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The Labor Department's Job Corps program, which provides education and training to 62,000 economically disadvantaged youths, has launched a series of videos on YouTube, and sent a public service announcement to 650 radio stations to boost recruitment and awareness.

"This fulfills a promise I made to you that ... we would do whatever we could to spread the word and market the wonderful opportunities that Job Corps offers its students," Esther Johnson, national director of the program, wrote in an e-mail to Job Corps staff and participants.

She said the program was part of a three-year campaign, and the focus at the moment was matching Job Corps training to technical certification standards in higher-paying career fields.

"We have ensured that the training we're providing meets the standards of the certifications in the industries," she said. "We can say that our young people who have graduated from this training program meet the guidelines that have been established by the industry.... When we go out and target these young people, we can assure them that the training they're going to receive in Job Corps meets the industry standards."

The YouTube videos include speeches by Tiffany Williams, Kelvin McJunkin Jr. and David Bol, three Job Corps participants who spoke at October's Job Corps summit in Washington. Johnson said the number of videos would expand to include Job Corps advertisements and Spanish-language programming.

Labor Secretary Elaine Chao "instructed us to think outside the box, and as part of that, we need to think about ways to make sure the population we are targeting knows about Job Corps," Johnson said. "This population utilizes the Internet, and they utilize YouTube a lot, so we thought, 'Why don't we put excerpts of the speeches online?' We have a consolidated media and advertising campaign."

Johnson said Job Corps was working with a marketing research firm to shape its advertising and drawing on students' experiences to create television commercials.

"They have gone to different markets, they have held focus groups with young people, and a lot of their advertisements and our brand for Job Corps have been tested with these young people," she said. "We've gone to different Job Corps centers, and we have ads that show the students in action, and then we have some of the students who are speaking in the ads, talking about what they're doing and how it's been a positive experience."

COMMENTS

• I attended Red Rock Job Corp. It may not be everything you want in getting an education, it is only what you make it. I can agere that people stealing from one another is a problem,I myself had things taken from me. It is however what you make of it.I'm glad the program was there for me 25 years ago. It taught me, that when I didn't go to class I lost money. Routine is important in the job world.That I had to keep my room and belongings clean,{Mommy can't pick up after you.} On G.I. night everybody had to work together. I could say it was a positive influence in my life. Lisa Bell Posted May 7, 2008 6:42 PM
• I am currently attending JobCorp in Pittsburg PA and I agree with all the negative comments. But I also disagree. JobCorp is not there to babysit your children. It's there for your children to TRY to get a life. If she learns smoking then she would have done that when she left your house anyways. Thugs? Those are everywhere. What makes JobCorp special that it has More thugs than any other place? Try going into some major cities..They mug you for your shoes. There's bad things and good things about JobCorp and so too about Life. You either can buckle down and keep anything expensive out of jobcorp to keep stuff from being stolen, Tell your kids to actually Learn and quit goofing around(I have seen several people ust goofing off and telling their parents that jobCorp is the Bad people). I am going to Community College and not having to pay a thing. I get 3 meals a day. I can get a job and afford to become a non-resident so i don't have to live on campus. So to end this I say quit complaining and either Try or don't.. You could always live in your Mom's Basement. Erik Posted February 19, 2008 3:02 PM
• Has any one gone through job core in McKinney, Texas? If the things posted here are true then there is no way I would send my child to something like that. All info is welcome. pkte Posted February 10, 2008 10:27 AM