Application Process
Potential participants who demonstrate an interest in professional development must first complete an application. These applications are designed to capture basic information about the applicant's educational and employment history, as well as capture some information about household income and housing.
In addition to the application, candidates are asked to submit a letter recommending them to the program. This letter may be supplemented by a completed First Work Program recommendation form, which staff alternatively give candidates to satisfy the recommendation component of the application process; however, candidates are told to seek recommendation only from those individuals who are not related to the potential participant and who has experience to speak about the candidate's work ethic and skills.
Once candidates have completed the application and submitted their recommendation form, they undergo an interview with the program director, associate director, or both. This purpose of this interview is threefold; (1) needs and skills of the candidate are considered for program placement or referral, (2) students experience a simulated interview for employment, and (3) the interviewer and candidate speak candidly about the candidate's interview performance and areas for improvement.
It is in this third way that candidates most immediately benefit from intake interviews at First Work. That is, they recieve a copy of the Mock Interview Evaluation Form (see Figure 1, below) at the end of the interview and learn, however the result of their application for participation, what their interviewing strengths and weaknesses are.
Figure 1. The interview evaluation form used in the application interview and mock interviews at First Work.After a staff meeting, where each participant's candidacy is reviewed, candidates are notified of one of the following: (1) that they will be referred to another program that better matches their needs, (2) that they have been wait-listed for the First Work Program, or (3) that they have been accepted into the First Work Program.
Figure 2. The Internship Readiness Chart used to record students' progress in the program. Items in red are those related to program registration, orange represents mandatory workshops/items, yellow represents individual workshops described below, and green represents internship application items. It generally takes a student 8 weeks to satisfy all the items on this chart.Program Structure
Once students have been accepted into the First Work Program, they begin their trek through the work training curriculum modified last summer. The training at First Work is divided into internship preparation and internship, and there are two corresponding progress charts that staff use to monitor/display student progress as they make their way through the training. Once students have completed their training, they are eligible for job placement services with staff.
Curriculum
The majority of the training in the First Work Program requires
- Job Readiness/Life Skills
- Computer Literacy
- Financial Literacy
- Career Exploration
