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EDITORIALS
Good way to make Sch’dy youth job-ready

    Given its current financial crisis, creating a career development center for at-risk youth is not something that Schenectady County can afford to do. Besides, government has a rather spotty track record when it comes to work training programs. But there is little more important than educating and preparing disadvantaged young people for jobs, to prevent them from becoming part of the permanent underclass. That’s why we were so pleased to see Northeast Parent and Child Society, partnering with the county, receive a $750,000 Community Development Block Grant grant to provide job training for disadvantaged youth around the county.
    Northeast Parent and Child, which provides programs, shelter and counseling for troubled kids, does have a good track record with career training. For the last few years it has run a program called YouthBuild, which trains young people between the ages of 18 and 24 for jobs in the construction industry. And it has been very successful, working with other community organizations like Better Neighborhoods Inc. to give participants hands-on experience while learning leadership and life skills and improving their community. Most participants have stuck with the program, which also requires them to get a high school equivalency diploma if they never graduated; then gone on to get, and keep, jobs in the construction fi eld.
    More than 1,000 18- to 24-year-olds will be eligible for the new program, and more than 250 a year will receive training. The focus will be on youth in the towns, because the federal grant, which comes through the state Office of Small Cities, is available only to municipalities with less than 50,000 population. The city of Schenectady has a larger population than that, but its youth will still be able to access the services using different funds.
    As with YouthBuild, the key is training young people for high-demand jobs, including computers, construction, digital imaging, emergency medical technician, graphics and brownfields remediation. And exposing them to these jobs through internships, with job counselors and work mentors from Northeast continuing to give support. After the internship, all participants will transition either to college or a full-time job. Six unions and more than 10 companies have committed to hiring participants after they have completed the program and received appropriate certifications.
    Gone are the days in this country when young people with limited education and no skills could get a decent-paying job in a factory, with benefits, and raise a family. Career jobs are still available, but one needs at least a high school degree, a good work ethic and a specifi c skill. That will take an intensive and comprehensive effort, which this program seems capable of providing. If it works, many young people in Schenectady County will have an opportunity to.

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   SCHENECTADY — A city teen was charged with committing sex acts against a younger teen at a group home.
    Wayne Edward Baker, 16, was charged Friday evening with four counts of felony criminal sex act. The alleged incidents occurred at Northeast Parent and Child, 122 Park Ave., police said.
    Police said Baker assaulted a 14-year-old boy between Monday and Friday.
    Baker is being charged as an adult in connection with the alleged incidents.
Robbers assault deaf, mute man

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SCHENECTADY
Program to educate young adults is paying dividends
Additional funding allows training program to double in size
BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Michael Lamendola at 395-3114 or lamend@dailygazette.com.

    William Santiago, formerly of Brooklyn, wanted to start a new life in Schenectady with his wife and baby boy.
    “It was such a difference in lifestyle. It seemed such a good place to raise a family,” he said.
    First, though, Santiago had to find a decent-paying job. Trouble was, he had dropped out of school in the 11th grade and had few job skills.
    Santiago managed to find a job with the local Wal-Mart, but he had broader ambitions. He had promised his mother he would finish school and he wanted to own his own home.
    One day in 2006, his wife, Debbie, showed him a flier from Northeast Parent & Child Society of Schenectady. It changed his life.
    The flier advertised the start of a new program that would teach marketable job skills in the construction trade and would offer participants a chance to gain their GED. So Santiago signed up for YouthBuild.
    YouthBuild is a nationwide youth and community development program launched in 1990. It targets people ages 18-24 who do not have a high school diploma, who are not working, or who have a history of chronic unemployment.
    “We work with them to turn that around and teach them skills to obtain high-paying jobs,” said Laura Alpert, Northeast spokeswoman.
    Northeast, a nonprofit community service agency, offered Youth-Build in 2006 when it launched its career development services. The federal government provided $390,000 in start-up money.
    Last week, Northeast received an additional $687,500 in federal stimulus money to double enrollment in the program from 22 to 44 participants. In announcing the grant award, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis called YouthBuild a promising program that “does so much for youth and their communities.”
    Santiago, 26, was one of 92 people to apply for 22 spots in the first class. Classes last a year consisted of six months of on-the-job training and six months of education classes. Graduates receive job placement services or help in applying for college.
    Two classes have been completed to date and a third is under way. Of 44 graduates from two classes, 36 are employed or in college, Alpert said. The third class will graduate this summer, she said.
    Because of the large number of applications for the first classes, Northeast had to use a rigorous application process to get down to 22 slots, Alpert said.
    “It’s called mental toughness. Participants do different construction projects to see if they want to do this as a career,” Alpert said.
    Santiago completed the twoweek test and then told Northeast officials he wanted to finish the program. They gave him a slot. A year later, he graduated with a degree and two weeks after that he was working full time for Solid Surface Craftsman, a Glenville-based company that uses man-made and natural products to create custom counter tops.
    Santiago started as an installer but soon was promoted to lead installer and is in charge of two people.
    “I like it,” he said. “The money is not bad and I like customer service. I like to work with people and when they see what we have done and they like it, it makes me feel good.” ........>>>>...........>>>>.........http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar01300