| As a youth workforce development professional for | | | | gap in communication between the average middle |
| the past 20 years, I have rolled with the punches, | | | | class educator and the young people they are |
| promoting and carrying out the order of the day in the | | | | supposed to assist. Instead of considering the road |
| effort of preparing youth for the employment world. | | | | that has been traveled, many educators sit on their |
| First, I was told to emphasize pre-employment work | | | | side of the table, judging the young person they see on |
| maturity competencies, then focus on high stakes high | | | | the other side of the table. Before properly assessing |
| standard testing. From there I was prompted to help | | | | the situation, acknowledging the challenges that were |
| build an employer demand driven workforce system. | | | | overcome up to that point, they'd rather declare that |
| And now -- Green jobs. At this stage, I have grown | | | | they don't have a chance. They'd rather assume there |
| weary of following an uninformed agenda. How is it | | | | must be some sort of gang affiliation, or question why |
| that those who don't work in the field can make up | | | | they dress or look the way they do. What they need |
| these terms for those who do, as if they have a | | | | to say is, "I feel your struggle and I understand your |
| better read on the young people we serve? | | | | hustle. Let us work together to find a way out of this |
| Let's keep it real for a minute. The young people I | | | | mess." |
| work with are facing challenges that reach far beyond | | | | Who understands youth better than youth? |
| the realm of pre-employment work maturity training. | | | | Though I constantly hear clueless policymakers speak |
| How do you hold youth accountable to high standards | | | | about reducing the drop-out rate, solving the |
| when they're dealing with the issues of a substandard | | | | unemployment rate, and getting more youth off the |
| living system? How exactly do you take the hardest | | | | streets and into programs, they tend to get quiet when |
| to serve, most at-risk youth and turn them into | | | | the question of where all these new teachers and |
| Lockheed Martin's employee of the month six months | | | | support are coming from. They're talking a good game, |
| later? I may be a lot of things, but magician is not one | | | | but if you can't deliver, why waste the breath? |
| of those things, and it is that sort of unrealistic thinking | | | | While the Bureau of Labor Statistics is unable to give a |
| that made the employer demand driven workforce | | | | straight answer on green jobs creation, they sure |
| system laughable. So now, I can't help but wonder | | | | know about the growth of human service occupations. |
| what miracle they want me to perform with Green | | | | With a 34% increase in the next few years, jobs will |
| Jobs. | | | | be plentiful. The number of social and human service |
| Now don't get me wrong - saving the planet and job | | | | assistants is projected to grow by nearly 34 percent |
| creation is a good thing. Many of my colleagues would | | | | between 2006 and 2016, which is much faster than |
| have me hog-tied and bull-whipped for speaking out | | | | the average for all occupations. Besides, aren't we the |
| against any job creation strategy that would put | | | | human service agencies that they are talking about? |
| opportunity in the path of blue collar workers. And I | | | | We are the ones that will need trained culturally |
| agree. But I think there is something else that we are | | | | competent workers? I think I got it right?. My target |
| missing. We're missing the power and potential of | | | | audience is not the dentists or computer engineers. My |
| Brown Jobs. What is a Brown Job? Brown Jobs | | | | presentations are designed for the direct human |
| reflect the ultimate in reciprocity. These are the jobs | | | | service organizations or those pretending to be one. |
| where the unemployed are trained to help the | | | | We are the ones who will be creating the jobs, and |
| unemployed, the poor are given the opportunity to help | | | | who better to hire than the young adults we love and |
| the poor, and the undereducated are trained to | | | | transform our educational and human service system? |
| educate the uneducated. These are the jobs where | | | | Simple! |
| those that are forgotten and overlooked become the | | | | It is my opinion that more youth will find more |
| advocates for those who look exactly like they did | | | | successful, productive work in the human service |
| once upon a time, with the most important aspect of | | | | system than in the green industry, which may lead to |
| their job is to make sure that they are not overlooked | | | | nothing more than moving shrubs and clearing bushes. |
| and undervalued again. | | | | The report, 7 Myths about Green Jobs published by |
| Community service, right? Wrong. Brown jobs are | | | | the University of Illinois and Case Western University |
| career tracked jobs that are tailor-made for the most | | | | challenges the efficacy of the Green Jobs Model. |
| disenfranchised. Do-good students from Ivy League | | | | Programs already have a hard time getting youth off |
| Colleges and Universities looking to spruce up their | | | | the streets and into the construction labor unions. What |
| resumes won't fit the bill because this type of work | | | | makes the Green Industry any different? I say let them |
| requires the ability to relate on a level that goes | | | | work of us. |
| deeper then something you've "read about." | | | | There's one caveat. It is our responsibility to make |
| Why Brown jobs? Simply put, the hard work has to be | | | | these jobs permanent and incorporate them into the |
| done by someone and who better than the youth who | | | | matrix of our human service system. For the past |
| have lived the struggle? After all, the real battle often | | | | three years, YDRF has pushed Peer Support |
| takes place in the communities well after the hours of | | | | Workers (PSWs) as an entry level entrée to |
| 9 to 5. Who better than youth to fit this bill? I often ask | | | | the workforce development system. Groups of trained |
| my listening audience: "Are you willing to miss your | | | | and paid youth with intent focus on program and peer |
| son's football game or your daughter's piano recital to | | | | development activity should adorn every school, GED |
| meet with youth leaders at 10:00 pm to organize | | | | class and Job Training program. The PSW will have a |
| against the local employer who refuses to hire youth | | | | detailed career track to other positions in the |
| within the community?" Most teachers are ready to | | | | organization and within the civil service system. |
| pack up shop by 3:00 pm, so who else is going to take | | | | It should come to us as no surprise that if we keep |
| on this task? | | | | using traditional measures to select teachers and youth |
| There are none better than the youth we serve to fill | | | | workers, those who fall outside those traditional |
| in these gaps. Why? Because they are already there! | | | | measures will be discounted and overlooked. |
| Any youth worker will tell you that our goal is to make | | | | Consequently the Ivy League student gets more |
| sure that when youth leave our program, our program | | | | opportunities to work in the hood than the committed, |
| never leaves them. Let's put these youth to work in | | | | ex 'offender who knows the error of his ways and is |
| Brown jobs, uplifting their peers, community, and | | | | committed to making sure no one walks down that |
| improving the educational and workforce system. The | | | | path. |
| benefits for such an investment will be huge. The | | | | If we continue to use these traditional measures for |
| Brown Job Industry would fulfill the following: | | | | building the human service workforce, we will get the |
| - Sufficient job creation for poor unemployed youth. | | | | same substandard, lack-luster results we've always |
| - Youth entry-level positions that allow for rapid | | | | gotten, and we will deny the opportunity of a new |
| progression through a combination of experience, | | | | breed of workers to carry the torch to take their |
| education, and on-the job training. | | | | peers into the 21st Century, fight injustice, and |
| - Long-term benefit within affected communities and | | | | advocate for those who are undervalued and |
| the society as a whole. | | | | overlooked. |
| The only way to effectively reach the youth is with | | | | The new Brown economy is an economy of service |
| help from the youth. | | | | to our fellow humans, the ones who need it most. It is |
| This is a concept we as youth workers have | | | | ready and waiting for us to put it in force. Let's put |
| embraced for several years. It only takes a couple of | | | | those who've been there, back there and watch what |
| seconds of observation to see the enormity of the | | | | happens. |