SLATE Announces Contractors To Provide Youth Services

St. Louis Agency on Training and Employment (SLATE) has announced the names of five contractors to provide year-round services to youth for the new program year. The announcement was made at the Youth Council conducted at SLATE's Downtown location, 1520 Market Street, on July 25, 2012. After a brief introduction, each contractor presented a summary of their youth program to SLATE Youth Council members and SLATE staff. The contractors are as follows:

MERS/Missouri Goodwill Industries, Inc.
Since 1918 MERS/Goodwill has been helping people with disabilities and other barriers to employment advance to a meaningful and self-sustainable career. Persons of all ages (16 to 70+) can receive services associated with finding and securing a job, but youth has always been one of the agency's main focuses. The agency partners with Missouri's Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, St. Louis Public Schools and St. Louis Courts to serve youth with disabilities transitioning out of high school, youth that meet low income guidelines, and youth having a criminal record. The agency's partnership with SLATE will serve 245 youth in 2012-2013.

Covenant House
Covenant House focuses on teaching homeless, runaway and at-risk youth ages 16-21 vital employment skills by placing them into internships with community businesses. Two residential programs, short-term and long-term, and a variety of support services are designed to develop skills youth need to live independently. Panera Cafe, Nex-Tech Aerospace and Pelopidas are among employers partnering with Covenant House's internship program. The agency hopes that its partnership with SLATE will expand available internships to youth, giving them experience and employment history, as well as learn valuable work ethics.

Alternative Opportunities (AO)/JESS
AO/Jess is proud to work in partnership with SLATE to provide services to students from the Special Education Division of St. Louis Public Schools. This program provides work readiness training, paid work opportunities, and leadership development activities to students throughout the City of St. Louis. This year-round program has a goal of serving 50 students next year.

Employment Connection
For more than 30 years, Employment Connection has been assisting individuals with limited opportunities to gain self-sufficiency by finding employment. The Agency's progressive job training and placement services created more than 30,000 jobs for St. Louis residents, giving thousands of individuals an opportunity to lead a self-sustainable life in the community. The Agency's partnership with SLATE will prepare out-of-school youth ages 16-21 to enter the workforce or post-secondary education.

Family and Workforce Centers of America (FWCA)
FWCA employs staff with over 30 years of experience in delivering workforce-related services to youth and adults in the St. Louis region and has been recognized for developing innovative solutions and groundbreaking strategies in serving youth. The Agency's youth program emphasizes self-esteem, pre-employment skills and reality-based learning. FWCA's partnership with various local organizations allow students to determine their career path by choosing from medical, government and law, art and childcare careers to build their portfolio of skills. SLATE's funding will help the Agency recruit and place into employment 50 determined and enthusiastic youth this year.

For contact information of any of SLATE's youth vendors, visit SLATE's website, stlworks.com and click Help for Youth from the main menu. For the list of services available to job seekers at the SLATE Missouri Career Centers, visit stlworks.com and click Help for Jobseekers.