Required Core Staff: Job Developer

Every job developer should have the skills and workforce expertise to guide and encourage participants as they explore and plan their futures. The job developer cannot be the same person as the case manager or the program director. The role of job developer includes, but is not limited to, the following tasks:

• Networking with employers, businesses, Registered Apprenticeship (RA) sponsors, and intermediaries to find career opportunities for participants to pursue. This can include creating formal partnerships and MOUs for direct entry into a job or apprenticeship, finding and connecting with businesses that are hiring, determining requirements for RA entry, and introducing the YouthBuild program to the local workforce development community

• Connecting with the local American Job Center to learn about local labor market information and job opportunities

• Researching local labor market information, so the program can design a strategy to connect participants to in-demand jobs at the local and regional level

• Partnering with local postsecondary education institutions (e.g., colleges, community colleges, trade schools) to create bridge programs, find scholarship opportunities, and learn about participant transition to higher education

• Creating or implementing employment skills and job readiness curriculum targeted to your participant audience, and holding workshops for topics such as resume writing or mock interviews

• Assessing participant technical skills and career readiness in order to highlight strengths and determine areas for growth; planning 1:1 or group activities with other YouthBuild staff to foster skill development and further develop strengths

• Working with other YouthBuild staff members to strategically plan education and training activities in the YouthBuild program that align with in-demand jobs and the skills most needed by local employers and RA sponsors

• Creating opportunities for participant career exploration, such as job fairs, Q+A with journeyworkers or alumni, field trips to active work sites in various industries, career aptitude assessments, online job searching research tips, practice RA aptitude tests, and informational interviews

• Contributing to the timely and accurate reporting of employment and education outcomes to DOL

• Connecting to participants in follow-up who are searching for or have entered employment, RA, or education to assist with any challenges, connect the graduate to a case manager for supportive service needs, and maximize job success and participant and employer satisfaction

Promising Practices for Job Developers

• Develop and maintain partnerships in the public and private sectors that will provide career opportunities aligned with YouthBuild participants' interests and goals

• Work with program leadership to introduce and pitch the program to potential employers as a connection to talent. This will include developing presentations about YouthBuild, meeting with prospective employer partners to establish critical employment needs, sharing program outcomes and data, collecting success stories from alumni, and sharing information about the year of follow-up support each participant receives after graduation

• Develop and execute systematic and ongoing job development strategies using customer relationship management practices for building and maintaining long-term relationships

• Identify, schedule, and manage guest speakers, construction site visits, job shadow experiences, informational interviews, college and trade school tours, and other activities that expose participants to the world of work

• Work with academic and occupational training staff to ensure participants are also learning the "soft skills" (e.g., interviewing, time management, interpersonal skills, etc.) necessary to grow in their career path

• Support exited participants during the follow-up phase in the areas of job retention and job re-placement, entry into postsecondary institutions, supportive services, and alumni services

Related Resources

• YouthBuild Job Developer Resource Collection 

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