16 January 2024
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — The Greater Wichita YMCA is hosting a job prep course for teenagers where they learn everything from filling out tax documents to answering interview questions.
The first phase is in the classroom, where students learn to maintain eye contact and fill out applications. The second phase is during the summer when the students get jobs. Last year, students got jobs at Wesley Medical Center and Intrust Bank, along with other high-level positions.
Nicole Hernandez, program director, says there is a misconception that people in this generation don’t want to work.
“We have tons of students within the Wichita area and beyond that want to work,” Hernandez said. “They just don’t necessarily know how to get a job. They don’t know how to compete to get a job, and then they’re also a little bit nervous sometimes about how to be a professional in the workplace. So being able to provide those skills to them is something that we’re able to do in the program.”
Students will meet once a week starting in February.
“Students that are currently eligible for a job right now that are 15, 16, 17, and 18 years old, they actually had COVID during their middle school years,” Hernandez said. “So a lot of them really missed out on those social emotional skills, being able to be confident, talking in front of others and being confident in themselves. And due to that, we really had seen a decline on maybe this confidence that the students have.”
The YMCA also meets with the businesses to help them navigate working with students.
“As students become adults, they are more likely to be higher wage earners than their counterparts who maybe didn’t have a job during the summer,” Hernandez said. “Whenever students join the job prep program, they are able to get lifelong skills that they can take now and then carry on with them for the rest of their life.”
Angel Hervey went through the program last year and says it was beneficial for her.
“I probably wouldn’t know what to say,” Hervey said. “I probably would have not brought a resume at all. I didn’t even think I’d even need one. So I think the class definitely 110% helped with the interview and what I did.”
She landed a job at Intrust Bank thanks to the program.
“When I came in, I didn’t know what to expect, and I didn’t know how I was going to do it, how I was going to get in, what I had to bring, what I didn’t have to bring,” Hervey said. “I think that is what I’ve mostly really learned, and it was a really great experience, and it helped me a lot, especially be more equipped to do things on my own.”
Hervey says she feels more confident in herself and her future after going through the program.