{"id":447507,"date":"2026-08-29T20:34:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T20:34:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/447507\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T20:34:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T20:34:15","slug":"job-skills-grant-will-aid-youth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/447507\/","title":{"rendered":"Job skills grant will aid youth"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thestarnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/youth.jpg\" data-caption=\"Members of the San Diego Workforce Partnership\u2019s Youth Advisory Board discuss the challenges young people entering the workforce face during SDWP\u2019s Youth Opportunity &amp; Workforce Insights Showcase at SBCS\u2019s Center for Impact in Chula Vista on Wednesday. (Photo Courtesy of San Diego Workforce Partnership)\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"696\" height=\"400\" class=\"entry-thumb td-modal-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/youth-696x400.jpg\"   alt=\"\" title=\"youth\"\/><\/a>Members of the San Diego Workforce Partnership\u2019s Youth Advisory Board discuss the challenges young people entering the workforce face during SDWP\u2019s Youth Opportunity &amp; Workforce Insights Showcase at SBCS\u2019s Center for Impact in Chula Vista on Wednesday. (Photo Courtesy of San Diego Workforce Partnership)<\/p>\n<p class=\"instaread-disclaimer\" style=\"font-size: 13px; color: #6B7280; margin-top: 8px; text-align: center; word-wrap: break-word;\">The Star-News offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Young people looking for employment and organizations working to help them develop job skills will receive a financial boost over the next year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During a gathering at SBCS Center of Impact in Chula Vista Wednesday, County Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe announced $4.22 million in San Diego Workforce Partnership grants for SBCS, San Diego State University Research Foundation, the International Rescue Committee, and Climb Hire for outreach to more than 500 young people ages 14 to 24 over the next year with \u201cpaid work experience, job training, and career exploration.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBehind each grant is a young person filling out their first job application, someone walking into a workplace for the first time, wondering if they belong, someone hoping that one opportunity could change the direction of their life \u2014 because sometimes it can,\u201d said Steppe, who chairs the SDWP policy board<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cA first job provides a paycheck, but a first opportunity provides something even more important. It builds confidence. It creates purpose. It tells a young person, \u2018You belong here.\u2019 That is the power of this investment. It is not simply preparing young people for work. It is helping them discover what they are capable of,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to a SDWP study, in South County, \u201cyouth unemployment reaches 31% and rises to 35% in West Chula Vista and National City. In East County, home to more than half of the county\u2019s youth refugee population, the graduation rate is lowest among students at 81%, while the dropout rate is highest at nearly 12%.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn Southeast San Diego, Encanto and Skyline, youth unemployment reaches 24%. In North County, fewer than six in 10 students in Vista graduate from high school, while a third drop out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Please follow and like us:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Members of the San Diego Workforce Partnership\u2019s Youth Advisory Board discuss the challenges young people entering the workforce&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":447508,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[74,76,75],"class_list":["post-447507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=447507"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447507\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/447508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=447507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=447507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=447507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}