Career and employment success for at-risk young people is rooted in ongoing connections with parents, caregivers, friends, mentors, advocates, communities, schools, and employers. Specific tools and strategies can help in this process. Expanding on the It’s My Life transition framework, this concise handbook from the Casey Family Programs is intended for child welfare professionals and others responsible for helping young people prepare for transition to adulthood and the workplace. This guide provides the following recommendations to help prepare young people for employment:
- Start early to develop employability
- Cultivate interests and skills, and relate them to future employment
- Promote activities that help young people explore careers
- Build job-readiness skills
- Help young people get and keep jobs
- Promote work-related education and training after high school