US Sen. Chris Murphy introduced new legislation last week to modernize the Job Corps and help connect youth to employment in strategic fields of national importance.

The bill, named the Job Corps for the Next Generation Act, is co-sponsored by Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island. It takes several steps to improve the Job Corps, including improving the student experience, giving local campuses more flexibility to tailor programming for their students and staff, and creating a new career training program that provides a direct pathway for youth disconnected from the workforce to enter careers of strategic national importance.

“Job Corps is an amazing program that helps train and connect young people across the country to good-paying jobs in fields like manufacturing and healthcare, but it’s in need of some serious updates,” said Murphy in a statement. “Last month, I had the chance to talk to Job Corps students and instructors in Hartford about how we can improve the programming and set students up for success in their future careers. This legislation would modernize Job Corps and ensure that helping students secure full-time employment is the top priority. I look forward to working to make sure it’s included in reauthorization of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act this year.”

Job Corps is the largest free residential career program in the country, having trained and educated over two million young people between the ages of 16-24 since its inception in 1984. The program helps students earn their college degrees, gives them job training and helps to place those who complete the program with employment opportunities. Job Corps also helps with other transitional services, such as help finding housing, child care, and transportation.

“For the past 60 years, Job Corps has helped connect young people who are out of the labor force with the career and technical education they need to get ahead while addressing critical workforce needs for employers,” Reed said. “This program has helped thousands of young people find their career paths while producing long-term labor market gains. Our legislation will update this vital program to ensure it meets the needs of today’s youth and employers.”

The improvements in Job Corps are aimed at assisting “disconnected” young people. These are people ages 14-26 who are either not in school, not employed, or both. Connecticut has convened the 119K Commission, which is a collaborative effort between Dalio Education, the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, and nonprofit youth service providers, and tasked it with helping young people reconnect to educational and employment opportunities. 

According to a report issued by the Commission, there are 119,000 young people in Connecticut who are either disconnected or at risk. That represents 19% of youth in the state, and according to the commission the bubble of disconnected youth poses a major challenge for the health and financial well-being of the disconnected, as well as the state. 

“I applaud Sen. Murphy and Sen. Reed for introducing the Job Corps for the Next Generation Act,” Andrew Ferguson, co-CEO of Dalio Education, said in a statement. “It’s a welcome step as we at Dalio Education continue to try and draw attention to and address the needs of the 119,000 young people in Connecticut who are at-risk of not graduating High School or disconnected from the workforce. These young people have dreams and aspirations just like everyone else. They also have enormous potential to succeed; what they need is some help.  Leadership like the kind being exhibited by Senators Murphy and Reed gives us hope that more help is on the way.”