Youth Workforce Development becomes Connect 2 Careers

Starting in January, 2016, ESD 112’s program, Youth Workforce Development will be known as Connect 2 Careers, or C2C. The primary reason for the change was due to the funding stream changing from the Workforce Investment Act to the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. With this change, the age range of young adults served shifted from 14-21 year olds to 16-24 year olds. This new age bracket gives C2C the opportunity to place a stronger emphasis on serving Out of School youth— helping young people gain necessary work experience and providing new services like entrepreneurship training.

The name Connect 2 Careers was carefully decided on by key stakeholders such as the Youth Workforce Program participants, Southwest Washington Workforce Development Council and C2C program leaders— Deb Drandoff, Ryan Blodgett, Matt Cox, Becky Mohagen, Colleen Vekich, Kerry Burleson, and Christine Katon. A new webpage and Facebook Page have been established, and more in-depth program information can be found in a new C2C brochure.