San Rafael, CA – With new career goals in mind, nine young adults recently graduated from the County of Marin Career Explorers program (CMCE) after successfully completing internships with the County government departments over the summer.
CMCE clients Kaleb Berry (left) and Joshua Berry (center) watch the graduation ceremony with program staff member LaToya Webb (right) of the Health and Human Services Department.
CMCE, hosted and operated by the Marin County Department of Health and Human Services’
Marin Employment Connection, is funded by the
Marin County Probation Department and supported by the Marin County
Human Resources Department. The CMCE program has one main goal: to place youths from vulnerable situations into jobs or internships and expose them to the County government and its many career opportunities.
It was so successful in its debut that the departments are collaborating to continue CMCE in the summer of 2017.
“We wanted to offer a program to young adults that not only provided work experience but that also provided the tools and information necessary to navigate school, career, the workforce and life as a whole,” said Social Services Program Manager Patricia Borrego. “It was an amazing experience to see the participants learn new skills and new things about themselves and then be able to apply it to their everyday challenges and personal situations. This program opened their eyes to the opportunities available to them, and I look forward to expanding and enhancing the program next summer.”
In mid-June, participants between the ages of 16 and 22 immersed themselves in a week-long work-readiness workshop that covered topics such as mastering job applications and having a successful job interview. They identified their personal strengths and researched what kinds of fields would lead to job satisfaction. At the end of the week, 10 young people were accepted for various internship assignments with Marin County Parks, the Marin County Free Library, Human Resources, Health and Human Services, and Information Services and Technology. Nine participants completed the program over the next six weeks.
The program included talks from guest speakers and hands-on workshops by Wells Fargo Bank and the College of Marin. The guest speakers discussed their own professional journeys and their day-to-day work routines to provide real-world examples for the young participants.
Each week, the program graduates were paid for 20 hours of internship work and five additional hours of in-class career exploration and job readiness workshops. During the last week of the program, the participants were invited back to the Marin Employment Connection for more training to increase their skills in the areas of interviewing, resume creation and public speaking.
“My department, the County as a whole and I are so fortunate to have been involved in this amazing program,” said Marin County Assistant Director of Human Resources Lisa Baker. “Not only did it provide experience, money and connections for the participants, but it also provided our employees an opportunity to stretch their leadership skills and collaborate with our community. The program was truly a win-win all the way around. I look forward to continuing this partnership.”
The Probation Department spent $35,000 on the CMCE program and has pledged to do the same in 2017. The funding covered the costs of stipends, work uniforms, food, transportation and the salary of a Marin Parks Youth Crew Supervisor.
The hosts and organizers from the Marin Employment Connection also included Employment Development Counselors Dan Daniels and Luis Luciano and Eligibility Worker II LaToya Webb. The program fell into line with Marin County’s 5 Year Business Plan goal of developing a world-class internship program by increasing the number of interns working for the County by 10 percent in the next two years.
Learn more about the program, check the Marin Employment Connection webpage or email Patricia Borrego at pborrego@marincounty.org.