EXETER, RI -- Started in 1964 as a network of Job Corps training centers to help fight poverty, and expanded over the years to places like Exeter, Rhode Island, Job Corps is celebrating its 50th anniversary this week.  The program provides career technical training and education for low-income young people ages 16 through 24.  Today, there are 125 Job Corps centers nationwide, and the program has trained more than 2.7 million young people.

U.S. Senator Jack Reed, a member of the Appropriations Committee who, over the years, secured $15 million in federal funding to create Rhode Island’s Exeter Job Corps Academy up and running, today joined in the celebration, meeting with Exeter Job Corps students and staff and sampling some of the delicious baked goods made by Culinary Arts students.

“For fifty years Job Corps has been making a difference and expanding hope and opportunity.  I am pleased to have helped bring this program home to Rhode Island and really proud of the great work of the staff and students here at Exeter Job Corps Academy.  They have a real history of success.  It is great to celebrate this milestone with them and hear more about all the progress they are making,” said Senator Reed.  “In order to get our economy back to full strength Rhode Island businesses need high-quality, skilled workers.   The Exeter Job Corps Center is helping to fill that need by helping people from all walks of life, from all over the state to really develop their talents and build a career path.”

Exeter Job Corps Center, which opened in 2004, provides free job training in a variety of vocations, including: computers, culinary arts, construction, hospitality, health fields, manufacturing, and other career paths, as well as transportation and dormitory-style housing for those who need it.  The programs are aligned with industry credentials and include work-based learning.  Enrollment at Exeter is typically around 175 students, with rolling admissions throughout the year. 

Exeter Job Corps Center will be celebrating throughout the week with a variety of speaking programs, meetings, open houses, and other events.

“The staff and students are very excited to be able to show off the skills they have learned at Job Corps,” said Center Director Jason E. Menard. “It is also important that we provide an opportunity to show the community all the great things that are going on at our center and we offer weekly tours on Thursdays at 1:00.”

Nationwide, Job Corps provides education and job training for about 60,000 disadvantaged and at-risk youths between the ages of 16 and 24.  Job Corps provides hands-on training in more than 100 career technical areas ranging from automotive and machine repair to information technology and renewable resources.

For more information about the program, call (800) 733-JOBS or visit: www.recruiting.jobcorps.gov

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