On Aug. 20, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Economic Opportunity Act, a centerpiece of his War on Poverty. Along with 10 other major programs, the act established a federal Job Corps program designed to increase the employability of young adults by “providing them with education, vocational training, [and] useful work experience.”

The program was founded on an idea that still drives us today: There is vast opportunity in our nation’s workforce. Job Corps makes education and training available to everyone and offers the opportunity to work, promoting and facilitating access to good jobs that change lives.  

Sixty years later, Job Corps has trained more than 3 million income-eligible, 16- through 24-year-olds to make good on that mission.  

Serving 50,000 students annually at more than 120 centers across the United States, we provide educational, technical and employment skills training and offer wraparound supportive services like mental health and substance use prevention. There is no cost to participants, and our students’ housing and training are free.  

Students in our program come from every corner of the country, representing different ethnicities, backgrounds and communities. Many come from places where opportunities were scarce, but we know their start does not define their journey.  

At Job Corps, we define young people by their highest potential. We nurture and focus our students’ capabilities and connect them with opportunities in industry, Registered Apprenticeships, the military or higher education.

Young people stand uniquely positioned to support and grow our local economies. To achieve this, they need clear pathways to begin careers that center on equity, job quality and supportive services. Job Corps is one of those pathways.

Our program is built on the idea that everyone has a path that is wholly their own. Going to college immediately after high school is no longer the only option for young people. Job Corps offers a self-paced, hands-on journey for those students seeking another option.  

At a time when skilled labor is in high demand, Job Corps is training thousands of welders, masons, electricians, carpenters, nursing assistants and more. And we’ve been doing it for 60 years.

We also know we can’t do it alone. Partnerships ensure the Job Corps program is both an industry and community asset. We rely on a variety of partners to help us build pathways to life-changing jobs for our students.  

The Department of the Navy’s Naval Sea Systems Command is partnering with Job Corps to hire shipbuilders from our campuses in the Northeast. Disney is committed to hiring some of our culinary students to enter their resort culinary program. Johnson & Johnson has partnered with our center in Jacksonville, Fla., to manufacture contact lenses.  

These partners and more – including Mercedes-Benz, Amazon Web Services and US Aviation Academy – are connecting students to careers that will have a profound impact on their futures while also meeting local labor market demands.  

That’s where we need your help. Supporting our nation’s youth and young adults takes all of us.  

You can support our mission as a potential student, employer, union leader or community member. Tell someone about the program, partner with your local center, or learn how to enroll at JobCorps.gov. Help us build the workforce of the future.

As we celebrate our 60th anniversary this month, we’re already looking ahead to the next 60 years of Job Corps and beyond, to the next generation of our program and the next generation of American workers.