Job Skills and Minority Youth New Program Directions [Paperback]

This book evaluates new programs that aim to reduce minority youth unemployment by improving high school students' marketable job skills.This book uses a rigorous methodology to evaluate the effectiveness of recent initiatives that aim to improve minority high school students' marketable job skills. Focusing on effective design and implementation, it presents extensive case study material from programs offering apprenticeship-like experiences and mock interviews administered by human resource professionals.This book uses a rigorous methodology to evaluate the effectiveness of recent initiatives that aim to improve minority high school students' marketable job skills. Focusing on effective design and implementation, it presents extensive case study material from programs offering apprenticeship-like experiences and mock interviews administered by human resource professionals.Minority youth unemployment is an enduring economic and social concern. This book evaluates two new initiatives for minority high school students that seek to cultivate marketable job skills. The first is an after-school program that provides experiences similar to apprenticeships, and the second emphasizes new approaches to improving job interview performance. The evaluation research has several distinct strengths. It involves a randomized controlled trial, uncommon in assessments of this issue and age group. Marketable job skills are assessed through a mock job interview developed for this research and administered by experienced human resource professionals. Mixed methods are utilized, with qualitative data shedding light on what actually happens inside the programs, and a developmental science approach situates the findings in terms of adolescent development. Beneficial for policy makers and practitioners as well as scholars, Job Skills and Minority Youth focuses on identifying the most promising tactics and addressing likely implementation issues.1. Preparing youth for work; 2. Do youth in l×