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Jobs for Delaware Graduates

Written on: April 7th, 2011 in Job Creation

As we work together toward stronger schools, we’re doing everything we can to develop student potential.

Today, I’m excited to sit down with a group of students in my Legislative Hall office.  This organization is giving students the confidence they need to take their place in the job market, and that’s clear every time I meet with them.   Jobs for Delaware Graduates (JDG) is helping students learn more about themselves and the world of work.

The students I’ve met through JDG understand what employers are looking for in their employees.  Most of them already have part-time jobs in retail, food service and manufacturing, which is giving them real-work experiences while they build their resumes.

Jobs for Delaware Graduates is in almost every Delaware public high school.  It’s a program that began under Governor duPont more than thirty years ago and has become the model for similar programs in 32 other states, all part of Jobs for America’s Graduates.

I recently agreed to chair the national board of Jobs for America’s Graduates because two of my priorities for Delaware remain creating jobs and building stronger schools. JAG and JDG do both.  They help young people remove barriers to their own success, find a path forward and forge a future for themselves.

Ninety-three percent of JAG students graduate from high school and almost half of those go on to post-secondary education.

At Christiana High School, where I visited a few months ago, every JDG senior plans to graduate.   When students stay in school, go on to school, find careers and ultimately, secure jobs, they become productive citizens. They create and sustain their own lives and in the process, strengthen our workforce and our future.  And they are less likely to be on drugs, in prison or otherwise dependent on the state or their own families for assistance.

Maybe you know a student with a lot of potential and little direction, who, with a little help from a program like Jobs for Delaware Graduates, can change the direction of their life.

I have asked the student president of JDG’s student organization to guest blog next week, so come back to read his story.

Tags: Christiana High School, Delaware, Governor Jack Markell, jobs, Jobs for Americas Graduates, Jobs for Delaware Graduates