several Job Corps students in attendance to stand. 'These students were on their way to getting a good job and earning a living wage. On behalf of them, I urge you to immediately reverse the decision to effectively shut down all Job Corps centers,' Scott said. Chavez-DeRemer responded that the Trump administration wanted to eliminate ineffective training interventions. The report released in April by the Labor Department's Employment and Training Administration said Job Corps operated at a $140 million deficit during the last fiscal year and had an average graduation rate of under 39%. 'Our recently released Job Corps transparency report showed that in 2023 alone, more than 14,000 serious incidents were reported at the Job Corps centers, including cases of sexual assault, physical violence, and drug use,' Chavez-DeRemer said. 'This program is failing to deliver safe and successful outcomes our young people deserve.' The National Job Corps Association maintained the statistics were misleading. It said the 14,000 serious incidents included power outages, inclement weather, athletic injuries that required treatment and adult students leaving campus without prior approva. The group also said that Job Corps' graduation rates have historically been above 60%, but were depressed by COVID-19 policies during the year the Labor Department reviewed. Seth Harris, senior fellow at the Burnes Center for Social Change at Northeastern University, said in an interview that Job Corps is wildly popular on Capitol Hill. He recalled having to slow down Job Corps due to funding challenges when he served as acting secretary of labor during former President Barack Obama's administration. 'I got angry calls from elected members of the House and Senate on both sides of the aisle,' Harris said. The Job Corps program was designed to help young people who were not succeeding in school or who had left school without a place to go, placing them in a residential setting outside their community and providing them with vocational training, he said. The Labor Department shutting down Job Corps would be illegal because there's a process outlined for closing down the centers which includes publishing performance data, justifying the closure and allowing time for public comment and remediation, he said. 'This is plainly illegal,' Harris said. 'But it is entirely on brand for Donald Trump to beat up on poor kids, largely kids of color, who are trying to make their lives better.'


Reuters
04-06-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Judge blocks Trump administration's effort to eliminate Job Corps
NEW YORK, June 4 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Wednesday temporarily stopped the Trump administration from moving ahead with an effort to eliminate the Job Corps, the largest U.S. job training program for low-income youth. U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter in Manhattan issued a temporary restraining order in a lawsuit filed by a trade group representing contractors that operate Job Corps centers. Carter ordered the government not to terminate Job Corps contractors or stop work at Job Corps centers until a further ruling in the case, and he ordered the Labor Department to appear at a court hearing on June 17. The lawsuit alleges that the U.S. Department of Labor is violating federal law and its own regulations by abruptly shuttering the program, a plan the agency announced last week, opens new tab. Job Corps was created by Congress in 1964 and allows 16-to-24-year-olds from disadvantaged backgrounds to obtain high school diplomas or an equivalent, vocational certificates and licenses and on-the-job training. The program currently serves about 25,000 people at 120 Job Corps centers run by contractors. The Labor Department in announcing the end of the program said it was not cost effective, had a low graduation rate and was not placing participants in stable jobs. The department also said there had been thousands of instances of violence, drug use and security breaches at Job Corps centers. The National Job Corps Association and other plaintiffs in Tuesday's lawsuit said the Labor Department does not have the power to dismantle a program established and funded by Congress. Shuttering Job Corps is a small piece of a broader effort by Trump, a Republican, and his appointees to drastically shrink the federal bureaucracy, including by getting rid of some offices and agencies altogether.