The effects of the U.S. Department of Labor’s “pause” on operations at contractor-operated Job Corps centers nationwide, announced last week, has reverberated throughout the city of Oneonta.
While operations at Oneonta Job Corps Academy must cease June 30, most students, ranging in age from 16 to 24, must leave the campus by June 13.
Madan Brewer, 21, graduated from OJCA in May. He’s living on campus while interning as a robotics technician at a local company.
Since the announcement last week, he and other students have been working to get their peers connected to the Department of Social Services for food, cash and housing assistance.
“My first thought was, why?” Brewer said Tuesday. “But soon after I was thinking about the students. I’m already done, but there are a lot of new advanced training students from Texas, Alaska, that just got blindsided.”
Job Corps is a residential career training program that helps young people complete high school while learning a trade, life and career skills, and is DOL’s largest training program, serving more than 50,000 students a year.
Since 1964, the program has trained and educated more than 3 million people. It currently offers training in more than 100 areas across 10 industries. Locally, OJCA offers programs in medical, automotive, construction and advanced technological trades. The Oneonta skate park was created 20 years ago by OJCA.
OJCA is operated by Kentucky-based contractor Education and Training Resources LLC, which operates 11 other Job Corps centers across the country, including one other in New York state, Iroquois Job Corps Center in Medina. A call to the company was not returned Tuesday.
According to a May 29 news release from DOL, the decision aligns with the Trump administration’s financial goals for the federal budget, citing “significant financial challenges” under Job Corps’ current operating structure, including a $140 million deficit which required the Biden administration to implement a pause in center operations to complete the program year. The deficit is projected to reach $213 million this year.
The release stated that the average graduation rate is 38.6% — although OJCA’s average completion rate is higher at 44%, and this year’s completion rate is more than 60%, OJCA Career Counselor Margaret Hoose said Monday.
The average cost per student per year is $80,285, and average total cost per graduate is $155,601. After separation from Job Corps, participants earn $16,695 annually on average, the release stated.
In addition to the financial aspects, Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer said in a statement that the number of “serious incident reports” as disclosed in a transparency report on the program impacted the decision.
The total number of Serious Incident Reports for program year 2023 included 14,913 infractions covering acts of violence, sexual assault and drug use.
“Job Corps was created to help young adults build a pathway to a better life through education, training, and community,” Chavez-DeRemer said. “However, a startling number of serious incident reports and our in-depth fiscal analysis reveal the program is no longer achieving the intended outcomes that students deserve. We remain committed to ensuring all participants are supported through this transition and connected with the resources they need to succeed as we evaluate the program’s possibilities.”
OJCA Director Thayne Bodenmiller did not return a call for comment Tuesday.
Several OJCA students and supporters spoke out at the Common Council meeting Tuesday, June 3 about how shutting down the program would affect them. The council unanimously passed a resolution to oppose the closure and urged proactive support, including advocacy at the state and federal levels.
Donazia Elliott, 20, came from New Jersey to join the Certified Medical Assistant program about a month ago.
“I was in the process of starting when all this was dropped on me,” she said. “I truly am terrified for my future, because I am homeless. I am going to be displaced if this program does get shut down.”
Stephanie Rico, 21, from New York City, has been in the CMA program for six months and has three more months left, aiming for CCMA certification.
“It feels horrible because I can’t finish off my own portion of trying to get my certification for CCMA,” she said, adding that although she has a home to go back to, many of her fellow students don’t.
“Many students don’t have homes to go back to,” she said, “or they have to go to centers, or they have to resort back to homelessness outside, being on the streets, being young.”
Theresa Murray, 21, from the Ithaca area, is studying to be a medical administrative assistant and plans to focus on getting her certification even if she must leave OJCA.
“My MMA teacher always told me I’d be out during the summer, like before the summer started,” Murray said, “and I told her today, you were right. I am out before the summer has started.”
Athena Rodriguez, 20, from Mastic Beach, Long Island, completed the CMA and clinical nursing assistant programs and supports other students.
“When I heard about the news, it was a bombshell, honestly,” she said, “because I’ve always looked at the program like, this has been going on for 60 years. Why take it away now? My dad went to Job Corps years ago. The fact that they’re taking this away now is only going to harm those who can’t afford proper education, who can’t afford other opportunities of education.”
They all expressed concern over the program’s future and its importance for low-income students.
“The CMA program in other schools would cost about ($12,000),” Rodriguez said. “That is something not every student can afford, which is why this program is important. It’s cruel to take it away.”