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Institute for HIRE Learning
After youth at Larkin Street Youth Services have completed Job Readiness
Class, as part of our comprehensive HIRE UP employment program, they
are given the opportunity to move directly onto a rewarding career track. They
can do this through our Institute of HIRE Learning, a competitive program
offering paid internships with local businesses and organizations.
The internships encompass an impressive array of career opportunities. Culinary arts, veterinary care, multimedia—these are all potential lifelong vocations youth can learn through the Institute. In many cases, they choose to work toward careers in which they can help others as they have been helped, through internships in nonprofit social services, HIV prevention, or nursing. The LSYS staff is constantly making contacts in the local business community to ensure that the variety of internships available matches the diversity of the youth who are selected to participate. We work with groups of industry leaders who comprise Larkin Street’s Business Advisory Councils (BACs). The members of the BACs consult with LSYS to design career tracks which will give youth entry level skills in each group’s field. BAC members include the San Francisco SPCA, Safeway, the San Francisco Culinary Academy, Wells Fargo, University of California San Francisco, the Private Industry Council, and many others. Often, they hire LSYS youth as regular employees after their internships are completed. Throughout the internship, participants gain extra support by attending professional development workshops on topics such as time and money management, self-care and crisis management. These workshops focus on teaching advanced skills to help youth succeed in their internship and beyond as they head toward permanent employment. One-on-one counseling with Larkin Street staff offers a safe place for youth to discuss successes and struggles both with the internship and with life. Each Institute for HIRE Learning internship lasts approximately 3 months. The Institute offers more than mere income however. It offers youth a direction for their lives and a permanent escape from their previous experiences on the street. |
